“Traditional leadership methods and styles must change to adapt to the changing environment” (Sims, 2002, p.242). Sims (2002) argues that organizations can ensure their success by developing individuals for leadership positions as managers and managers. There is a perception that leadership is a level above management. McConnell (2006) states that there are differences between leading and managing. In short, “people obey managers because they have to or because they expect them to; people follow leaders because they want to” (McConnell, 2006, p. 147). Therefore, leadership can be defined as “the act of influencing others to work toward a goal” (Bauer & Erdogen, 2009, p. 285) and can be considered “more of an art than a science” ( McConnell, 2006, p.147). In healthcare organizations, leaders exist at all levels. In the imaging department, leaders are directors, supervisors and team leaders. There are various theories about leadership styles, McConnell (2006) states that the three basic leadership styles are laissez-faire, participative (democratic), and authoritarian (autocratic). He argues that few leaders have just one leadership style. Sims (2002) states that factors such as the leader's experience, training, professional competence, technical competence and philosophy regarding human nature would affect his or her leadership style. However, he believes that leadership styles should be flexible and adaptable to various situations. Imaging departments exist in dynamic market environments and many factors influence the leadership styles used by imaging department managers. Ismail, Zainuddin, and Ibrahim (2010) argue that participative (democratic) leadership and consultative leadership are the leadership styles that seem to be implemented in these departments and ment...... middle of paper..... . styles suit their departments and that they communicate effectively with their employees. Works cited by Bauer. T and Erdrogen.B (2009). Organizational behavior. Nyjack, NJ: Flat World Knowledge Inc. Madlock, P.E. (2008). The link between leadership style, communicator skill and employee satisfaction. Journal of Business Communication, 45(1), 61-78. Taken from EBSCOhost. McConnell, C, R. (2006). Umiker Management Skills for the New Healthcare Supervisor (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers Sims, RR (2002). Managing organizational behavior. Greenwood Publishing Group. Taken from EBSCOhost. Ismail, A., Zainuddin, N. and Ibrahim, Z. (2010). Linking participative and consultative leadership styles to organizational commitment as an antecedent of job satisfaction. UNITAR Electronic Journal, 6(1), 11-26. Taken from EBSCOhost.