According to Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000), there are three classic leadership styles. These include laissez-faire, authoritarian or autocratic, and democratic leadership styles. Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) indicated that “laissez-faire leadership refers to a neutral, kick-back and let the folks do whatever they choose style” (p. 259). They continue to say that one must already be designated as the leader to be laissez-faire. This is because in their own opinion Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) this is because laying back rarely gets you the position. In their further studies, they indicated that this style works well for a team of real experts who want to share leadership and charge ahead (Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff, 2000). They however said that for other team’s productivity, quality, involvement, and satisfaction are adversely affected and suffer.
The other type of leadership according to Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) is authoritarian or autocratic leadership. In this type of leadership Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) established that “the leader keeps tight control of the team runs meetings by the book, sets schedules and may at the same time use coercive or reward power”(p. 260). They also indicated that authoritarian leadership in most cases increases productivity in the short term but it also increases aggression and turnover rates among members (Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff, 2000). As a result, the majority of the people equate authoritarianism with leadership however and their expectations can only be met by an authoritarian leader.
The third type f leadership as indicated by Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) is democratic leadership. Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) established that “the democratic leader ensures that everyone is heard, guides and facilitates discussion and decision making and shares power” (p. 260). In their further studies, they established that democratic leaders do three important things which include; making sure that everyone in the group feels responsible for outcomes. Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) said that t democratic leaders ensure that they enhance the group’s feelings of empowerment and finally they create a process through which the team can make effective decisions (p. 260). In democratic leadership each team member in the organization or the team develops the expertise and the desire to perform these roles as well and ultimately everyone can take turns serving as leaders and followers or workers (Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff, 2000).
In the recent, besides these types of leadership theories of leadership have emerged. According to Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000), these include transactional and transformational leadership. Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) mentioned that “transactional leadership exchanges reward for performance and the leaders set goals, clarify desired outcomes, provide feedback and give subordinates rewards for good work” (p. 281). Transformational leadership on the other hand elevates, motivates, inspires and develops the team (Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff, 2000). In their research Lumsden, Donald & Wiethoff (2000) indicated that “transformational leaders motivate their followers through more subtle but very effective means and these strategies tend to result in high worker satisfaction” (p. 260)