Affiliative Leadership Style - Create harmony and team commitment

Key Takeaways

welcome to this video that will teach you about the affiliate of leadership style one of the six styles based on emotional intelligence defined by daniel goleman you will learn what affiliative leadership is and how to use it you will also learn of the advantages and disadvantages of this style in the end this knowledge will help you become a better leader please like and subscribe to our channel an affiliate of leaders mantra is simple let harmony reign affiliative leaders adopt a people-first approach and attempt to create and sustain a peaceful environment at work i have seen some good affiliative leaders in my leadership career just like i've seen some who have completely lacked those skills on the surface the affiliative leadership style may seem ideal since it focuses on a team's emotional needs however there are some challenges associated with making this modern leadership style work effectively let's start with a quick and brief explanation of the concept what is affiliative leadership affiliative leadership is completely focused on the people and relationships in an organization the leader's primary task is to ensure harmony and friendship in the workplace this leads to happy employees but can at the same time lead to poor performance daniel goleman is credited with conceptualizing affiliate of leadership his research revealed that an affiliative leader focuses on resolving team conflict so that all team members feel positively connected to each other team tensions often prevent organizations from achieving their goals affiliative leaders attempt to solve these problems by strengthening relationships and connecting with each team member on an emotional level affiliative leadership can be very helpful when a team is in deep crisis or in turmoil furthermore when shaping a new team from scratch affiliate of leadership is extra beneficial since it creates trust and a sense of belonging that can weld the team members together you need to be careful with this leadership style though since it can go too far a leader that becomes friends with his or her team and prioritizes harmony above reaching business targets can become a long-term performance problem did you ever work with a boss who became too much of a friend with a team please tell us by commenting on this video what are the elements of affiliative leadership strong people focus people are the number one priority in affiliate of leadership both the group the individual and the emotions of the individuals are valued strong emotional ties and loyalty between the team members can create opportunities for great performance a more personal approach is also visible in how rewards and recognition are handled affiliative leaders are much more likely to spend time with their employees to celebrate a job well done such occasions can be team dinners department luncheons or similar a strong moral compass all leaders are expected to have strong moral values however morals and values are even more central for the affiliate of leader affiliative leaders model moral behavior and expect those they work with to do the same this heavy focus on morality also helps them exhibit empathy towards their teams good communication affiliative leaders use positive communication to improve team morale and increase the chances of success this doesn't mean that the leader is a pushover instead the affiliate of leader can effectively encourage an employee to rethink his or her behavior through positive communication flexibility thanks to the high level of trust and communication affiliative leadership normally brings a large amount of flexibility the climate and harmony require very little in terms of rules this flexibility also means that affiliative teams are more open to change and can handle changing circumstances better than many other teams what are the pros and cons of affiliate of leadership like all leadership styles this style also comes with pros and cons being aware of them makes it easier for you to play on the strengths and mitigate the drawbacks the advantages of affiliate of leadership are centered on people and their well-being one positively communicated feedback helps boost staff morale affiliative leaders don't dwell on the shortcomings of a team instead they offer positive yet constructive feedback to their direct reports they also recognize team members for the contributions they make to the team no matter how small 2. interpersonal conflict is swiftly addressed affiliative leaders try very hard to create a harmonious environment therefore they tend to have a knack for quickly spotting conflict and doing whatever they can to resolve it these leaders don't wait until conflicts become big issues that threaten the team's success 3. employees feel like the leader cares about their well-being need some time to attend your child sports event no problem want to be rewarded for effectively completing your routine tasks the affiliate of leader will make that happen 4. employees experience less stress and higher autonomy the caring environment where everybody's emotions are accounted for results in less stress the high emotional focus means people will not be pushed as hard it's as simple as that having a trusting and accepting team also means it is easier to ask for help when needed 5. quicker emotional recovery from difficult incidents a business crisis or personal problem can take an emotional toll on employees the encouraging presence of an affiliate of leader helps the team better handle the crisis emotionally since the team can handle the emotional implications of a situation better they can get back to normal operations quicker 6. teams are tightly knit affiliative leaders do well at building a sense of camaraderie and collaboration an affiliative leader's