Whether you are managing a team at work, captaining your sports team or leading a multi national organisation your leadership style is crucial to your success.
Was Spartacus a visionary or diplomatic leader?
Consciously, or subconsciously, you will no doubt use some of the 10 leadership styles featured below, at least some of the time. By understanding these leadership styles and their impact, you can become a more flexible, better leader.
Visionary Leader
These leaders have a crystal clear picture in their mind of what they want to happen. They share their vision with vigor. Not easily discouraged. They are very optimistic
Directional Leader
These are low profile leaders. They have an uncanny ability to choose the right path. They are the people organization turn to when it’s time to answer these questions: Do we stay the course or change missions? Do we focus on growth and consolidation? Do we downsize? Should we relocate? Should we acquire a new company?
Strategic Leader
These leaders break a vision down into achievable benchmarks. They form a game plan for achieving the vision. They are able to organize various subparts or departments of an organization and get them on the same page.
Managing Leader
These leaders take the work of visionary leaders and strategic leaders and actually get the work one. They monitor people, processes, systems, and resources and push them toward achieving the mission. Motivational Leader
These leaders have great insight into people. They know when people need challenged and when they need patted on the back. They know when a pay increase, office change, title change, or sabbatical is needed. They fire people up and lift them up.
Shepherding Leader
This leader cares deeply for those people who are on his team. The leader defends his team, nurtures his team, and is extremely patient with his team. As a result of the leader’s commitment, the teams commitment, the team members have fierce loyalty to their leader.
Team-Building Leader
These leaders have great insight into people. As Collins said in Good to Great, they get the right people on the bus and make sure they are sitting in the right seats. This leader might not shepherd or manage people well because he or she assumes it is not necessary if they are in the right position on the team.
Entrepreneurial Leader
These leaders want to start something new. They are not risk adverse. These leaders often give birth to businesses or organizations and then turn them over to someone else.
Re-Engineering Leader
These leaders are “turn around artists.” They specialize it taking a dysfunctional organization or business and righting the ship. They thrive for a situation that has lost vision or focus. They often do not want to lead a business or organization for the long haul.
Bridge-Building/Diplomatic Leader
This leader brings a wide variety of constituencies together under a single umbrella of leadership so that a complex organization can achieve its goals. This requires great patience and good political skills.
What two or three leadership styles best describe you? In what two or three leadership styles are you most lacking? What types of ethical issues are you most likely to encounter given your personal leadership style(s)? These are all important questions for a leader and can throw up issues that must be addressed.
