Participative leadership styles is focused on a democratic theory. The ability to involve team
members in the decision making process. Team members will feel included, engaged and
motivated to contribute. This type of leader will normally have the last word in the decision-
making processes. However, if there are disagreements within a group, it can be a time-
consuming process to reach a consensus. So they are focused on the entirety of the group,
yet in the end make the final decision. Interestingly, I have worked for both men and women
leaders; and they have rotated the different types of leadership styles. Some women are
dictator-like and don’t like other women in similar roles, so talk down to them. Some
women build other women up. This is the same for men. There have been authoritative men,
and men leading through group discussion and respectfully communicating. It comes down
to the person, and what their personal style is.The person in my career I had most difficulty
with was a female manager. She didn’t like my management style, which is very involved
and understanding of others. She wanted me to become an authoritative disrespectful in
management. I was unwilling to change who I was to be a “dark” person. Ultimately, it
caused me so much stress over a year and a half that I got very sick. It was “the perfect
storm.” Due to her personality, she doesn’t have a close group of friends nor co-workers.
Looking back, maybe that is her personality, and doesn’t mind being on the dark side. In the
end, I am very happy with where I am today. In a management role that I can be myself, and
support a good cause. I feel that compassion, respect, humility, and optimism are very
valuable traits to have as a leader. I see a good leader as someone that is humble and willing
to take accountability for their mistakes rather than blame others. I think a good leader is
honest and open with good communication skills.I was working at a technology retailer, and
I started with a male manager and then a female manager took his place when he left the
company. I noticed that my job satisfaction increased once the male manager left. I was
more at ease because the female leader was more compassionate. My sales actually
increased because I felt I had more support rather than someone just breathing down my
back for results. I had a supervisor that I would describe as narcissistic. She did everything
she could to gain personal power and acted like she was superior to everyone. Yes, she was
in a position of authority, but she did not treat others with respect. She also displayed
Machiavellianism because she was manipulative and encouraged her subordinates to break
policy to get faster results. Her behavior hindered her success because she lost the respect of
her team after years of manipulation. I had a supervisor during a three year period that
initially just would drive me crazy. We were constantly clashing and having issues working
together to the point that others would set up a mediation to try to ease the situation. One
day, while having one of these meetings, I noticed that throughout all of the meetings he
always kept his calm and that I would be the one showing all the signs of aggression
Eventually I realized that he wasn't the problem, I was. Naturally, I corrected my mannerism
in his presence from then on. He became one of my closest friends and my mentor. This was
all due to his experience with dealing with employees like myself. He knew that a logical
person would eventually pay attention to the underlining issues and make the necessary self
corrections. I went on to learn the majority of my leadership style from him. Someone I a
would consider a great leader would be Abraham Lincoln. He was determined, persistent,
courageous, and had strong beliefs. Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation
which ended slavery in the US. After reflecting on the traits and leadership styles of a male
and female leader there are some differences between their approaches to leadership.
Females in my opinion are very task oriented and focus thoroughly on completing a task. I
also believe their communication sometimes can be indirect. Males in my opinion are a bit
more laid back. I believe they have a more direct way of communicating as well. A time I
saw someone display behaviors that would be consistent with the "dark side" traits such as
narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy would be at one of my previous jobs. At that
company I dealt with management being manipulative and very selfish. Those are dark traits
that are bad for companies and ideally can cause you to lose great employees. It can hinder
ones success because nobody will want to work with you if you are displaying dark traits.
There are a lot of great leaders throughout the world. But I want to focus in the sports area.
One of the biggest names in football if not the biggest, I think is a great leader. His name is
Tom Brady. When the other players get to play with such a great QB I feel like it brings the
best out of them. He knows what to do in almost every situation and is very vocal and let's
every one know what they need to do. I think one of the biggest attributes he has is
determination. It doesn't matter how bad the game is going, he is going to give it his all
every single drive. He isn't only a great quarterback and leader on the field, he is also a great
man off the field. He has donated tons of money to help provide meals for people in need
due to Covid and several other things. When it comes to male and female "leaders" I have
worked with I think the men are so much more relaxed. I feel like when women get that
manager position they are so worried about holding that standard they seem to be too uptight
and kind of rude. She was definitely a narcissist and it ruined peoples days and ended up
making a lot of people hate their job or just ended up quitting. I feel like America needs to
fix the whole standard of women in leadership because I think when they get that position it
kind of stresses them out. I would consider Nelson Mandela as a good leader. His need for
peace, forgiveness, and patience shows great leadership. He led the fight against apartheid in
South Africa, and he never gave up despite being incarcerated for 27 years. He inspired
others by acting on his beliefs for the betterment of the people.
