Which leadership style is the best?

AN EFFECTIVE LEADER…

  • CREATES AN INSPIRING VISION OF THE FUTURE
  • MOTIVATES AND INSPIRES PEOPLE TO ENGAGE WITH THAT VISION
  • EMPOWERS THE TEAM MEMBERS
  • KNOWS ABOUT THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF SELF AND OTHERS IN THE TEAM

Create a vision

Leaders need to be able to provide a vision that is realistic, convincing and attractive. Providing that "north star" to your team members provides direction and the end goal.

Motivation & Empowerment

Empowerment builds an "I can" mentality which has a motivating effect on each individual and the team as a whole.

Know your Team

As a leader you need to know yourself and your team. You need to know what motivates, what drains, and what drives them and you.

LEADERSHIP

I am listing here 6 leadership styles that might be useful to be aware of.
I am encouraging you to think about what you want to achieve in your leadership because it sharpens your self-awareness and things are happening more consciously.

What culture do you want to build in your team? A culture of empowerment, self-esteem, self-awareness, clarity? One that is built on trust or do you want to be the “man in charge” who needs to approve every little decision?

1. The coercive style.

This “Do what I say” approach can be very effective in a turnaround situation, or when working with problem employees. But in most situations, coercive leadership inhibits the organisation’s flexibility and hinders employees’ motivation because you are not involving your team by empowering them.

 

2. The authoritative style.

An authoritative leader takes a “Come with me” approach: You state the overall goal and give the team members the freedom to choose their own means of achieving it. This style works especially well when a business is in flow. It is less effective when the leader is working with a team of experts who are more experienced than s/he is because you are not the expert.

 

3. The affiliative style.

The affiliative leader focuses on a “People come first” approach. This style is particularly useful for building team harmony or increasing morale but its exclusive focus on praise can allow poor performance to go uncorrected. Also, affiliative leaders rarely offer advice, which often leaves employees in a dilemma because they lack a clear direction. Constructive feedback is missing which helps team members to grow and develop.

 

4. The democratic style.

This style’s impact on organisation is not as high as one might think. By giving employees a voice in decisions, democratic leaders build organisational flexibility and responsibility and help generate fresh ideas. The downside might be to have endless meetings and confused employees who feel directionless.

 

5. The pacesetting style.

A leader who sets high performance standards and exemplifies them her/himself has a very positive impact on employees who are self-motivated and competent. Other employees might feel overwhelmed by such a leader’s demands for excellence because they feel pressured  to reach a certain goal.

 

6. The coaching style.

This style focuses more on personal development than on immediate work-related tasks. It works well when employees are already aware of their weaknesses and want to improve, but not when they are resistant to changing their ways. The leader also needs to have a good understanding on the roles in a coaching relationship and how to work that process because it is not that simple. Because it is important to know how to coach as a leader I explain the process in another post.

It is important for a leader to understand which leadership style to use in which situation and with which employee to get the best outcome. Also, what feels the most authentic? The more styles a leader has in his/her repertoire the better.