1. Introduction

Leadership is one of key factors that has the potential to largely affect an organization’s
performance. I discuss the impact of different leadership styles on organizational performance. The
idea is motivated by Hasan et al. (2018) who show that some leadership styles can enhance the
capability and ability of the workers and their organizational performance.

2. Literature review

As we know, the role of leadership in an organization is crucial in determining and establishing
objectives, policies and designing strategies and methods for achieving the organizational goals
effectively and efficiently. In addition, high-quality leadership is a key to achieving the
company's objective and goals and the changes that appear in the external environment. On the other
hand, at this moment, most of the companies are facing trouble related to large labor turnover,
poor financial performance, unethical practices, etc. This sort of problem appears due to the lack
of effectiveness in leadership.

Hasan et al. (2018) explore the relationship between leadership styles and organizational
performance. He focused on the six major leadership styles: transactional leadership,
transformational leadership, democratic leadership, autocratic leadership, bureaucratic leadership,
and charismatic leadership. The author's primary purpose behind choosing these leadership styles is
because these are the most common styles used by companies. The author adopts two approaches to
prove the following research hypothesis: "leadership style dimensions significantly impact
organizational performance." First he uses the quantitative approach, collecting data in a survey
questionnaire. Second he summarizes the evidence from the literature to achieve the research
objectives. He finds that transactional, bureaucratic, and charismatic leadership styles negatively
affected organizational performance while the other three leadership styles (transformational,
democratic, and autocratic) are positively correlated with organizational performance. The author
provides profound insights into the impact of leadership styles on organizational performance and
he shows that organizations use transformational and democratic leadership styles to improve their
organizational performance in the future.

Transformation leadership style and organizational performance

In my opinion the concept of transformational leadership is not clear because the definitions of
four components (Inspirational, Intellectual, Idealized, and Individualized) connected with
transformational leadership overlap. According to Brayman (1993), transformational leadership
appears to be more of a set of personality traits than a set of specific needs. However, when we
look at the specifics and study the main components of the transformational leadership theory, it
is easy to see how the arguments against transformational leadership are eroding. The qualification
of transformational leaders, according to Bass and Avolio (2006) is for those with great
personality qualities and the ability to influence others in exchange for their loyalty. It focuses
on the processes between the leader and the followers.

Charismatic leadership style and organizational performance

The main drawback of this leadership style is that the followers are entirely reliant on the
leader, and if the leader quits the organization, they are left without direction.

Democratic leadership style and organizational performance

From my view, the idea that everyone participating has an equal stake in decision-making and a
shared degree of skill is a significant flaw in democratic leadership. However, on the other hand,
the democratic leadership style can help to improve both organizational performance and efficiency.
Moreover, it can lead to communication failures and uncompleted projects.

Transactional leadership style and organizational performance

As I see it, transactional leadership is only theoretically applicable and practical in specific
organizational contexts. Stability is one of the characteristics that favor the formation of
transactional leadership. Organizations tend to be tightly managed and structured in stable,
predictable contexts. Such businesses favor the development of specific rules and regulations and
the establishment of specific performance evaluation methods and hierarchical distribution.
Transactional leaders may develop and become effective in these situations by focusing on specific
goals, procedures, and performance results.

Bureaucratic leadership style and organizational performance

When it comes to bureaucratic leadership, I believe it is more like talking about computer
programming. A computer follows a protocol to perform anything we ask of it, as a bureaucratic boss
consults the regulations or protocol to determine what must be done and how it should be done.
Bureaucracy prohibits the type of power that is developed by accessing motivational biases among
people. According to Ojukuku et al. (2012), bureaucratic leadership has a detrimental influence on
organizational performance. According to them, bureaucratic leaders are less likely to motivate
workers in their organization to work in the anticipated way, that would enhance the organizational
performance.

Autocratic leadership and organization performance:

In my opinion, autocratic leadership is best suited in some instances of urgency because autocratic
leaders make more snap judgments, which helps mitigate the effects of procrastination. Furthermore,
because autocratic leaders do not solicit input from their followers, they make choices
independently, resulting in speedier results (Harris et al., 2007).

3. Conclusion

In conclusion, my discussion shows that organizational performance is linked to leadership style
and that leadership styles have both a positive and negative influence on performance. It is
critical for a leadership style to provide people with opportunities, a sense of belonging, and the
ability to participate in decision-making. However, the available research has some limitations,
such as using only quantitative data. The research's usefulness has been severely decreased because
of this. Future studies should identify the link between leadership style and organizational
performance combining research methodologies and qualitative methods. To conclude, every leadership
style has a positive and negative influence on organizational performance, but it depends on the
situation and circumstances of the organization.

4. Resources:

Akparep, J. Y., Jengre, E., & Mogre, A. A. (2019). The Influence of Leadership Style on
Organizational Performance at TumaKavi Development Association, Tamale, Northern Region of Ghana.
Open Journal of Leadership, 08(01), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojl.2019.81001

Bass, B.M. and Avolio, B.J. eds., 1994. Improving organizational effectiveness through
transformational leadership. Sage.

Bryman, A. (1993). Charismatic leadership in business organizations: Some neglected issues. The
Leadership Quarterly, 4(3-4), 289–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(93)90036-s

Harris, A., Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., & Hopkins, D. (2007). Distributed leadership and
organizational change: Reviewing the evidence. Journal of Educational Change, 8(4), 337–347.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-007-9048-4

Hasan, E., Khajeh, A., Abu, M., & Asaari, H. (2018). Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational
Performance. Journal of Human Resources Management Research, 2018(2166-0018), 2166–2184.

Ojokuku, R. M., Odetayo, T. A., & Sajuyigbe, A. S. (2012). Impact of Leadership Style on
Organizational Performance: A Case Study of Nigerian Banks. American Journal of Business and
Management, 2(1), 202. https://doi.org/10.11634/216796061706212