Transform your Game: The Six Leadership Styles
Is Leadership a fit-for-all cases skill ?
Is leadership teachable? Is there any guide to read it out and get better to practicing leadership? Do I have to be born like a leader?
As, you may already know, in Leadership Lens, we can't resist to the opportunity of sharing brief and bite-size impactful and practical tips and tricks for your daily actions and growth! So, by the time we came up with the idea of this topic, we hit a Jackpot! As, we aim to keep it brief, I am jumping in, join me..
We are exposed to leadership, on a day to day frequency, or maybe I should rephrase by saying, that we are exposed to cases that leadership actions are needed and people with different mentality, called leaders, are supposed to lead those actions. One or the other, leadership happens! But, we have to adopt the lenses to learn filtering out the right information from the vast majority of those we are processing daily!
Leadership has to do with having the desire to lead, in a first place, and then get to know HOW, depending the persistence. Today, we are focusing on the HOW, by getting deeper down to every leadership style feasible and providing you with the full palette of information you will need to get to the next level. For every leadership style we are going to learn ways to recognise them, best use case scenarios, as also, tips & tricks for practicing them by tomorrow!
Although, today is a different day!
Leadership Style & Personality Test
We will do it in reverse, today! Instead of reading the whole article and then get to your Bonus Section, by the end of the article to reclaim your Growth gift by us, as we tend to, I would recommend you to kick off with the Personality test, that is there for you, to explore your unique personality attributes and traits and, right after it, return here to continue your reading with the Six Leadership styles.
Following that way, you will be able to reflect through reading how your personality would match best, with every leadership style and in which cases you could use them to achieve your goals the best way possible!
I choose you: The Six Leadership Styles
Are you having a great team, with bright members to lead? Or may you have to lead bigger initiatives to success? Even, leading only yourself to the next step, needs special attention and self-management tactics. May, leading more stiff and difficult people can be absorbing by its own, what do you think?
Every case, of those would need adjustments on the leadership style you would choose for success.
Despite, what most people believe, leadership is not a fit-for-all skill. That means, that we have to learn how to read the room we are in, effectively, and address, every time, to the right leadership style. Of course, some of those could match our preferences, and will be easier to adopt and act upon them, and that's okay, although, always keep in mind that we are not the centre of everything, and leading has to do with others more, than has to do with ourselves.
So, as a best advice given for this article, return here, by the time, that you will have a similar case to those described below.
Examine similarities, think twice about your actions, and take with you the tips & tricks written for every style, to implement them for your maximum benefit and profit.
#1: Coercive - Commanding
Best use case:
When a crisis hit, and you want to start a turnaround. Or with "problematic" situations or team members.
In a phrase:
" Do what I tell you. "
Keep in mind, this style of leadership could take out the most creative part of your team, a coercive leader is not leaving a lot free space for actions and suggestions, although, that is needed in some cases and comes in contrast with the increase of safety and guidance that this style is providing to the team members. But, keep an eye on lifting motivational factors as the "Yes sir!" days will not last for that much.
Tips
Emotional Intelligence impact:
A Drive to achieve the end goal is there for the team. Also, the initiation of a self-control period for every team member is expected to come.
Leader's approach:
Demands immediate compliance. Micromanagement needs to stay outside of the room, and that will need great handling and maturity to handle.
Overall Culture/team climate impact:
Negative.
Trick
Use this practice to apply it at its best:
Inspire your team
More empathetic approaches could benefit you applying the coercive leadership style without being too harsh. Having an understanding stance and trying to motivate your team members could oppose to the commanding forces of this style. To overcome those, try to ensure that you're listening to them, schedule one-on-one appointments with each one and keep an open and relaxed atmosphere during those, enhancing expressing questions and concerns they might have.
Advice:
Set a positive example:
Become vulnerable in front of them and ask a lot of questions, not to check them, but to help them. Exemplify what you want to see in your team, with your stance.
#2: Authoritative - Visionary
Best use case:
When a new initiative/change needs something as a north star to follow to create momentum. Even more, in case you anticipate that a change needs a bigger driver.
In a phrase:
" Come with me. "
Within this style, charismatic leaders and team members find mutual space to share enjoyable conversations with clarity, about their passions and driving factors. Self-confidence and Emotional Intelligence could be found at their best levels, here.
Tips
Emotional Intelligence impact:
Raised self-confidence. Birth to empathy and more space for people to express openly their ideas and raise transparency. Change Catalyst.
Leader's approach:
Mobilises people toward a vision. Removing obstacles, rather than creating more of them.
Overall Culture/team climate impact:
Most strongly positive.
Trick
Use this practice to apply it at its best:
Be bold
Choosing this leadership style, can be heard fancy and awesome, although, you have to be bold in how you lead, and that's not for everyone. Be bold by creating ambitious goals for the whole team. Don't be afraid to fail sometimes as that's a natural aspect of leadership. Excellence is met during the process, and not by the start of it, as your team start meeting these objectives, confidence levels will hit a record high score.
Advice:
Experiment. Pilot new activities often. A pilot and a test case never hurt anyone.
