Leadership styles in management can vary based on industry, local customs, and personality. Different leadership styles affect employees in different ways and focus on different outcomes. Most of us in leadership positions tailor our leadership style to suit the situation in which we are leading, and how we lead is informed by our employees’ needs.
The longer we are in the role of leader and the more we engage with and get to know our employees and their strengths and weaknesses, the more we adapt our leadership style to yield the results we want. Being a good leader means being able to assess the teams we lead and what we ultimately want them to achieve. Do we want to focus on day-to-day operational duties or do we want to focus primarily on where we want to go in the future?
Different types of leadership
While there are many different styles of leadership, there are five that are the most commonly utilized in business.
In mentoring relationships, it is important for both the mentor and mentee to practice their leadership skills. There are many different styles of leadership, listed here are the most common ones.
While there may not be one “best choice”, different styles of leadership may work best in specific situations.
Transactional leadership
This leadership style helps to establish roles and responsibilities by using incentivization to motivate employees.
For example, a transactional leader might motivate their team with a scheduled bonus for generating a certain number of leads in a quarter.
Transactional leadership can be effective, but can also encourage employees to do the bare minimum to meet goals and nothing more. It is much more effective to use this leadership style in conjunction with transformational leadership.
Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership is a popular style among growth-oriented companies as it encourages employees to see what they are capable of.
This type of leader will constantly push their team outside of their comfort zones.
Without the right coaching to guide team members, this style of leadership risks leaving team members with different learning curves behind. However, it can also motivate and build confidence among employees.
Servant leadership
The servant leadership style can be a very effective model for empowering teams and boosting morale.
Servant style leadership means prioritizing the needs of your team above all else. A leader or manager using this style of leadership will focus their energy on elevating and developing their teams.
An example of this style could be a manager investing their time in a project to helping a team member develop a specific skillset, regardless of how much this slows down the process and takes up their own time.
While it can be challenging for many of us, the servant leadership style has long term benefits for teams and creates a culture of trust among team members
Democratic leadership
Democratic leadership is an extremely effective leadership style because it empowers team members at all levels to feel empowered within the organization.
In this leadership style, the leader makes decisions taking into account the input of all team members, regardless of their seniority or expertise.
Autocratic leadership
The least effective leadership style is this one. In this style, the leader makes decisions without taking input from any stakeholders. Team members are expected to adhere to the decision however the leader sees fit.
Autocratic leadership disempowers team members and results in decisions lacking the necessary input from stakeholders to be successful.
In this style of leadership, leaders have all the decision-making power, typically excluding employees from the decision-making process and dictating work processes and goals.
These leaders exert complete control over subordinates and place an emphasis on obedience and enforcement of rules and policies to control employees. Loyalty is built through coercion, control, and, sometimes, fear.
Bureaucratic leadership
Another ineffective leadership style is the bureaucratic leadership style.
Unlike autocratic leadership, this style might consider the input of team members. However, if that input conflicts with existing policy the leader will likely reject it.
Bureaucratic leadership style of leadership is common in larger and older organizations. They are having successful processes already in place.
Bureaucratic leadership is quick to shut down innovation and discourages new ways of thinking and achieving ambitious goals.
Laissez-Faire leadership
The laissez-Faire leadership style is often found in younger start-ups. Delegative leadership is considered to be one of the least intrusive forms of leadership. It is often referred to as “laissez-faire,” the literal translation of which is “let them do.” This leadership style avoids micromanagement and delegates initiatives to employees.
These types of leaders create and support the conditions necessary for an autonomous culture by offering little guidance and a lot of mentoring, complete creative and decision-making freedom for employees, and the resources employees need to do their jobs with independence.
This leadership style can make good use of the expertise and experience of teams and can lead to high levels of employee satisfaction. Its focus on intrinsic motivation can lead to better performance.
In this leadership style, leaders put nearly all the decision making power in the hands of their employees.
While this style of leadership can empower employees to set their own goals and work in a way that works best for them, it can also limit professional development and overlook strategic growth opportunities.
A mentoring relationship is a great place to practice these leadership styles. Open up a discussion with your mentor or mentee about how this might look within your mentorship
