Crack the Code: Your 101 Guide to Recognising Different Leadership Styles - pt 1 - ep 122

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Vet staff.co.nz. Welcome to episode 122. I'm your show host, Julie South. Have you or someone you know ever left a workplace, not because of the job, but because the clinic owner, the head nurse, or the lead vet let toxic behavior persist. If so, you'll get firsthand how different leadership styles impact how individual.

Interact with their team members, how conflicts are resolved or not, and ultimately how clinic culture is impacted. By recognizing and understanding different leadership styles, you can improve your communication, your team dynamics, your conflict resolution, and personal development within your clinic's team.

That's what we are looking at today in this new 1 0 1. On leadership styles, but quickly before we get to that, are we connected, you and I? If not, I'd like to invite you to connect with vet staff or me on your favorite social media channel, Facebook, Insta, or LinkedIn. On most days, I write an informal attitude, gratitude post something I'm smiling.

Grateful for amusing over. It's all lighthearted and hopefully will spark something inside of you for you to smile about on the inside and your life as well. You can find what I'm on about@vetstaff.nz on the socials. It'll really make me smile if you left a comment and let us know. It's because you heard about us from this podcast.

Thank. Righty. People don't leave workplaces. They leave the people who leave. If you've worked in a few different clinics and been on a few different teams, you'll know that some people are able to inspire and enable others to get more job satisfaction from being at work each day. Recognizing different leadership styles at your clinic is important for several reasons.

Different leadership styles require different communication approaches. By understanding the leadership style of your head nurse, lead vet, practice manager or clinic owner, you can communicate with them more effectively. , different leadership styles also impact team dynamics, and this can help you work more effectively within the team and contribute to a positive work culture.

When you understand and can recognize the leadership style that's going on there, and of course conflict resolution, you'll be able to understand because you can recognize what's going on. The other thing is personal growth. By observing from different leadership styles, knowing what works for you and for others and what doesn't.

You can improve your own abilities as a leader and as a team player, and you'll be better able to adapt to different situations. . Therefore, being able to recognize the different leadership styles in your clinic workplace can help you work more effectively with others. You'll be able to resolve team conflicts and you can develop your own leadership style and your own leadership skill as well.

You'll be able to contribute to a positive clinic culture and be a more productive and successful veterinary profess. . Whilst there are many factors that can impact the profitability of a vet clinic and leadership training is just one of them, there are studies that suggest that leadership training can have a positive impact on various aspects of business performance.

Biggest one is around employee engagement, which then impacts job satisfaction and that impacts impacts overall productivity. These factors can indirectly to con contribute to clinic profitability by improving the quality of care provider to your patients, increasing client satisfaction and reducing staff turnover, which all help to boost revenue and reduce costs.

Let's have a look at some of the different leadership styles today. There are, I've identified 10 of them, and over the next few weeks we're going to look at different clusters each week. Today we're going to look at the autocratic or the authoritarian style of leadership. The Democratic or participative style, and then the lak fear or delegative style.

Then coming up over the next week, we'll look, or next week's plural, we'll look at transactional, transformational, servant, charismatic situational coaching, and a. It's worth noting that none of these styles are mutually exclusive and they can be used in combination. And of course there are other frameworks, labels, and scores are thought that identify different, different styles, additional styles and variations.

Let's get on with autocratic or authoritarian leadership.  in, or when somebody in your clinic is autocratic or authoritarian, they make all the decisions and they don't usually seek input from others. This style can be effective in situations where there's little time for discussion or when the leader has extensive knowledge over other team members in a particular area.

For example, in emergency or crisis situations where immediate action is needed, you want someone who's prepared to take the lead immediate. However, the flip side of that is that living in a constant state of autocratic or authoritarian leadership can also lead, sadly to employee dis dissatisfaction and high staff turnover rates.

What does it look like and how can you recognize it? Well, one of. The traits that might ring true in your clinic or for you in another clinic is micromanagement. An autocratic leader often micromanages their team members. They dictate how work should be done, and they make sure that every aspect of the project or the work, the task, whatever it is, is done exactly the way they want it to be.

Of course having, when you're working with somebody like that, it stifles creativity and innovation among the team members. They also make all the decisions without consulting or seeking input. They may not value or consider the opinions of others when making decisions. It's one of those, do it my way or the highway types of leader.

They have strict rules and regulations, and you must follow those without question. They may also impose severe consequences, either covert or overt for any deviation from these rules. And one of the one of those could be terminating employment, reducing pay, which is horrible or limiting career progressions equally.