#3: Pacesetting | The hustler
Best use case:
To get quick results from a highly motivated and competent teams.
In a phrase:
" Do as I do, now. "
Pacesetting leaders manage to achieve high risk goals and thrive through difficult changes, due to their high competent teams and highly motivated team members. Stretching things and people, in general, can raise stress levels really quickly and diminish accountability, so be aware of it.
Tips
Emotional Intelligence impact:
This style create a drive to achieve more and triggers team momentum. Generates initiative as a trait and conscientiousness as an attribute.
Leader's approach:
Sets high standard for performance. Keeps the stakes high through that process.
Overall Culture/team climate impact:
Negative.
Trick
Use this practice to apply it at its best:
Set short-term goals
As, using pacesetting leadership style is directly connected with competency and bigger goals (most of times at least), instead of overwhelming your team with those huge and time-demanding initiatives, try to set several short-term goals and set a crystal clear set of expectations. This, will help you decrease the level of uncertainty and stress, and create momentum through the process. After goal completion, exchange feedback and set up discussions on goal achievement, aiming to recognise team member's talent and contribution to it.
Advice:
Keep in mind to walk a mile in their shoes. Passionate and disciplined leaders tend to thrive using this style, although there is a thin line that they shouldn't cross, as, the could become intimidating and unwillingly pressuring to their team, in case they won't be careful.
#4: Affiliative | The carer
Best use case:
To heal rifts in a team or motivate people during stressful circumstances.
In a phrase:
" People come first. "
Knowing the communication style of your team members is a cornerstone, adopting this style of leadership. Affiliative leaders tend to build deep and trusted relationships within the team, that helps advising and keeps stress levels low.
Tips
Emotional Intelligence impact:
Building empathy. Meaningful human relationships. Sincere communication.
Leader's approach:
Creates harmony and establishes emotional bonds.
Overall Culture/team climate impact:
Positive.
Trick
Use this practice to apply it at its best:
Patience and building trust.
Meaningful relationships are not built by day one. Needs time and effort. Create frequent team building activities, not fancy ones, but regular team reflections and interactions. People need others more, than booking an expensive hotel during a weekend once a year and buy them a coffee. Communicate with your team often and make them feel appreciated.
Advice:
Be careful. Artificial harmony is around the corner. Glittering is not what separates gold from silver. People can be very great on acting as allies. Have an open eye for them and an open mindset to help them overcome disengagement facts and factors.
#5: Democratic | The listener
Best use case:
To get buy-in or to get input from valuable employees.
In a phrase:
" What do you think? "
We find that kind of leaders more and more in Agile working environments, as they are great on receiving and giving feedback, as also, on collecting it with polls and surveys or questionnaires aiming to include everyone's opinion and hear from all of the team.
Tips
Emotional Intelligence impact:
Collaboration at its best. Team leadership, as more and more leaders are exposed to nice leading figures. A lot of space for communication.
Leader's approach:
Embraces participation, enhancing team security and all-for-one and one-for-all behaviours.
Overall Culture/team climate impact:
Positive.
Trick
Use this practice to apply it at its best:
Ask for others' opinions
Consistently, ask your group for their opinions. By, doing this, you put your team members on top of everything, showing how much you value their perspective.
Advice:
In case your team responds well, in that kind of leadership style, provide them with the full accountability of some initiatives. Give them the opportunity as a whole to lead a part of a goal, without your presence. Ask them, to fill in a weekly survey (as that's a tactic they already know and support, due to your democratic collection of feedback and perspectives) with stuff that you would like to know and issues that they would like to report back to you. Although, avoid this advice in case your team is not responding that good to this style, as you could be labeled as a micromanager.
#6: Coaching | The partner or The mentor
Best use case:
To help an employee improve performance or develop long term strengths.
In a phrase: " Try this. "
People-centric leadership approach, instilled with a strong sense of support and encouragement, mobilised by the implementation of a growth mindset highlighting that every step is a progress. Great coaching leaders have created the tendency to accept a humanistic approach and perceive everything as a learning opportunity.
Tips
Emotional Intelligence impact:
Through developing others, crucial impact is found in self-awareness establishment and in team/personal empathy. Also, sensitivity and sense of belonging are growing factors, too.
Leader's approach:
Develops people for a future state. Supportive, always there by team's side.
Overall Culture/team climate impact:
Positive.
Trick
Use this practice to apply it at its best:
Get to individual's level
This trick, shows that you care about their own personal development. Teams will be always teams! But, at their core, team's are individuals. Schedule one-on-one meetings with each member and give them constructive feedback. Discuss about their strengths and assess ways of going forward.
Advice:
Practice emotional detachment. Getting that close to people is intriguing! Absorbing, too, though. Anticipate your emotional limits and practice on not crossing them, as people could become more demanding than usual. Anticipate the pattern your falling to, and set a trigger to reset yourself mentally and emotionally.
Article Quote:
"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd most of the time."
BONUS section: What's your style? 💯
Growth gift: Personality test.
Identify your own style, start with the basics. Learn more about yourself by taking a Personality test. You may be surprised by the results.
