What style of leadership is characterized by minimal supervision and allows employees significant decision-making freedom?

The style of leadership characterized by minimal supervision and significant decision-making freedom for employees is free-rein leadership. This type of leadership, also known as laissez-faire leadership, emphasizes a hands-off approach where leaders provide support and resources but allow their team members the autonomy to make choices and manage their own work.

Free-rein leadership is particularly effective in creative environments or when working with highly skilled individuals who are capable of self-direction. It fosters an atmosphere of trust and encourages innovation since employees feel empowered and responsible for their outcomes. Leaders in this style focus on establishing clear goals and expectations while stepping back to let their teams operate freely.

Other leadership styles mentioned differ in their approaches: autocratic leadership involves strict control with little input from employees, transformational leadership focuses on inspiring and motivating teams towards a shared vision, and transactional leadership emphasizes rewards and punishments based on performance. Each of these contrasts with the freedom and minimal oversight associated with free-rein leadership, which is why free-rein is the correct answer in this context.