Lewin’s Leadership Styles

Posted: May 5th, 2020

Instructions Directions: For this assignment, you are to fully answer the following questions and support your answers with resources. Be sure to look at the rubric to see how to earn maximum points.
• After reading “Lewin’s Leadership Styles”, discuss which type of leader you think that you are according to the article. • Discuss five ways that your identified leadership style would benefit prison employees and prisoners if you were the head of the facility. • Discuss five ways that your identified leadership style could be a detriment to prison employees and prisoners if you were the head of the facility. • Pretend that you are the head of a prison facility. Develop a brief strategic plan taking into consideration your leadership style and weeks 1 and 2 readings. Discuss how this plan will enable you to make effective decisions for the facility, keeping in mind your leadership style and the importance of good management.
Format Requirements
• Paper must be double spaced, 11 or 12 pt font and 1″ margins all around. • All APA 7th edition format requirements must be followed (cover page, in text citations, reference page). Refer to APA/UMGC – learning resources found in the content page of this course. • You must have resources to support your thoughts/opinions/information. These must be cited both in text as well as at the end of the document. Your paper should not contain direct quotes, sourced material must be paraphrased.
Due Date
Mar 28, 2023 11:59 PM
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Lewin’s Leadership Styles are based on Kurt Lewin’s work, a psychologist known as the father of social psychology. According to Lewin, there are three leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. The authoritarian leader is an individual who makes all the decisions and tells their subordinates what to do without considering their opinions. The democratic leader involves their subordinates in the decision-making process and seeks their input. The laissez-faire leader lets their subordinates do what they want, without providing guidance or direction.

If you were a democratic leader, you would involve your subordinates in the decision-making process, seeking their input, and valuing their opinions. This leadership style would benefit prison employees and prisoners in the following ways:

Employee Satisfaction: Employees are more likely to feel valued and appreciated when they are involved in the decision-making process. This involvement leads to greater job satisfaction and motivation to work harder to achieve the goals of the organization.

Increased Creativity: By seeking input from your subordinates, you open up the possibility for new ideas and ways of doing things. This increases creativity and innovation within the organization, leading to improved services for prisoners.

Improved Communication: A democratic leader fosters open communication and encourages employees to share their ideas and concerns. This leads to improved communication among staff, which is essential in a prison environment.

Higher Quality Decisions: By involving your subordinates in the decision-making process, you gain a broader perspective and more information to make better decisions. This approach can lead to more well-thought-out decisions and, ultimately, better outcomes for both employees and prisoners.

Better Relationships: By valuing your employees’ opinions and input, you create a positive work environment where employees feel respected and appreciated. This type of work environment leads to better relationships among staff, which can ultimately benefit prisoners as well.

However, there are also drawbacks to the democratic leadership style. Some of these include:

Time-Consuming: Involving subordinates in the decision-making process can take time, which could slow down the decision-making process.

Difficulty in Implementation: Implementing decisions made by a group of people can be difficult and lead to resistance from those who were not involved in the decision-making process.

Unclear Accountability: When decisions are made by a group of people, it can be unclear who is accountable for the outcome of those decisions.

Difficult in Emergencies: In an emergency, a democratic leader may not have time to involve everyone in the decision-making process.

Conflict: If disagreements arise during the decision-making process, it can lead to conflict among staff, which can be detrimental to both employees and prisoners.

If I were the head of a prison facility, and my leadership style was democratic, my strategic plan would involve the following:

Develop a clear vision and mission statement for the facility that involves all staff, emphasizing our commitment to creating a safe and secure environment for prisoners, while also valuing the well-being and satisfaction of our employees.

Create a culture of open communication by establishing regular staff meetings and open-door policies that encourage employees to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback.

Establish a system of ongoing training and professional development to improve employees’ skills and knowledge and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Involve staff in the development and implementation of policies and procedures, seeking their input and feedback to ensure that policies are practical and effective.

Regularly review and evaluate