Who Make The BEST Leaders?
Aug 24, 2023
Well, I guess you know that the answer to this question is not going to be a simple one. So, let's start with the different leadership styles. There are numerous different leadership styles and different philosophies on how many etc. Today, for this purpose I’m just going to keep it simple and look at 6 main leadership styles, unpack those with a brief description and then look at which is the “best”.
Autocratic Leadership - this is a direct, authoritative and controlling style which is goal oriented and self driven. It is most useful when employees need closer supervision - ie new staff or new process. Can however be demotivating for a team if it is a leader's only style.
Visionary Leadership - Engages staff to work towards a vision set-out by the leader. This leader is self confident, loves to brainstorm & create new directions. This style is good when team productivity falls. However it can fail to persuade more experienced staff who are set in their ways.
Affiliative Leadership - This style leads through relationships. It is team and people focused and aims to enhance employee trust & connection. This style requires advanced people skills to do it well. If not done well, this leader avoids difficult conversations. Done right and combined with Visionary Leadership it is a great combination of styles.
Democratic Leadership - This leadership expects the team to contribute to ideas. It promotes team involvement & listening to others and encourages team cooperation. The team can feel very valued with this style. Done poorly it consists of lots of listening and little action. It is the least aggressive leadership approach.
Pace Setting Leadership - Think of an athlete! This style expects high performance. It is difficult to implement on a long term basis but can be really effective for short term goals. It sets exciting challenges, clear goals, and encourages positive thinkers. It can come across controlling & breaking down confidence if not done well.
Coaching Leadership - This style works well as a long term approach. It focuses on developing each team member's skill set. Lots of positive reinforcement. Done well staff feel valued and that their career goals are respected. Done poorly, this style can be seen as micromanaging.
So, this should give you some understanding of different leadership styles. I’ve given you the good traits and what can happen if not done well - you see there is always a flip side to each style. It is likely this has got you thinking about people that you know that exhibit certain styles. Of course, you will also be thinking - what style am I? And, you’ll be likely saying - I think I'm a mix of a few different types! And the answer is probably - YES you are!
You see, the best leaders are ADAPTABLE! That means they will be able to look at a situation or a person and be able to adapt between the styles to achieve the best outcome. Being a great leader is not necessarily something that is innate (for some I’d argue it comes to them more naturally than others), you can learn the skill and practice and you definitely can become better over time - particularly if you are good at reflecting on situations and learning from past mistakes of others and yourself. I guess the place to start when looking to improve your leadership is to understand the different styles and be able to stand back in each situation and actually plan how you want to respond, or how you want to do things with your team. Self awareness is really the key in my opinion!
If you are interested in learning more about how to become a strong and effective leader we’d welcome you to check out our Business Resources section on our website which has some simple tools to help you on the journey, as well as our 8 Week Leadership & Culture Bootcamp - links to find out more on both are below.
8 Week Leadership & Culture Bootcamp information and waitlist
