Just as your body needs nutrition to function, an organisation also requires a variety of leaders with different leadership styles to shape the culture and provide directions to grow and succeed in this competitive world. If you want to become a great leader who is skilled, knowledgeable, and capable of leading a team to success, you must understand different leadership styles. Read our comprehensive guide to explore various types of leadership styles you will find at different organisations and identify the one that aligns best with your values and career goals.
What are leadership styles?
Leadership styles are the techniques and methodologies leaders adopt to approach a situation and guide their teams. Each style is unique with its own set of characteristics, strengths and weaknesses that impact how teams function and achieve their objectives in an organisation. By understanding different types of leadership styles, you can develop essential leadership skills to communicate, empower, influence, and motivate your team members.
Autocratic leadership
Autocratic leadership, also known by other names, such as authoritarian, commanding, or coercive leadership is a style where leaders make decisions with little or no input from their team members. In this type of leadership style, leaders provide clear-cut instructions and expect their team to follow them. They have full control over all aspects of the project.
Characteristics
- Decisive: Leaders make quick decisions without consulting others.
- Directive: They clearly outline tasks and expectations.
- Controlled: Leaders maintain authority over their team and the whole project.
Pros and cons
- Pros
- Quick decision-making.
- Clear direction for the team.
- Cons
- It can limit creativity among team members.
- It may lead to low morale and dissatisfaction within the team.
What is the best environment to use it?
If you are working in an environment where you have to deal in multiple high-pressure situations on the daily basis and make quick decisions, then developing autocratic leadership skills can help you be an efficient leader.
Democratic leadership
On the complete opposite side of autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership encourages team participation in the decision-making process. While leaders still have the final say, they seek input from their team members. This type of leadership encourages innovation, creativity, and a more collaborative environment.
Characteristics
- Collaborative: Leaders value team input and feedback.
- Inclusive: They encourage all members to engage in discussions.
- Empowering: Leaders encourage team members to participate and take initiative.
Pros and cons
- Pros
- Boosts morale and engagement of the team members.
- Encourages creativity and innovation in the team.
- Cons
- The process of decision-making can be slow and tedious.
- It is not effective during crisis or urgent situations.
What is the best environment to use it?
If you want to become a leader who wants to lead by example and build a strong team culture where every member is heard and valued, democratic leadership is your answer. It encourages the team members to come up with creative solutions and collaborate with each other.
Laissez-faire leadership
In the laissez-faire leadership approach, leaders give their team full authority to make decisions. They carry out tasks with minimal interference from their leader. This is a great approach to promote innovation and accountability within the team members. However, not supervising the team on tasks can also lead to poor performance, especially if team members are not self-motivated.
Characteristics
- Hands-off approach: The leader provides full freedom to team members.
- Trusting: They believe in the capabilities of their team members.
- Flexible: Leaders adapt themselves to the needs of the team.
Pros and cons
- Pros
- It encourages innovation within the team members.
- Creates a sense of accountability and responsibility.
- Cons
- It can lead to a lack of direction.
- It may even result in bad performance.
What is the best environment to use it?
If you have a team highly skilled professionals who are innovative, motivated, and willing to learn and take on more responsibilities, laissez-faire leadership style can be your best approach. You can rely on your team to carry on the daily tasks while you focus on strategy to achieve organisational goals.
Transformational leadership
In a transformational leadership style, leaders bring change and transform the company, culture, or project by motivating and encouraging their teams. Trained in essential leadership skills such as empathy and good communication, transformational leaders expect the best out of their team and push them to continue learning and growing through guidance, encouragement, and motivation. They can help their team members reach goals they didn't even know they could achieve.
Characteristics
- Visionary: The leader sets ambitious goals for the team members.
- Inspirational: They motivate their teams through enthusiasm.
- Supportive: The leader provides resources for personal development.
Pros and cons
- Pros
- There is a high level of engagement within the team.
- A strong sense of purpose among team members.
- Cons
- Leaders may sometimes overlook practical applications.
- It may lead to burnout if expectations are too high.
What is the best environment to use it?
If you work with an organisation where you want to drive transformation or inspire innovation within your team, develop transformational leadership skills to bring change. This is one of the best types of leadership styles for start-ups with limited resources but high motivation.
Affiliative leadership
Affiliative leadership is the best leadership style when it comes to establishing a supportive and positive work environment. It focuses on building strong relationships with the team members. It allows team members to feel a sense of belonging and collaborate with each other to achieve common goals. Affiliative leaders prioritise emotional connections and encourage open communication where everyone can share their thoughts freely.
Characteristics
- Relationship-oriented: Leaders focus on building strong personal connections.
- Supportive environment: They create a safe space for team members to express ideas and feedback.
- Celebratory: Leaders recognise individual and team achievements.
Pros and Cons
- Pros
- Good for team morale and collaboration.
- Helps in building a positive work culture.
- Cons
- The leader may overlook the performance issues of individual members.
- Team members might not be able to solve complex problems on their own.
What is the best environment to use it?
If your company or your team is going through a big transition, the affiliative leadership style will be particularly valuable. It can help in shaping a positive work environment where you can create a caring and supportive community of employees who will work hard to achieve organisational goals.
How can you choose your leadership style?
Now that you have learned about the most common types of leadership styles you will find at various companies, you can identify which one of them best suits your workplace. Understand your company's values and goals, your team's needs, and how they operate to develop the right skills. Don't focus too much on adopting one leadership style at once. Leadership style is something that evolves over time. It is the combination of different elements from your working situation and environment. Lean into learning and acquiring essential leadership skills to customise your own leadership style.
Develop essential leadership skills
Different types of leadership styles are an accumulation of different essential leadership skills, such as clear communication, empathy, emotional intelligence, decision-making, team building, strategic thinking, delegation and more. If you want to acquire these skills, think about enrolling in English Path’s Leadership Essentials course. It is designed for working professionals to develop in-demand leadership skills and improve their communication to succeed in the international marketplace.
Understanding the different types of leadership styles can significantly impact your journey toward becoming an effective leader. By recognising your preferred style and developing essential leadership skills, you can inspire your team, encourage collaboration, and achieve organisational goals. Remember, effective communication is at the heart of successful leadership – consider taking steps today to enhance those skills through targeted training programs like the one offered at English Path.