team is almost like family everyone feels valued and are therefore more likely to feel empowered to help the team work together before we get to the disadvantages please like and subscribe the weaknesses of affiliate of leadership are concentrated on low performance losing sight of purpose and issues with conflict resolution one underperformance tends to be overlooked the spirit of camaraderie and positive feedback can work against an affiliative leader employees should feel good and always experience positive energy in the workplace therefore an affiliative leader will avoid conflict with employees by overlooking performance issues to make things worse employees carefully observe a leader's actions if a leader begins to ignore poor performance the rest of the team may believe that this is acceptable this can lower performance in the entire team 2. avoiding constructive criticism there are times when employees need constructive feedback to help them perform more effectively an of leader is reluctant to give feedback that can appear negative 3. the overall goal may be lost affiliate of leaders focus primarily on building harmonious relationships within the organization too narrow-minded focus inevitably means that the overall needs and goals of the organization are pushed aside therefore affiliative leaders need to strike a delicate balance between a harmonious workplace and ensuring that organizational goals are met 4. the leader avoids uncomfortable situations affiliative leaders like to feel happy and positive any negative energy is avoided therefore the leader may wait for a difficult situation or conflict to disappear on its own 5. unrealistic emotional dependency employees begin to depend on the affiliative leader to resolve all interpersonal matters therefore they don't develop their own sense of emotional intelligence and capabilities if the leader leaves the organization things can rapidly fall apart due to this emotional dependency did you ever witness the adverse effects of too much affiliative leadership please share in the comment section how can you be an effective affiliative leader each of the six leadership styles in the goldman framework has its place the whole concept builds on switching styles depending on the circumstances and not let a single style dominate it is crucial that you watch our video on the six leadership styles and learn the entire framework and not solely depend on the affiliative style there's a link by the end of this video here are some tips for reducing example side effects of affiliative leadership give constructive criticism it's important to acknowledge when an employee is underperforming and provide the constructive feedback necessary make sure you do this even if it feels uncomfortable encourage all employees to deal with conflicts properly conflict resolution shouldn't rest solely on the affiliate of leaders shoulders if all team members try to deal with their conflicts on their own and seek intervention from the leader only on rare occasions the organization will function more efficiently confront challenges despite how difficult they may seem all leaders are confronted with difficult challenges don't push them aside but rather stay on top of them even if this makes you uncomfortable track employee performance and execute appropriate interventions poor performance shouldn't be allowed to slip through the cracks this does not mean you should turn to micromanagement set up recurring performance evaluations and work on improvements as required turn to other leadership styles to realize the above pace setting coaching and commanding leadership are some of the styles that leap to mind how to get more affiliative with your team here are five tips on easy and simple things that you can do to improve your affiliated skills and get closer to your team before we start please like this video and subscribe to our channel remember birthdays put everyone's birthday in your calendar and when a birthday is up call and congratulate this will show people that you care ask people how they are doing and really really make sure you are listening to the answer if something big is going on remember to follow up and ask them again about this the next time you talk start team meetings occasionally by asking people what is going on in their lives this does not take long time at all it relaxes the mood before the meeting and keeps the entire team up to date allowing them to grow closer together at the same time ask about their families if you have trouble remembering the details make notes bring it up later as in how is your son and daughter doing this shows that you recall and know about the kids watch the body language of your team members if you see that people tense up or look beaten down ask them how they are doing if you watch people and their changes in posture and facial expressions you can spot conflict brewing beneath the surface and understand their general mood better the most important tip of all genuinely care about your people do you have any tips on how to be affiliative with your team please share in the comments for additional information and sources please refer to the article on our website there's a link available in the video description please make sure to watch the video on the six leadership styles by daniel goleman it is by far the best and most useful leadership styles framework i have ever used in my career as a senior leader it has helped me to reach new levels as a leader and to grow my team into beating previous performance records you can use it to become a better leader too there is a lot more information on how to do this available on our website again refer to the link in the description please like and subscribe it sure would be appreciated thank you for watching have a nice day this video was brought to you by leadershipahoy.com