Leadership styles don’t always match a leader’s personality. An effective leader will use whatever style is demanded according to the situation at hand. Because of this need for flexibility, HR must develop both the awareness and application of each style among the leadership team.

What Is a Leadership Style?

Many people who lead do so in a way that matches their character. Among the variety of leadership styles out there, you can recognize certain personality types. 

Daniel Goleman, a psychologist and expert on emotional intelligence, was interested in how different sorts of people handle leadership roles. He discovered six basic leadership styles and discussed them in his book, Primal Leadership. Although some experts have defined other styles, Goleman’s ideas are well-known and have been adopted by influential organizations like the World Economic Forum.

The Effect of Culture

Aside from personality, company culture also often determines leadership style–because those who cannot adapt will not last long. For instance, a very dominant leader will not succeed in an environment with highly motivated and talented employees. 

As an example, Google’s “Quest to Build a Better Boss” found that employees prefer a leader with abilities related to coaching and collaboration rather than technical expertise. So, to improve the performance of managers who score poorly in these areas, Google implemented learning and development programs and saw feedback scores go up.  

The 6 Basic Leadership Styles

Goleman asserts that truly effective leaders can adopt and combine different styles according to need. The challenge is to take advantage of the strengths of each style and avoid its weaknesses.  

Visionary 

A visionary is one who wants people to identify with the leader’s ideas. They tend to explain things in an inspirational manner about what they are trying to achieve, but then step back and let the team use initiative to figure out their part in the plan. 

The visionary approach is ideal for situations during periods of change and in particular for startup companies. It requires that the team figure out how to implement what the leader wants, and so is very different from the commanding style (see below).  

To develop the visionary style, L&D courses can focus on:

• Empathy  
• Communication skills, especially verbal 
• Self-awareness

One well-known business leader who is often associated with being a visionary is Richard Branson. He has founded companies in industries that include music, air travel, railways, and even space exploration. One of his hallmarks as a leader is to build brands that connect with customers on an emotional basis. This requires an extremely high level of communication talents, which enables employees to understand Branson’s ideas and ensures they are following through.   

Coaching

Like a visionary, a coach believes that employees should find their own way; but in this case, the coach wants workers to be inspired about themselves. The coach hopes to translate an employee’s professional goals into their current task. To accomplish this, a coach will have extensive contact with individual workers to discuss their values and goals in life.

The coaching style makes sense for a manager in a small team or a CEO who wants to motivate other executives. It helps particularly when people seem to be losing focus or have doubt in their abilities. The coaching approach takes time, and so is better for situations when there is little urgency.  

Relevant training courses include those that enable a person to act as an internal mentor or adopt the style of a business coach. Another related skill is the practice of Management by Walking Around (MBWA).

A real-life example of MBWA is Taiichi Ohno, who created the Lean Manufacturing concept for Toyota, which was later adopted by US companies. Ohno called his style the Gemba Walk. It is based on the idea that coaching employees in problem-solving issues is best done in the workers’ actual environment. 

Affiliative 

The affiliative leader sees their mission as promoting good team relationships. This style is important whenever there is interpersonal conflict between people or groups. It also works well during stress periods, and it makes a good alternative to the slower coaching approach. An affiliative leader takes the time to listen to both sides and pays particular attention to emotions. HR can support the affiliative style through courses that deal with:

• Negotiation
• Conflict management
• Creative thinking 

A well-known example of affiliative management is Warren Buffet, who is perhaps the most successful investor in the world. While leading his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, he ensures that his managers have good relationships with the leaders of the firms in which the company invests to minimize any conflict of interest.   

Democratic 

As the name suggests, a democratic leader runs an operation according to the will of the majority. The democratic mindset is all about collaboration, input, and open-mindedness. In some way, they act as a coach by leading teams towards finding answers on their own, but are less concerned about feelings. A democratic leadership style is suited for teams that have a lot of experience and a professional bearing (as opposed to groups that are new and/or experience interpersonal conflict). 

The skills that best support the democratic style include problem-solving, active listening, and group communication. 

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, uses the democratic style successfully. It is said that he is not known as well as Apple’s original CEO, Steve Jobs, because he prefers to delegate tasks based on what his talented teams require, while letting trusted employees make important decisions. 

Pacesetting 

A pacesetter truly leads by example. Their priorities are goals and high performance, and they personally demonstrate how to get things done. But they expect the team to keep the same pace and intensity that they do. A pacesetting leader will even take on some of the tasks to ensure that things are done properly and on time. 