They often fail to communicate with their team members effectively. They usually don't provide clear instructions or feedback, and this ends up with the team members uncertain about their roles or what's expected of them. They usually communicate in a top-down manner, which means that they give orders and rather than engaging in a dialogue with team members, they may not explain the reasoning behind their decisions or seek feedback from their.

autocratic leaders might say something like, there's the door, please close it On your way out. You may have heard that they also have. Very low morale teams. Funny, surprising, and this is because team members feel undervalued and excluded from the decision making process. Understandably, you've got something to contribute.

We all have something to contribute that's worthwhile, even if or even when what we are contributing. Doesn't happen. It may spark or, or might not be relevant right then, right there. It may spark a thought or something else in someone else that actually. Is really, really important and leads to change.

Not saying that yours doesn't lead to change, but I think you know what I'm talking about. So if you have people that are field undervalued and excluded, what that usually leads to is lack of engagement, reduced productivity, and again, high staff turnover rates. And however, there are times when. Only temporarily having an autocratic or authoritative team leader is critical for a successful outcome.

So what does that look like? Keep in mind that being authoritative coupled with another leadership style, like perhaps inspirational, which we'll look at next week, can be a good thing. But in times when authoritative and dictatorial comes in is when it's. Like a back player. It's not the strongest style of leadership.

It's a backup style of leadership with somebody who might be inspirational. For example, let's say you have a time of crisis like we're in right now in New Zealand as a natural disaster or perhaps as a major organizational description, autocratic leadership can be effective and in these situations, quick decision making and decisive action is often what's require.

Autocratic leaders can often provide the necessary direction without getting bogged down in consensus building or lengthy decision making processes. They get on with doing the job at hand, and it might not always be seen as being kind. So there are situations where it's a good.  in highly structured environments as well.

When standard operating procedures are well established, such as, for example, in the military or some in industrial situations, autocratic leadership again, can be effective. And this is because the leader's role is to enforce existing protocols and ensure that everyone follows them without deviation.  in such environment, there is less room for creativity and innovation, and the autocratic leaders focus on enforcing rules and procedures can be beneficial.

Of course, it's also beneficial, like I said before, for autocratic leadership to be coupled and secondary to another less autocratic leadership style. There's also. Benefit and it's also effective where team members lack expertise and or experience. So in situations where teams lack the necessary expertise or knowledge to make informed decisions, an autocratic leader may be necessary.

Maybe for example, you have an unannounced hit by car situation, suddenly appear on your doorstep or heat stroke, or perhaps a gastrointestinal emergency like a G D V. In situations like these, you need an experienced and an authoritative leader, someone who's able to make quick decisions without consulting their team because they're the only ones with the necessary expertise to make the right.

The downside of having a hundred percent auto authoritative or autocratic leader is demotivated. Team members stifled creativity, and probably zero innovation. Because of these negative, negative consequences, autocracy should be used sparingly and only in situations where it's absolutely vital and necessary.

The flip side of having autocracy or authoritative type leadership is the democratic or the participative leadership style. This is where leaders involve team members in the decision making and they seek their input. This can lead to increased motivation, surprise, surprise, job satisfaction, surprise, surprise, because then people feel valued and respect.

However, the flip side of that is it can also lead to slower decision making processes and may not be effective in situations where quick action is needed. Keep in mind though, that as I mentioned before, with the unannounced G D V that arrives on your doorstep, you need someone who can make a decision without seeking every team member's.

Here are some examples of what democratic or participative leadership looks like and how you can recognize it at your clinic. , A democratic leader encourages participation from all members of the team. They create environments where everyone feels psychologically safe to share their ideas, their opinions, and their concerns.

They will actively listen to all viewpoints and incorporate feedback into decision making processes. In meetings, a democratic leader will facilitate discussion and then make sure that everyone has had a chance to. A democratic leader also involves members in decision making processes. They seek input from everyone, and they will consider different perspectives before making a final decision.

They foster a sense of collaboration and teamwork, and they will avoid making decisions without consulting the group. A democratic leader values diversity, inclusivity, and equity, and they strive to make a sense or create a sense of unity among the team. , by the way, if you're unsure what the difference is between equity and equality in the workplace is go back and listen to episode one 19 that was recorded or produced on the 7th of February, and it's entitled The Distinction Between Equality and Equity for Cost Effective Veterinary Recruitment because it's really important that as many hiring decision makers.

in clinic get the difference because there is a difference. I'll put a link to the show notes for you to find it easily, and you can find it at pause clause wet noses.fm or vet staff.co nz the other. Democratic leader attribute is that they are trans, transparent, transmissions, transparent in their decision making processes, and they keep everyone informed about the reasoning behind their decisions.

