Leadership Styles: How To Lead With Purpose & Impact

What Are Leadership Styles and Why They Are Pivotal to Your Team’s Success

Are leaders born or are they made? The nature vs. nurture debate surrounding leadership will continue for as long as teamwork is needed. While some argue that leadership qualities are innate, psychological research offers a much more nuanced perspective. 

Effective leadership goes beyond IQ, positive attitude, and technical prowess; it requires a combination of emotional intelligence, communication skills, and perceptive insights. 

“Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people. The job of the leader is to inspire your team to deliver their very best performance, getting things done by leading others to success. It’s important to develop different leadership styles depending upon the team. Great leaders chose their style based on circumstances and the end goal.” 

– Bryan Tracy, CEO & motivational speaker

Take a moment and think back on the bosses you’ve had or the ones you now work with – the ones who made your job a dream, and the ones who turned it into a nightmare. What was it about their leadership style that left a lasting impression? What makes them capable? Were they adaptable? Were they set in their way? Did they foster a sense of belonging or did you feel like you were just taking orders, tucking away your precious experience and logic? Were they able to inspire you to do your best?

While exploring this topic, I came across an intriguing interview with Daniel Goleman, a renowned psychologist and leadership expert. Goleman believes that outstanding leaders possess high levels of self-awareness, value alignment, self-management, and empathy. In short, what separates effective leaders from their counterparts with similar intellectual capabilities is their emotional intelligence (the ability to connect emotionally), level of flexibility, and amount of insight. Goleman’s research analyzed over 3,000 middle-level managers and found that exceptional leaders contribute to nearly 30% of a company’s net income. To me, this is where leadership styles begin.

Leadership Styles

• Commanding leadership style
• Authoritative leadership style
• Pacesetting leadership style
• Affiliative leadership style
• Democratic leadership style
• Coaching leadership style
• Transactional leadership style
• Transformational leadership style

Why are Leadership Styles Important?

Because different leadership styles determine how leaders connect with their teams. Leadership styles are the approaches leaders use to:

• influence
• inspire
• impact

Each leader is as unique as their own fingerprints, so too is every leader’s approach to guiding and motivating their team. Leadership style can be looked at as a mirror, reflecting the leader’s individual characteristics, life experiences, and core values, as well as the organic growth of the team and its culture. Alternately, it can also be viewed as an employable tool, with different styles (aka tools) suited for different situations and challenges.

A master craftsman knows precisely when to use a hammer, a screwdriver, or a wrench, so, a skilled leader understands when to adapt their approach to meet the needs of their team, and has the wisdom to seek out the right tools to help the team succeed.

“Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.” 

– Daniel Goleman, psychologist & author

Section Recap:

Leadership styles are the approaches leaders use to influence, inspire, and impact.

Leadership styles are: 

• the reflection of a leader’s personal traits, experiences, and values
• the reflection of the organic development of a team and its culture
• problem-solving tools for different situations

Effective leaders master self-awareness, value alignment, self-management, and empathy. 

Key Characteristics of Different Leadership Styles

Before we can adapt accordingly, we must first understand the different styles of leadership.

Here are 6 leadership styles identified by Goleman:

Commanding leadership style (coercive style)*

Motto: “Do as I say, now!”

The commanding/coercive leader, as the name implies, dictates tasks with absolute authority. To do that, they tend to emphasize control and discipline above all else to achieve immediate results.

• Top-down approach (order, control, disciplinary action)
• Characteristics: tough, forceful, very direct, results-driven
• Usage: crisis, immediate decision
• How to develop: learn crisis management, think on your feet, make decision under pressure

Pros: This style is usually effective in crises where an organization needs to jump-start new changes and/or deal with problematic team members and systems. 

Cons: A persistently commanding style can be too demanding for a lot of employees. It can easily lead to high levels of stress, reduced morale, and high employee turnover.

