Today’s blog discusses the 15 most common leadership styles. So, if you are a CEO, manager, or anyone who has the big responsibility to lead teams to success, this blog is for you.
There are various types of leaders, each with their own leadership style, which, in short, refers to the way they manage, control, and lead their teams to success (or not). Additionally, some leaders combine two or more leading ways to create their own unique approach, which we will also discuss.
Nonetheless, you need to pick a leadership style that suits your personality traits and works best for your teams and their work efficiency. However, first, let’s take a deep dive into what a style of leading is.
What is a Leadership Style?
As we mentioned before, a leadership style is the way you manage, control, and lead your teams to success. Plus, it also includes your methods, characteristics, and behaviors when directing, inspiring, and managing your group of workers. Various traits, such as your personality, values, skills, and experience, form and majorly impact your style as a leader.
Read Also: What is Agile methodology: A Beginner’s Guide
The Traits of a Great Leader
Did you know that 78% of leaders claim to engage with their workers, but half of their employees believe it to be false? Whether in life or at work, some of us are great leaders, while others are just good ones. There are also a few who are just barely scratching the surface. So, what differentiates a great leader from an average one?
1. A Great Leader is A Team Member
Regardless of the leadership style and the employee monitoring software they are using, a great leader is always a team member. She or he always works with the team and puts in equal or more effort.
2. A Great Leader Inspires
An excellent leader is someone who inspires others to never give up and keep putting in the effort. They are someone who team members can always look up to for a solution when things are not going according to plan.
3. A Great Leader Coaches
If you want to be an excellent leader, start coaching your teams instead of just pointing out their mistakes and asking them for corrections. Not just tell them what to do, but at times, also tell them how to do it, and improve the quality of work in the future.
4. A Great Leader Never Takes The Credit
A great leader always puts their workers before themself. She or he never takes all the praise. Instead, when it’s time to reward employees, the best leaders start recommending their team members and their hard work.
5. A Great Leader Transpires Ideas
Excellent leaders are also illusionists. They always make the team members think that their ideas were actually generated by one of the employees. That’s a fine trait of a leader, which motivates employees to keep improving their work.
The Importance of Knowing the Different Leadership Styles
Simply put, anyone who wants to become an aspiring leader will find meaning and purpose in the different types of Leadership styles. When you understand these ways to lead, you understand why you and others react the way you do in different scenarios. All in all, having these insights will make you understand the mindset of other leaders and, most importantly, help you find the style that suits you.
Different Types of Leadership Styles You Need to Know About
Based on the different ways you manage, control, and lead your teams and your methods, characteristics, and behaviors when directing, motivating, and managing, 15 leadership styles are commonly used. Plus, these days, to boost productivity, leaders are also using screenshot monitoring software. Moreover, here’s what you need to know.
1. Democratic
Democratic types of leaders believe in collaborating and including their team members in everything. They actively ask for input and feedback from employees, ensuring that everyone is heard and valued, which increases employee engagement. Overall, it instills a sense of ownership and enhances innovation, as the leaders consider everyone’s perspectives to find that unbeatable solution.
2. Autocratic
Leaders here prefer the directive approach. They make independent decisions and expect their team members to follow them. No questions asked. However, this can backfire as team members might feel devalued and excluded, and may even hate their manager.
3. Transformational
Vision, motivation, and personal development are the core of this leadership style. If you want to motivate your employees to achieve results beyond their expectations, then transformational leadership is for you. Overall, these types of managers are change-makers and strategic thinkers.
4. Coaching
If you prioritize long-term development and investing in enhancing the talent of your employees, basically, by coaching your teams, then this is the way you should lead. That is, by developing individuals’ strengths, skills, and potential. Plus, you also get the golden chance to provide your workers with guidance, constructive feedback, and opportunities to grow via continuous learning in a supportive atmosphere.
5. Bureaucratic
If you are the boss in the boss vs leader debate, then you should choose this way to lead your teams to success. As the name suggests, you will have to impose rules, established hierarchies, and procedures, and your teams must comply with them. Your concentration must be on consistency and order.
6. Laissez-Faire
This one is French and is one of the most preferred and coolest ways of leading teams. The term means to allow to do, and here, as a leader, you will give almost full autonomy to your employees. You will trust your groups and interfere only when it’s utmost necessary.
7. Participative
Want the collaboration and inclusion of the democratic approach, but also with the directive way of the autocratic approach? In that case, choose this leadership style. The idea is to involve your teams in decision-making while providing the required structure to align organizational objectives and efforts.
8. Visionary
If you are a visionary manager or leader, you will be thinking future-forward. They set a transparent path and inspire their workers to share the same professional future.
9. Transactional
Out of the different types of Leadership styles, transactional is the only one that feels like a lottery system. These HR depend on transparent structures, rewards, and penalties to make teams work. Furthermore, efficiency and consistency are of the highest priority in this one.
10. Servant
This is where the manager is like a servant to the employees. This style of leadership is perfect for employees and teams are first work cultures where well-being and development have the highest value. If you are a servant leader, you must put your team members’ needs first, emphasizing personal growth and well-being. Overall, empathy, supportive environments, and active listening are the pillars of this way of leading HR.