However, this type of leader can be harsh towards those who cannot keep up, and they put pressure on others to be as diligent as they are. Pacesetting makes sense for situations when top notch results are urgently required, but doesn’t work for extended periods, as it can lead to stress.  

To build the pacesetting style, HR should provide courses in assertiveness and encourage leaders to use high-performance management techniques. Organizational development practices are also of use here.   

The pacesetting style is personified by Jack Welsh. He was the CEO of General Electric during a period when it diversified its product line, cut costs, and saw a significant increase in stock price. Welsh was known as a hard worker, but applied the same concept to employees. He is famous for giving bonuses to top performers, but firing the least productive. 

Commanding 

Also known as an autocrat, the commanding leader’s main motivation is to control what goes on in their department. They want fast action and no arguments. Aside from those in the military and law enforcement, people are not very accepting of an overbearing leader, but this style can be effective if done properly. 

Specifically, the leader needs to explain why they are using that manner, which is usually because the business is under extreme pressure. It can also be applied when employees are slow to understand their tasks and time has been wasted. Once the crisis is over, however, a good commander will acknowledge everyone’s effort. 

HR can develop this leadership style through courses in crisis management, decision-making, and problem solving. 

One name in the business world that seems synonymous with autocracy is Steve Jobs. During times of stress, such as a period when Apple was headed towards bankruptcy, he made quick decisions that saved the day. However, it is said that, when a more relaxed atmosphere existed, Jobs was still a micromanager who limited the creative spirit of employees.  

Can a Leadership Style Be a Choice?

The different leadership styles described above can be understood as a continuum, with the main contrast being one of indirect vs. direct control. 

Starting with the visionary, we see leadership skills that are mainly focused on imparting a message instead of dealing with the nuts and bolts of operations. With abilities like communication and empathy at its core, a visionary is a relatively “hands-off” manager.

On the other side of the spectrum is the commanding style. This method demands “fast action and no arguments.” A commanding manager is hands-on and very detail-oriented.

It’s possible for some people to adjust their style continuously, when circumstances require it. A famous example is Bill Gates, who has been described as “half nerd, half tyrant.” On the one hand, he is a tough “commanding” boss. On the other hand, as the founder of one of the biggest charities in the world, he is also an empathetic person. 

But is it realistic for the average manager to be as flexible? The answer is, “sometimes”. We all have personalities that determine our comfort level for certain activities. For example, if you score highly for agreeableness (one of the Big Five OCEAN traits), it’s not likely that you will ever be happy when using the commanding style. 

Yet almost everybody has encountered situations where they need to act in ways that feel unnatural. A classic example is as a parent, where you must often mix patience and empathy with dominance and control. 

So, it’s definitely possible to demonstrate a range of behavior when the moment demands it. Most people can apply a leadership style that is not normal for them during short periods. But this is not always best, for example, in the case of an emergency.

Leadership Styles through Learning and Development

In situations where a leader must adopt a style that is uncomfortable, L&D programs are essential. As with any other soft-skill training, development initiatives should begin with an assessment. A good starting point is to take a leadership style quiz, like this one offered by the Harvard Business Review. As part of a skills gap analysis or career management program, you may have already assessed the areas of development required for individual employees. The gaps that are shown during these studies can be filled by sending managers to leadership development programs. 

Once you have listed areas of weakness, you can then use a talent development platform to build related skills. As can be seen above, each leadership style connects to specific soft skills. You might find that some leaders are so far to one end of the spectrum that a continuous learning program is required, which can be resource-intensive. But, in these cases, there is a good chance that this level of weakness is affecting the employee’s overall performance. 

For example, a manager who favors the commanding style might have a harsh personality to begin with, which is harming their workplace relationships in general. Through the right L&D program, this manager will gain more flexibility in how they lead while also enhancing their ability to take advantage of professional growth opportunities.

The idea of running L&D courses to enhance skill requirements for a range of leadership styles may seem costly in terms of time and funding. But don’t forget that most people will tend to have a natural ability in a number of styles. A visionary who is great at verbal communication also has a good chance of becoming a competent negotiator, which matches the affiliative style. The central idea here is that a relatively intense amount of training will be required for leaders with personalities that are distant from the characteristics demanded for certain leadership styles.   

Growing Leaders with Growthspace

Leadership development is a priority for every business. But providing top-notch training for both hard and soft skills can be a challenge for companies that want efficient, personalized L&D at scale. 

With Growthspace, companies can handle any development demand, all the way from senior executives to entry-level employees. Through a unique and award-winning technology, Growthspace delivers global access to hundreds of coaches, mentors, and trainers. Then, through its precision skill development platform, Growthspace enables HR to administer, monitor, and assess L&D courses.