Think of: General George Patton and Winston Churchill defending European allies against the Axis powers during World War II.

Authoritative leadership style(visionary style)

Motto: “Follow me! We can do this together!”

The Visionary, aka “Authoritative” leader loves inspiring and guiding their team towards a compelling vision. (Note: This leadership style is in stark contrast to “authoritarianism”, an often militant political movement.) Visionary leaders foster innovation and enthusiasm and can be whimsical at times.

• Inspire to pursue long-term vision through encouragement
• Characteristics: empathy
• Usage: new vision/direction
• How to develop: focus on increasing communication, self-confidence, and empathy (presentation and soft persuasion skills)

Pros: Visionary leaders tend to encourage team members to link their efforts to the broader mission of the organization. Transparent directives beat excessive oversight any day.

Cons: Team members can develop an over-reliance on the leader’s vision, ideas, and charisma, leading to decreased autonomy and innovation.

Think of: Walt Disney captivating his audience through his visionary projects – the development of his cartoon characters and Disneyland.

Pacesetting leadership style*

Motto: “Zero coddling! Excellence is our standard.”

The Pacesetting leader is our high-achieving leader, always setting high standards for performance and expecting team members to meet these standards quickly. This leadership style drives an organization toward excellence.

• Focus on performance and achieving goals, everyone is held to a high standard
• Characteristics: empathy
• Usage: when you need high-quality results quick
• How to develop: Six Sigma and Kaizen, train your team very well, motivation skills

Pros: Clear expectations and standards drive high performance and quick results.

Cons: May lead to burnout and decrease morale if expectations are unrealistic or constant.

Think of: Steve Jobs yelling at his employees… just kidding, think of him setting clear expectations during company presentations, and challenging his team to push the boundaries of technology and design.

Affiliative leadership style

Motto: “People come first!”

Affiliative leaders are our relationship focused leaders promoting harmony with the team through inclusion, conflict resolution, and building emotional bonds.

• Builds strong emotional bonds and helps members feel like they belong.

• Characteristics: empathy
• Usage: when tension/conflict arises, broken trust, stress
• How to develop: learn how to resolve conflict and be more optimistic

Pros: Building strong emotional bonds and trust within the team improves morale and enhances collaboration.

Cons: May avoid confronting poor performance or difficult decisions.

Think of: Mahatma Gandhi fostering unity and peace through his non-violent movements and community-building efforts.

Democratic leadership style

Motto: “What do you think? Let’s decide together!”

I’d like to think of Democratic leaders as “decision-inclusive” leaders. They actively seek input from team members, leaning more into listening than directing.

• Team empowerment through listening to and considering the perspectives of individual team members

• Usage: when you need to build consensus or get your team on board with an idea
• How to develop: summon team effort to solve problems and decision-making, active listening, teach skills

Pros: Fosters participation and diverse perspectives through commitment and team spirit building.
Cons: This may result in slow and cumbersome decision-making, potentially hindering effectiveness in crises requiring quick decisions.

Think of: John F. Kennedy involving his advisors and the American public in key decisions – making public speeches and issuing public warnings during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Coaching leadership style

Motto: “Grow, develop, succeed.”

Coaching style leaders are great connectors. Their job is to connect team members’ personal goals and values to that of the organization. Their focus is on long-term plans and how these plans connect with team missions.

• Focuses on individual long-term goals, rapport, and trust
• Usage: when team member needs help building long-term skills, only used with those who are making an effort
• How to develop: get to know the team members really well in order to see when they need guidance/advice, keep in touch with individual needs

Pros: An empathic and encouraging environment better develops employees and managers.

Cons: Very time-consuming and requires a lot of patience. May not be effective with individuals who are not open to personal development.

Think of: Oprah Winfrey sharing her own struggles and triumphs to inspire and mentor others toward their own growth and success.

*Be mindful that both the Commanding and Pacesetting leadership styles may create tension if not used sparingly. Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative, and Democratic styles promote harmony and positive outcomes.

