Final answer:
Leaders use different approaches to clarifying direction based on their leadership style, being either instrumental or expressive. Instrumental leaders provide explicit guidance and performance assessments, whereas expressive leaders focus on emotional support and self-awareness. Both styles must be adaptive to suit individual follower needs and contribute to effective leadership.
Step-by-step explanation:
Clarifying direction in a leadership context could incorporate diverse approaches, depending on the leadership style and functions of a leader. An instrumental leader, focused on task completion and goals, might adopt a clarifying direction that includes explicit guidance on what followers should do, control over their behavior, and assessment of their performance.
However, an expressive leader, who prioritizes emotional support and the development of followers, might steer towards clarifying direction by enhancing self-awareness among followers, advising on specific situations, and showing how individual roles contribute to the larger organizational context.
In an environment favoring a democratic leadership style, decision-making and direction may emerge collectively, driven by consensus, while a laissez-faire leader might provide minimal direction, leaving followers to their own devices.