The 6 Leadership Styles: Which Are You?
According to OfficeVibe.com, the book Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie Mckee reveals six of the most common leadership styles in use today, plus their effectiveness on people. The authors found the secret to great leadership is high emotional intelligence. They also point out that certain leadership styles are better or worse, depending on the situation. Here's a breakdown of the leadership styles with their effect on teams, taken from OfficeVibe.com:
Visionary Leaders
The first of four resonant (positive, effective) leadership types, these leaders are more holistic and base their team's work around a shared vision. They are mission-driven and inspire growth. They're not particularly focused on details and specifics, however they excel at big picture problem-solving and ideation. Many organizations who have unclear missions or who suffer from low office motivation would benefit from a visionary leader. These leaders will redirect the team focus and re-charge their productivity by re-igniting their “why”. You need a leader like this when embarking on a new innovation, a culture change, or a change-driven mission.
Coaches
Extremely effective at driving productivity, coaches can often be seen as micro-managing depending on the way it is being done. However, a coaching leader is perfect for one-on-ones with employees who need specific training. These leaders are important for spotting the details and focusing on executing projects. In order to be effective instead of micro-managing, these leaders need to focus on strengths rather than dwell on employee weaknesses too heavily. Otherwise, coaches should consider if the person's weaknesses outweigh their strengths for their particular positions.
Affiliative Leaders
These are the networkers, the connectors, the social butterflies. They encourage harmony, and aims to fix disagreements amongst co-workers. This has a very positive impact on company culture. However, they may tend towards indecisiveness or passive-aggressiveness if they're faced with an issue that cannot suit the whole team. These are great leaders to bring in if distrust or a large disagreement occurs. They're also valuable on collaborative projects.
Democratic Leaders
These leaders are able to consult the group as a whole to reach a mutual decision. Not only that, but they also make it a point to keep each group member involved. This is best used when management is trying to leverage the rest of the staff's opinions, without letting them over power the management. Democratic leadership isn't the best approach when pressed with a time-sensitive or major executive decision. Otherwise, teams usually appreciate being valued for their opinions.
Pacesetting Leaders
This is one of two “dissonant” (negative) leadership styles the authors of the book point out. These leaders are very driven by schedule. They set goals and expect the team to reach them at specific, pre-planned times. They may be quite demanding and point out poor performances at will. They tend to offer little guidance and expect teams to already be knowledgeable. This is good for short-term results, yet there are little long-term effects. In fact, this type of leadership is most known for creating employee burnout.
Commanding Leaders
The other dissonant leadership style, this is the stereotypical, fear-based leadership that unfortunately is still very prevalent. These leaders use criticism to evoke a sense of urgency and (negative) motivation. There is little praise, and the leadership gets to call all the shots. This is only effective in a crisis or when urgent turnaround may be needed.
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