Different situations require different leaders. Whatever the situation, a leader will know how to meet the needs of others. A baseball captain is well prepared to lead a group of baseball players, but will not be able to lead a group of soldiers into combat because different situations require different leadership traits. In order to be a great leader, the leader must recognize what and who he is as a leader. Additionally, a leader must recognize what style of leader he or she is. Understand leadership styles; we examine Lewin's leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic or laissez-faire and develop and effectively use good leadership skills in order to improve as a great leader. So, understanding leadership styles and knowing how to use these good leadership skills effectively are necessary steps to becoming a great leader. When it comes to leadership, there are 3 different styles that a leader can fall into: authoritarian, democratic or lassiez-faire according to Lewin's leadership style. For a leader to improve, the first thing to do is to recognize the leadership style he fits into and what its advantages and disadvantages are. We first look at the term authoritarian, it is defined as “authoritarian leaders assume positions of intellectual and behavioral superiority in groups” (Beebe & Masterson p.215). This means that an authoritarian leader is a dictator; this leader will dictate the policy, procedure, objectives and will have full powers. An advantage of being an authoritative leader is that there will be a clearly defined leader, the leader will keep the group on task and primarily help the group accomplish the task at hand. However, the downside of being an authoritarian leader is that group members may not have an even...... middle of paper ...... being a normal leader versus a great leader, in Overall, the leader will be prepared in any situation and will be able to lead any group at any time. Works Cited Beebe, Steven A. and John T. Masterson. (2009) Communicating in small groups: principles and practices. 10th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, (pp. 215, 217) Lewin, K., Lippit, R., and White, R.K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301 Myatt, Mike. (2012. February 22). 5 keys to managing conflict in the workplace. Retrieved April 22, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/02/22/5-keys-to-dealing-with-workplace-conflictSimonton, Ben. (2012). Your most important leadership skill: listening. Retrieved April 22, 2014 from http://www.bensimonton.com/most-important-leadership-skill-listening.html