11. Adaptive
It is flexible enough to innovate through experimentation to ensure that changing and evolving environments are not a challenge.
12. Pacesetter
Pacesetters lead by example, if you know what we mean. There is more value in results and always taking the responsibility and leadership to pursue goals. This is one of the types of leadership, where team captains:
- Have high standards
- Seek challenges
- Succeed under pressure
13. The No Leadership Style
Having no leadership style is also a leadership style in its own. Go with the flow, trust your instincts, and be a team member, boss, leader, or manager according to the requirements of the situation.
Is Your Leadership Style Predetermined?
You might have found your traits in the descriptions of leadership styles we have discussed so far. However, it’s not fixed and rigid how you will lead. The probability is that you or your workplace may rely on one style than the other. On the other hand, HR is always developing and varying. Thus, it’s crucial to be open to adapting the style that comforts you and your teams.
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The Importance of Picking Your Leadership Style
Selecting and developing your leadership style is the best way to develop yourself as a captain. What effective visionaries have in common is their credential style. It helps those around you:
- Know your expectations
- Understand how you work best
- Decrease frustration.
Steps to Select the Right Leadership Style for Yourself
Whether you are a new manager, got recently promoted, transitioned to a leadership role, or just need to revise, selecting your leadership style provides transparency:
1. Analyze Your Goals & Values
Add a style that conforms to your values and goals to your cart. The way you lead must align with your traits, behaviors, and personality.
2. Weaknesses & Strengths Assessment
We recommend jotting down your strengths and weaknesses by self-analysis or asking other colleagues and team members. Next, work on strengthening your strong points and transforming your weaknesses into strengths.
3. Learn to Lead
To be a leader, you need to know how to lead your teams to success first. It’s the same as getting behind the wheel without learning how to drive will only result in crashing the car. Step by step, you need to transition into a leader. The best way to do it is by observing other visionaries. It’s also essential to be exceptional at time management while doing so. You don’t want to lose your precious hours while learning how to lead.
4. Experiment
Experiment with different kinds of leadership styles in business to know how each one works. You will eventually end up with the one that you can naturally adapt to.
5. Reevaluate & Adjust
This might be a little challenging to do. However, it is mandatory as well. Simply put, you need to be flexible enough to reevaluate and adjust according to changes in the situation.
Additional Tips to Pick The Leadership Style that Appeals to You
Are you still not sure which one of the types of leadership appeals to you? Here are some additional tips that work guaranteed.
- Test the different styles at different times. Observing how workplace morale, bonds, and productivity shift with each style is key.
- Seeking mentorship or guidance from a trusted colleague or leader you look up to is also a wise idea.
- Take feedback from your team members. Teams and employees likely know what works best for them and their work efficiency.
- In the case that your present leadership style doesn’t feel like it’s working in your favor, think about your personality traits and adjust to a style that closely aligns with your characteristics.
- Sometimes, encapsulating 2 or more styles with the power of productivity tracking is the best. Especially for the perfectionist within you.
- Take a leadership style quiz on the spot. Giving honest answers is the key to getting the best results.
Choose DeskTrack: The Leading Employee Monitoring Software
These days, the work world has become modern with the use of computers in all industries. Since every employee is now adept at using them, leaders need more than their signature leadership styles. They need the best employee monitoring software. Introducing DeskTrack, the all-in-one software solution for your remote, in-office, hybrid, and fieldwork teams. Tracking time? It’s automated. Doubting insider threats? Flexible screenshot monitoring provides proof. Complex projects? Simplify them with real-time project and task management. Are HRs experiencing absenteeism? Fix this with automated attendance tracking. From minor to major needs, DeskTrack covers it all with intuitive features, making it the top choice for 8000+ organizations worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is a Leadership Style?
Ans. A leadership style is the way you manage, control, and lead your teams to success. Plus, it also includes your methods, characteristics, and behaviors when directing, motivating, and managing your group of workers. Various traits, such as your personality, values, skills, and experience, form and majorly impact your style as a leader.
Q. Is Your Leadership Style Predetermined?
Ans. Chances are that you or your workplace may rely on one style than the other. On the other hand, HR is always developing and varying. Thus, it’s crucial to be open to adapting the style that comforts you and your teams.
Q. Why is it Important to Pick Your Style of Leading?
Ans. Selecting and developing your leadership style is the best way to develop yourself as a leader. What effective captains have in common is their signature style. It helps those around you:
- Know your expectations
- Understand how you work best
- Decrease frustration.
Q. What are the Different Ways to Lead Your Teams?
Ans. We have shortlisted the top 15 ways to lead teams for you.
- Democratic
- Autocratic
- Transformational
- Coaching
- Bureaucratic
- Laissez-Faire
- Participative
- Visionary
- Transactional
- Servant
- Adaptive
- Pacesetter
- Delegative
- Authoritative
- The No Leadership Style
Q. How to Choose the Right Leadership Style for Yourself?
Ans. Just go according to the steps as we guide you below.
- Analyze Your Goals & Values
- Weaknesses & Strengths Assessment
- Learn to Lead
- Experiment
- Reevaluate & Adjust
