According to the leadership style self-assessment, I was of a delegative style of leadership. Understanding one’s style of leadership, the different ways in which certain theories align with that style, and the types of work environments and actions that are most conducive to such a style of leadership allows one to become a better leader. As a result of this, an explanation of my leadership style will be provided; this will be followed by an alignment between my leadership style and certain popular leadership and management theories, and followed by an explanation of the most ideal work environment for myself and the three key behaviors that I must demonstrate in order to be a successful leader.

The delegative leadership style, also referred to as the laissez-fair style of leadership is one in which the leader takes on a role of delegation, allowing employees to make the final decisions regarding the best course of action to complete a given task or activity, in spite of the fact that the leader is still responsible, ultimately, for those decisions made and the actions that have been taken (Clark, 2014). Laissez-fair roughly translates to a pattern of “noninterference in the affairs of others” and literally translates to “to let, allow + to do” being used when referring to the second person plural (Clark, 2014, p. 1).

It has been argued that laissez-fair leadership “may be the best or the worst of leadership styles;” it all simply depends on the way that such a leadership style is applied (Goodnight, 2011, p. 820). The application of such a leadership style, in correlation to leadership and management theories, depends on whether the leader applies such a style as either transactional or transformational first, and second, whether or not the leader truly does have a fluctuating style of leadership, situation dependent, as has been theorized previously (Goodnight, 2011). Safety concerns, participation methods, and the totality of the workplace environment are the key factors associated with the successful application of this particular leadership style as it correlates to leadership and management theory (Goodnight, 2011).

In order for a leadership style to be successful within the workplace setting, the appropriate setting must be used. In the utilization of the laissez-faire leadership style, the workplace environment must be one of complete trust on the part of the leader (Clark, 2014). If the leader does not have absolute trust and faith in their employees’ abilities, the application of such a leadership theory may be disastrous as there is no way, in this leadership style, for the leader to take negative action as a result of one of the decisions made by the employees (Clark, 2014; Goodnight, 2011).

The three key behaviors or actions that are necessary in order to successfully implement this particular leadership style are: delegation, confidence, and trust (Clark, 2014). The leader must have trust in their employees, confidence that those employees will make the right decisions in a given situation, and be able to effectively delegate tasks in a manner that serves to affect an efficient and effective workplace.

In working to understand the leadership style that has been identified as my preferred leadership style and in identifying the different reasons for the success or failure of this leadership style, as well as the appropriate behaviors and ideal workplace for the application of such a style, it becomes possible to ensure that I will be a successful leader. Understanding one’s own leadership style and the best means of implementing that style is key to understanding how to be a successful leader. An exploration of these facts has worked to ensure that I will not have issues associated with these different areas.