Which leadership style focuses primarily on maintaining the status quo and managing through established procedures?

The leadership style that focuses primarily on maintaining the status quo and managing through established procedures is transactional leadership. This approach emphasizes organization, supervision, and performance, where leaders promote compliance by followers through both rewards and punishments. In transactional leadership, the primary goal is to achieve specific objectives and ensure that established processes are followed, leading to stability within an organization.

Transactional leaders focus on the day-to-day operations and ensure that tasks are completed according to existing guidelines. They prioritize short-term results and often rely on monitoring and managing performance metrics to ensure that standards are met. This leadership style is especially effective in environments where routine, structure, and adherence to procedures are essential for success.

In contrast, transformational leadership aims to inspire and motivate followers to exceed their usual performance and embrace change, driving innovation and improvement. Authoritarian leadership emphasizes strict control and decision-making from the top without much input from subordinates, while servant leadership focuses on serving the needs of others and promoting their growth, often leading to a more collaborative and team-oriented approach.