Question

1. Affiliation was first described by David Coleman in 2002 as one of his six Leadership styles. You are a tutor to a class of 54 students of Leadership and Management and required to:

1. Describe an Affiliative Leader
2. Discuss any,

(i) three advantages  of Affiliation Leadership Style   

(ii) three disadvantages of Affiliation Leadership Style                 

NB: Instructions to the Assignment,

Elaborate your points clearly; all quoted facts must be referenced using APA style.

Answer 1

a. To affiliate means to bring into close connection (or association). An affiliative leader is the one who works by giving importance to all members of the organization and motivates them with recognition and praise. This person creates a positive relationship with the employees of the organization. This is because employees feel motivated and encouraged, which helps them in delivering better and better results. The qualities of a good affiliative leaders are as follows :

· They have inherent reciprocity.

· They are naturally empathetic.

· They are loyal and harmonize with others.

· They present positive and constructive criticism to their employees.

· They are very good at fixing things up.

· They help the employees in professional as well as personal development.

b. (i) Three advantages of Affiliation Leadership Style are :

1. Puts members at the core of business success : This type of leadership puts the employees at the heart of the business operations and success. People come first, before and above anyone else. The rewards of the business are shared with the people.

2. Motivates and nurtures people on a continuous basis : This type of leadership motivates people on a continuous basis and helps them in performing better than before. The positivity in the organization assures people of their efforts being applauded and rewarded.

3. Creates emotional bond and feeling of mutual connection : This leadership strives to achieve an emotional bond among employer and employees. Moreover, there is a constant flow of empathy which creates a mutual connection between various employees as well as employees and employer.

(ii) Three disadvantages of Affiliation Leadership Style are :

1. Poor performing employees may go unchecked : This type of leadership puts people first and sometimes, neglect and avoid the poor performing employees. On top of that, these employees are motivated to do their work as they are doing because they are sure of the rewards they would get.

2. Ineffective during complex times : When things become complex and there is stress within the organization, this type of leadership may become ineffective as well as inefficient. Excess of positive encouragement may bring down the performance of all the members as a whole team.

3. Difficulty in obtaining honest feedback : As the leader co-operates with the employees and to some extent, cover the mistakes of the employees and gives them undue positive encouragement, it can be difficult in obtaining an honest feedback from employees. Moreover, employees would speak high of their leader as they are sure to get rewards, irrespective of their performance standards.