Beyond the Foundation

While Goleman’s 6 leadership styles are invaluable and have provided a strong foundation for understanding, I’ve also come across 2 additional leadership styles we should not ignore:

Transformational leadership style

Motto: “Inspire, empower, and elevate!”

• Focus on inspiring and implementing change
• Emphasize change and transformation

Imagine a leader hell-bent on transforming their organization and teams while being open to listening and carrying out conversations with their team members. This type of leadership style is a powerful mixture of Visionary and Democratic.

Pros: Inspiration and motivation lead to increased engagement and performance.

Cons: Team members may grow dependent on the leader’s vision and charisma, making transition of leadership more challenging.

Think of: Howard Schultz (former CEO of Starbucks) had a vision of transforming Starbucks from a coffee shop chain into the “third place” – the other place between work and home, a place to relax and hang out. He was determined on his vision and yet valued open communication. His democratic dedication can be seen by visiting stores often to connect with employees.

Transactional leadership style

Motto: “Performance drives rewards!”

• Motivate followers through rewards and incentives 
• Operates on the principle of exchange such as “give and take”

Transactional leadership style rewards hard work with incentives and recognition. These leaders create a culture of accountability, roles, responsibilities, and performance through a system of reward and encouragement. This leadership style seems to be a mixture of the Commanding and Pacesetting styles with its own dash of reward system.

Pros: Clarifies expectations and eliminates confusion between leader and team members

Cons: Unfortunately, direct expectations often translate to rigidity. This method may stifle creativity and innovation, potentially lowering job satisfaction and increasing employee turnover.

Think of: Sam Walton built Walmart on principles of efficiency and incentivized performance. He implemented sophisticated logistics systems and performance metrics to monitor and reward.

How to define your leadership style?

1. Set clear goals: define your values and vision so you can effectively communicate and inspire your team members
2. Experimentation: try different leadership styles to find the most effective approach for you and your team
3. Authenticity: focus on leading with passion and purpose that are aligned with your organization’s values
4. Feedback: be open to and actively seek feedback

Refine your style

1. Set clear goals and use a time-tracking solution to set measurable objectives for your team. 
2. Experiment with different leadership styles and use insights from the time-tracking solution to analyze how each style affects productivity.
3. Use data and insights to reveal where your passion and purpose make the most impact.
4. Seek feedback to understand your team’s time management and make necessary adjustments for continuous improvements.

Reflect and succeed

1. How would you describe your typical approach to leading a team/organization?
2. What motivates you as a leader, and how does this influence your choice in leadership style?
3. How do you communicate performance expectations and project deadlines to your team?
4. How do you encourage collaboration and workflow? What do you currently use to acquire data and insights? 

Leaders Traqq, Traqqers Lead

Remember, the “magic” of effective leadership isn’t only about mastering different leadership styles and emotional intelligence, but also understanding your employees’ productivity habits and adapting tasks and workload to help your team succeed.

You can lead your team to increased productivity and a deeper sense of purpose through leveraging the right tool – reducing wasted time and headaches for everyone.

A WIN-WIN, no doubt.

Summary

• Leadership styles refer to the type of approach leaders use to influence, inspire, and impact.
• Effective leadership is a mix of many factors: emotional intelligence, flexibility, attitude, technical skills, an understanding of leadership styles, and the ability to utilize the right analytical tools.
• Flexibility: There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to leadership styles. Leaders should adapt their style based on the organization’s nature, the type of work, team skills, and personal traits.
• IQ and technical skills are crucial, but a mixture of emotional intelligence and clear insights into a situation is the essential foundation of leadership.
• Leaders would benefit from knowing the most effective style and allowing themselves to be accountable for the tasks ahead. Use tools such as time trackers to gauge in real-time how different leadership styles affect the organization.

Autor: Dilys aka DeryaSefer