Abstract: The research whose results are presented here had the objective of identifying the leadership style adopted by the managers of a language course, in the perception of the managers themselves and their leaders. The theoretical basis was based mainly on Rensis Likert and Patricia Pitcher, leading scholars who propose taxonomies to classify management styles. Based on the classifications proposed by them, a questionnaire was developed, which was applied to employees of the company studied and managers. Another method of data collection used was to conduct an interview with the managing partner. The research also included analysis of internal documents of the organization. The results show that, according to the Likert taxonomy, the employees classify the style of their managers in a position between the consultative and the participatory. The leaders also revealed a perception about their own leadership behavior very close to that which was manifested by the leaders. In the classification proposed by Pitcher, both the workers and the managers expressed the perceived predominance of the style called “artisan”, with some influence of the “artist”. The expression of autocratic Likert (1971) or technocratic Pitcher (1995) styles was not mentioned, which reveals a favorable aspect to the achievement of the strategy adopted in the organization, which seeks to be, as declared by the managing partner, markedly entrepreneurial. However, there were some discrepant points in the perception of the leaders and leaders, who, although they have not manifested themselves in a very significant intensity, can serve as a subsidy for management development actions of the organization.

Key words: leadership; leadership styles; people management

JEL codes: M2