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Apr 9, 2024 · Learn how to adapt your leadership style to different situations from Daniel Goleman's framework of six styles. Find out when to be visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, commanding, or pacesetting.
- Overview
- Types of leadership styles
- How to choose a leadership style
- Why develop a leadership style
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At some point in your career, you may take on a leadership role. Whether you’re leading a meeting, project, team or an entire department, you might consider identifying with or adopting a defined leadership style.Most professionals develop their own style of leadership based on factors like experience and personality, as well as the specific needs ...
1. Autocratic leadership style
Also called the “authoritarian style of leadership,” this type of leader is someone who's focused primarily on results and team efficiency. Autocratic leaders often make decisions alone or with a small and trusted group and expect employees to do exactly what they’re asked.Autocratic leaders typically have self-confidence and are self-motivated. They communicate clearly and consistently, are dependable and follow the rules. They value highly structured environments and are proponents of supervised work environments.The benefits and challenges of an autocratic leadership style include: Read more: What Is Autocratic Leadership?
2. Bureaucratic leadership style
Bureaucratic leaders are similar to autocratic leaders in that these leaders expect their team members to follow the rules and procedures precisely as written. The bureaucratic style focuses on fixed duties within a hierarchical system, where each employee has a set list of responsibilities, and there's little need for collaboration and creativity.This leadership style is most effective in highly regulated industries or in departments like finance, health care or government. This style may fit your leadership approach if you're detail-oriented and task-focused, value rules and structure, are strong-willed and self-disciplined and have a great work ethic.The benefits and challenges of a bureaucratic leadership style include: Related: 23 Leadership Characteristics To Be a Good Leader
3. Coaching leadership style
A coaching leader is someone who can quickly recognize their team members’ strengths, weaknesses and motivations to help each individual improve. This type of leader often assists team members in setting smart goals and then provides regular feedback with challenging projects to promote growth. They set clear expectations and creating a positive, motivating environment.The coach leadership style is one of the most advantageous for employers as well as the employees they manage. Unfortunately, it’s often also one of the most underused styles—largely because it can be more time-intensive than other types of leadership. Coaching leaders are supportive and value learning as a way of growing. They're self-aware, offer guidance instead of giving commands and ask guided questions.The benefits and challenges of a coaching leadership style include: Read more: What Is Coaching Leadership? (And When To Use It)
As someone who's interested in the leadership path or looking for more structure in their current leadership approach, it can be helpful to choose a leadership style that feels authentic to you. Some questions you may ask yourself when trying to determine which style is right for you include:
•What do I value more—goals or relationships?
•Do I believe in structure or freedom of choice?
•Would I rather make a decision on my own, or collectively?
•Do I focus on short or long-term goals?
•Does motivation come from empowerment or direction?
In an Indeed survey, 55% of employers cited asking about leadership skills in a job interview as the most accurate evaluation of a candidate’s ability to succeed in a role.¹ As you develop leadership skills, you’ll likely use different processes and methods to achieve your employer’s objectives and meet the needs of the employees who report to you. To be effective as a manager, you might use several different leadership styles at any given time.By taking the time to familiarize yourself with each of these types of leadership, you might recognize certain areas to improve upon or expand your own leadership style. You can also identify other ways to lead that might better serve your current goals and understand how to work with managers who follow a different style than your own.
Video: How To Choose and Develop Your Leadership StyleJenn, a career coach, explains how to choose and develop your leadership style and provides examples to help you identify which style is right for you.
¹ Indeed employer-based study conducted by US Decipher/FocusVision (Base: all respondents, N=1,000)
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Learn about eight types of leadership styles used in the workplace, from autocratic to visionary, and their benefits and challenges. Find out how to identify and develop your own leadership style based on your personality, experience and organizational culture.
- Transformational Leadership. Transformational leadership is a leadership style that requires the leader to inspire employees and motivate them towards achieving their collective goal.
- Autocratic Leadership. An autocratic or authoritarian leadership style imposes policies and procedures, sets expectations and defines outcomes. Authoritarian leaders are individuals who take full control of their team and makes all of the decisions with little input from anyone else.
- Participative (Democratic) Leadership. Also known as democratic leadership, participative leadership allows everyone on the team to get involved and work together to make important decisions.
- Transactional Leadership. Transactional leadership uses a model of rewards and punishments to motivate employees. Clear goals are set at the start of a project, with everyone informed on the reward if those goals are met and the consequences if they are not.
- Braden Becker
- Democratic Leadership. Also called: Participative or Facilitative Leadership. Democratic leadership is exactly what it sounds like — the leader makes decisions based on each team member‘s input.
- Autocratic Leadership. Also called: Authoritarian, Coercive, or Commanding Leadership. Autocratic leadership is the inverse of democratic leadership. In this leadership style, the leader makes decisions without taking input from anyone who reports to them.
- Laissez-Faire Leadership. Also called: Delegative or Hands-off Leadership. If you remember your high-school French, you'll accurately assume that laissez-faire leadership is the least intrusive form of leadership.
- Strategic Leadership. Strategic leaders sit between a company's primary operations and its growth opportunities. This form of leadership requires vision, competitive awareness, and adaptability.
- Lewin's Leadership Styles. In 1939, a group of researchers led by psychologist Kurt Lewin set out to identify different styles of leadership. While further research has identified more distinct types of leadership, this early study was very influential and established three major leadership styles that have provided a springboard for more defined leadership theories.
- Authoritarian Leadership (Autocratic) Authoritarian leaders, also known as autocratic leaders, provide clear expectations for what needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done.
- Participative Leadership (Democratic) Lewin’s study found that participative leadership, also known as democratic leadership, is typically the most effective leadership style.
- Delegative Leadership (Laissez-Faire) Lewin found that children under delegative leadership, also known as laissez-faire leadership, were the least productive of all three groups.
May 11, 2023 · Learn about 18 common ways to lead, from transformational to authoritative, and how to choose one that suits your team's needs. Find out the key skills, strengths, and challenges of each leadership style and how to adapt it to different situations.
The six most common leadership styles are: Transformational Leadership. Delegative Leadership. Authoritative Leadership. Transactional Leadership. Participative Leadership. Servant Leadership. What is a leadership style?
