Define leadership style and explain why it is important to for health care leaders to understand their leadership style.

Leadership style is the way in which leaders use their power and authority to influence others and guide them towards the achievement of goals (Molander & Lindmark, 2017). It is a combination of two main components: a leader’s personal traits, such as communication skills and vision; and the strategies they employ to interact with their followers (Nayab, 2016). Leadership styles can be divided into various categories including authoritarian, democratic, transformational, situational etc. (Gill & Easthope 2014).