I have worked for a male supervisor who was very authoritative. He would hold meetings
and ask for opinions and suggestions, but at the end, what he wanted to happen is how it
went. His final decisions were always the answer to any issues that happened on the job. On
the other hand, he was very good giving feedback after his constructive criticism. He would
always provide solutions that actually worked.I, and some of my coworkers, considered a
woman supervisor I worked for in the past as a narcissist. She wanted control in everything
and would micromanage frequently. Any results or improvements made, she always referred
to herself for making it happen instead of praising the team as a whole. She wasn't
supportive and negative at many times. Because of her behavior, many employees, like
myself, left that job and started working for a company where they felt more appreciated.
One person I consider a significant leader is Nelson Mandela. I see some character traits in
him that make him splendid determined, intelligent, kind, and thoughtful. I am lucky enough
to have witnessed great female and male leaders who exhibit the same traits. However, I find
that male leaders tend to be more confident and bold in their management skills.
Machiavellians are sly, deceptive, distrusting, and manipulative. I have experienced this
manager when I was in working in fast food and the manager ould show favoritism to those
who went out their way to stroke their ego and become their friends. Someone that I
consider or view as a great leader and have the assess the traits and interpersonal attributes
that cause me to view him as a great leader that is in the public eye would be Muhammad
Ali. Some people would not think Muhammad Ali to be a great leader, but he has many of
the traits and interpersonal attributes that are necessary for effective leadership. He is
intelligent, articulate, and charismatic that made him a great leader. Not only was he a great
boxer, but he had a successful career that gave him a unique platform to be an ambassador,
a champion of social causes and a role model: one of the greatest characteristics of a leader.
He stood by his values and believed in his abilities. Muhammad Ali had leadership qualities
that he fought for us all with his inclination, service, character, and his unrelenting desire to
fight for the principles of peace, equality, freedom, and self-determination. Muhammad Ali
fought for us all. This is what made him an authentic, purpose-driven leader. He had
changed the world and he dedicated his entire life or years to philanthropy and
humanitarianism, pursuits that took him all around the world to devote justice for numerous
causes and goodwill missions.Reflecting on the traits and leadership style of a male leader
and those of a female leader with whom I had worked for and describing any key differences
between their approaches to leadership and their male and female counterparts I would say
that first thing is having been in the military and having both male and female leadership
from the top to the bottom of the leadership chain as supervisor or commanders. Well, in my
opinion the female leadership traits and leadership style tend to be a little more approachable
an tend to have a more cooperative, democratic participatory style of leading and the male
leadership style tend to have a more aggressive, directive, type or a more take command and
control, task-oriented style of leadership. So, in retrospect there are many qualities
associated in being an effected leader for both men and woman that can make for an
effective leader and I really do not see no significant gender differences in leadership and
the individual traits or skills that they possess for the job and qualities that will make that
person an excellent leader, it is just depending on that person career goals, beliefs and
personal strengths.Describing the time, I saw someone display behaviors that would be
consistent with the “dark side” traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and/or psychopathy
would be the time I was in the military overseas in Germany at a joint command with
Germany. The one commander or general for Germany that was under our command but
thought he oversaw us and showed the traits of the dark side. These negative traits had a
negative effect on the workplace or command and caused serious damage to the command
international leadership cooperation between the two countries and had to be addressed
actively and vigorously, to the extent did those traits hinder the person’s career success in
the organizations and had to be reassigned somewhere else for the betterment of not only the
command but for the Germany general himself. our society needs business laws to protect
employees from problem leaders. Laws like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attempt to
legislate ethical behavior in large organizations by instituting transparency as well as checks
and balances. This law was designed to prevent recurrence of Enron-like events. However,
greedy managers may find other ways to abuse subordinates and defraud the public. I am
not sure that we can legislate ethical leadership behavior. Especially given the current
corruption on both "sides of the aisle." Those who are elected into office no longer have the
best interest of the American people in their minds, if they ever did in the first place. And
considering they're the ones in charge of legislation, it's hard to imagine them passing or
following any legislation that limits themselves. I have noticed that with age seems to come
more patience also. I have noticed that the older more experienced employees at work are
better at handling the more complicated issues. I do not think this is due to more expertise in
their areas but more credited to them taking their time and seeing the whole problem first
instead of jumping right into it. Thank you for your post Keron it is an eye opener for me to
step back and think first before over reacting. I think the overall experience of this class is
that female managers are more compassionate and offer a greater sense of support. I wonder
what we can do in our work culture to change that? Is it that we associate great males with
more authoritarian-type roles?. I also have endured the advantages of having both male and
female bosses and I can see the female leaders being more lenient towards personal issues
and not necessarily showing forgiveness, but having a sense of emotional connection
towards the employee that they are dealing with. On the flip side of that coin, I have also
dealt with female bosses that have seem to not even like themselves. I think this can fall
equal on both sides. Toxic leadership still exists on both ends of the spectrum. However, I
don't agree with the comparison of the greats of the past as examples for this assignment for
only one reason. I would never choose any of them because I never knew them. I would
rather cast judgement of this type on the individuals that I am aware of and are fully capable
of completing all tasks at hand in a respectable manner.
