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6 Different Types of Leadership Styles in Business

When you are in a leadership position at a company, your responsibilities include guiding and motivating staff. Over time you develop effective strategies for engaging with employees, and those skills and techniques help you accomplish your objectives for the business.

Understanding your strengths and weaknesses is key to being an effective leader, and knowing what works best in your organization is vital. There are different types of managing, and each has its advantages. Understanding which style works best in your business setting will produce positive results and a happy workforce. In addition, leadership development allows you to train yourself in a specific style that works best for your organization.

Here are the six different types of leadership styles you can adopt.

Type #1: Servant Leadership Styles

A servant leader looks for ways to help others. They want to develop talent and focus on elevating employees rather than striving for power. While they are concentrated on the bottom line, the well-being of their staff is paramount, and this boosts both morale and trust.

Removing roadblocks and offering a hand is how they get results from their team. They help them reach their potential, and they know that by serving first, their own needs will still be met after.

Type #2: Strategist Leadership Styles

Being a strategist leader means you are working on the growth of individuals while developing the entire organization. You know the environment and ethos of the company completely and constantly evaluate how to improve the framework. Strategic leaders need to boost production as they provide incentives and rewards to motivate employees and seek to capitalize on growth opportunities.

This type of leadership style strongly supports:

  • Productivity
  • Accountability
  • Collaboration
  • Transparency

Their objective is to communicate a clear goal and vision while steering the company towards its reality.

Type #3: Democratic Leadership Styles

Democracy is all about having a participative environment, and this style of leader takes everyone’s options to heart. They ultimately have the last say on business matters but value the input from all team members.

This leadership style is very effective as it encourages all employees to participate and have a say. Sometimes, the people on the front lines have impactful ideas to improve the business. Because voting and consensus are factors in decision-making, considerable time is used to discuss and evaluate ideas, and not all team members have the right skill set and expertise for certain key projects.

Type #4: Bureaucratic Leadership Styles

Going by the book is how some people lead. A bureaucratic leadership style uses the business’s proven template for operations and strives to toe the line and follow company policies and practices. This is a safe approach for managing employees and works well with tightly regulated industries and companies where strict rules are enforced.

While this is a risk-averse method, it also discourages new ideas in favour of tried and true methods, so innovations are hard to implement. The bureaucratic leader may listen to new business models, but if they contradict the company’s past performance records, they won’t be adopted. Ultimately, it is very efficient and gives a clear message to employees in companies that are experiencing rapid growth while pursuing ambitious goals.

Type #5: Autocratic Leadership Styles

Autocracy is the opposite of democracy, a “my way or the highway” approach that leads with absolute power. This leader wants their vision followed and will direct staff on what and how things are done. They use absolute focus and aren’t interested in suggestions or feedback but rather give their employees a clear sense of direction that they are to follow.

This type of leadership style is effective for specific situations where strong controls must be in place and decisions must be made quickly. In worse cases, some employees may feel ignored or abused, but an autocratic leader typically wants their methods adhered to and has their word be final.

Type #6: Transformational Leadership Styles

Some leaders want to throw the rule book out and encourage out-of-the-box thinking among their team. They encourage innovation and emotionally communicate with their staff to drive them to success. They want their staff to think big picture and widen their focus, so they have room to be creative. With charm and persuasiveness, they lead and push their team towards success with high trust.

Other types of leadership styles include:

  • Charismatic Leadership: This is a leader with a magnetic personality and uses inspiration to rally the troops.
  • Micro-Manage Leadership: Micromanaging is where a leader has their hands in every project and wants to control everything.
  • Laissez-Faire Leadership: Having a hands-off approach and trusting the team to produce through independence and self-motivation.
  • Coaching Leadreship: A coaching style of leadership nurtures employees and emphasizes the growth and success of workers.
  • Pacesetting Leadership: This style has the leader leading by example and expecting the team to follow suit while requiring little guidance.

Leading a team takes training and dedication, and working with your strengths and weaknesses is important. Use these styles as a guide and implement them into your organization while paying attention to their effectiveness. It is ok to pivot and change things up or combine several aspects of different styles. The important thing is that you find the right rhythm and effectively lead your team towards success.