They're accountable to the group and they take responsibility for their actions. They value honesty and integrity, and they communicate openly and honestly with their. It is Democratic leadership is effective because the leader guides and facilitates discussions, but ultimately allows the team to vote and decide on the best course of action.

So what does it look like? What does Democratic and participative leader leadership look like? As I said, they encourage members to participate in team decision making. An example of this could be when, say a lead vet or a head nurse holds a a meeting and allows every team member to speak their mind and express their ideas.

Or maybe the lead vet or head nurse may ask open-ended questions, listen attentively to everyone's suggestions and help their team reach a consensus on the best approach to take. They are transparent, as I said. They have honest and open communication with their team. They share information and they want to keep their team members informed about important issues and decisions that affect the team.

For instance, a Democratic leader may share financial reports, performance metrics, and customer feedback with their team. For a real example of what this looks and sounds like, go back and listen to episode 30. With Dr. Megan Orison. Dr. Megan is a companion animal veterinarian, and she's the principal of the Strand veterinarian in Auckland in New Zealand.

And that episode 30 was back in June in 2021. In that episode, again, I'll put the sh the links on the page to this. In that episode, Dr. Megan shares the type of information that she shares with her team and the differences that it's made to her. Bottom line, by sharing, by being transparent, the democratic leader helps build trust and fosters a sense of inclusion among the team members.

They also empower Democratic leaders, also empower their team members to take ownership of their work and contribute to the team's success. So this means that delegating tasks, providing resources, and giving feedback. Two team members as part of their psyche is what they do. And this, for example, a lead vet or a head nurse may ask one of their team members to lead a project on say, just an idea one way their team can reduce their clinic's waste in the next quarter to become more sustain.

The head vet or the lead nurse would provide support and guidance all the way along the way. They would empower their team members and the leader would create a sense of ownership and accountability, which then can lead to higher motivation and engagement. . So in summary, democratic leadership involves team decision making, transparency and empowerment of the team.

They practice this style to create an environment of trust, inclusion, and accountability, which can lead to higher engagement, productivity, and job satisfaction among team members. The last one we'll look at today is the Ssay Fair or the Delegate. Leadership style. These are where the leader gives team members a higher degree of autonomy and doesn't interfere with their work.

This can be effective in situations where team members are already highly skilled and motivated as it allows them to take more ownership of their work. However, it can lead to confusion and lack of direction among team members who may not know what's expected of.  LA Fear or Delegate of leadership is where the leader provides minimal guidance or direction to their team and then allows them to make decisions to carry out the tasks independently.

And just in case you are wondering, how is LA fear different to abdicating responsibility of leader? . Now, Aire leadership is a style in which the leader takes a hands off approach and allows their team members to make decisions and take action on their own. The leader provides minimal guidance, as I've said, and support, and instead encourages their team members to use their own judgment and expertise to complete task.

in la Fear Leadership, the leader may still be involved in decision making, but they tend to delegate more authority to their team members. On the other hand, abdication as a complete absence of leadership, when a leader abdicates their responsibilities, they completely withdraw from their role, provide no direction or support to.

When this happens, the leader isn't involved in any decision making and the team is left to operate on their own without any guidance or feedback. And you can imagine how well that works, can't you? While both laissez fair leadership and abdication involve a lack of direct involvement from the leader, there's a key and significant difference between the.

LA Fair Leadership is an intentional leadership style, and it's where the leader chooses to provide minimal guidance to their team. In contrast, abdication is a lack of leadership. It's where the leader fails to provide any direction or support to their team. Sometimes it's accidental and sometimes it's unintentional.

And also just in case you are wondering how Lassez Fair leadership differs to the coaching style of leadership, because both to some extent involve giving or. Autonomy to their teams. We're gonna be covering coaching in an upcoming episode, so stay tuned. Lassez Fair, as I've said, is a hands off approach where the leader delegates responsibilities to their team and gives them full autonomy.

Coaching on the other hand, which we'll look at in another episode, involves providing guidance and support to team members to help them improve their skills and achieve their goals In a coaching approach, the leader works closely with their team, provides feedback sets goals, and helps team members develop new.

