For this assignment I will write a report describing and evaluating my leadership and management style and link them to relevant theory. To allow me to do this I will carry out research on leadership styles and different leadership theories. Leadership Styles The leadership styles I researched were the three main types: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire. Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed his framework of leadership styles in 1930. Reading about his leadership styles. Mental Tools (2014) I learned that an autocratic leader will make decisions without consulting their team and would show a sense of control by defining the means of how to achieve goals. Democratic leaders will include their team members in the decision-making process and gather a vote before making a final decision. The laissez-faire approach gives independence and choice to team members, but rarely contributes to output methods unless support and advice is required. I assume that because he is an autocratic leader, his team members feel undervalued and that their opinions and ideas are unnecessary. The team member working under an autocratic leader would lack trust and find it more difficult to progress and make changes throughout their working career. If you were a democratic leader, your team would feel very included in the day-to-day running of the workplace and would feel confident making suggestions for change, you would encourage creative thinking, and team members would have high job satisfaction. Working under a laissez-faire leader, the team would feel trusted to make decisions and complete tasks independently without consulting others or getting approval. While this form of leadership would lead to a high...... half of the paper......yneeds.htm [Accessed: 6 April 2014].Maslow, A. (2014) Hierarchy of needs motivational model Abraham Maslow. [Online]. Available at: http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm [Accessed: 6 April 2014].Small business (2014) The Hierarchy of Needs for Employees. [Online]. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/hierarchy-needs-employees-20121.html [Accessed: 6 April 2014].EYFS (2012) Statutory framework for the early years foundation phase. [Online]. Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/EYFS%20Statutory%20Framework.pdf [Accessed: 6 April 2014]. Veale. F (2013) Early Years for Levels 4 & 5 and the Foundation Degree [paperback]Belbin (2012). Roles of the Belbin team. [Online]. Available at:http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8 [Accessed: 7 April 2014].