Coaching Leaders act as mentors and guides. They provide advice and support to their team as needed. So for example, if you are a clinic who prides itself on your new grad development programs for nurses and vets, then you would want a coaching style head nurse or lead vet, not alese fear type of. Or maybe they could be laissez fair, but their coaching style, their coaching style of leadership is their primary leadership style.

While both laissez fair and coaching leaderships involve some degree of autonomy for the team, the key difference is that coaching leaders are actively involved in providing guidance and support to their team. While lafa leaders are more hands off with minimal. So hopefully you can see that Lassez Fair, abdication and coaching are three leadership styles that may appear similar, but each has distinct differences and generally very different outcomes as well.

So now let's get back to what Lassez Fair Leadership might look like and how to recognize it at your clinic. In a LA with a LA fair leader, they may not provide clear instructions or direction to the team. They may delegate tasks without providing guidance on how to complete them, leaving it up to the team to figure out on their own.

This can result in confusion and frustration among team members who may not know what's expected of. They may also be hands off when it comes to decision making. They may delegate decision making to their team members, and this allows the team to make choices without input or guidance from the leader.

This can be empowering for team members, but it can also lead to uncertainty and lack of direction depending on who is in the team and their personality. Also the Lassez fair leader may not provide regular feedback or evaluation to their team. So you can imagine that you, the. Team starts off in one direction, but because, or wet down one path.

But because you've got a laissez fair leader, it's easy for them to divert and jump to a completely different way of doing things and get an outcome that wasn't even anywhere near what the leader wanted. So it's up to the, with the lafa leadership, when you've got limited evaluation, it means that it's up to the team members to self evaluate their own work and make adjustments accordingly.

So you need an experienced team, somebody who knows what they're doing when you've got or knows what's expected when you've got a lair. . It can. As you can imagine, it can result in lack of accountability and may prevent team members from reaching their full potential. Aire leadership is a type of leadership style where the leader takes hands off and allows their, gives their team members high degrees of autonomy in decision making and problems solving.

It can be effective in certain situations, but it's not appropriate for all circumstances. . Okay, so what, when is Lassez fear effective? It can be effective when you've got an already highly skilled and self-motivated team. When the team is competent and knows what they're doing, and those teams, they probably don't want or need, they're head vet or nurse.

Nurse micromanaging their work because that may be how they see. When they're competent already. When you've got a competent and skilled team of vets or nurses, a laissez-faire leadership style can allow them to work more independently and creatively, and thus lead to better results. It will also work when the leader is not a subject matter.

It's unlikely to happen in a vet clinic, but in situations where the team leader doesn't have the technical expertise to lead the team effectively, it may be better to take a hands off approach and allow the team members to take the lead. It can also work when the team is working on a creative project.

One that requires innovation. A laissez-faire leadership style can allow for team members to explore new ideas and experiment without feeling constrained by the leader's expectations. And this is the case I mentioned earlier where a head nurse or a lead vet invites their team members to come up with ways for their team to reduce waste, say, for example, or to find a way to become more sustainable in the next.

A aire leader who steps back and lets their team come up with ideas and solutions will end up with more innovative ideas being given to them than one who needs to maintain control over everything. . It's important to note that while laissez fair leadership can be effective in some situations, it's not appropriate in situations where teams need guidance structure or clear direction.

So for example, where you've got a new grad or a a group of new grads in one team at your clinic, having a EZ Fair leader probably would not be good for.  in these clinics, they would need more directive and coaching leadership styles for the new grads to reach their full potential. Additionally, laissez fair leadership can lead to lack of accountability and communication.

You can see how right, if they're stepping right back, and that can internally to poor team performance if it's not managed. . So how do you recognize them? Well, Lez fair leaders are hands off. They delegate tasks without providing clear guidance, and they. I'm minimally involved in decision making. They also provide very limited feedback and evaluation.

They won't know where they're going or what they're meant to be achieving. And remember, this is a 1 0 1. Those are three of 10 leadership styles that we are gonna be covering or giving you a 1 0 1 guide so that you can re. The different leadership styles at your clinic. I hope you've found this interesting and helpful.

Remember, if you would like some training or input on how to maximize your recruitment dollars. Your advertising dollars, please get in touch because that is something we can help you with. If you enjoyed this podcast, please hit that follow button. It's free and give it please a star five star review wherever you are listening to right now.

Why? Because it makes a huge difference to helping the search algorithms serve it up for others to listen to. Thank you. This is Julie South thanking you for spending the last half an hour or so of your life with me. I do appreciate it. I'm signing off and I'm inviting you to go out there and be the most pen tapulous version of you.

You can be.

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