Employees are more trusting and loyal toward authentic leaders. And to be a leader that demonstrates authenticity, you need to understand yourself and your leadership style. When you have awareness of your personality style, it can help you communicate better and build more productive relationships, which translates to better leadership.
Knowing your leadership style helps provide structure and guide you towards management methods that fit your work style and personality better. It helps you avoid forcing yourself to display certain characteristics that don’t align with your vision and values. Discovering and defining your current leadership style may also make you realize that it’s time for a change, especially if adopting different methods is aligned with your goal for continual improvement.
What are the different leadership styles?
- Transactional – often referred to as managerial leadership; a leadership style that is based on the concept that managers give in order to receive, such as giving rewards to boost motivation or giving punishments for failures.
- Transformational – leadership style in which the leader focuses on the needs of others rather than their own needs. Transformational leadership employs active listening skills, so team members are motivated to share their thoughts and provide feedback.
- Delegative – also known as laissez-faire leadership; the leader gives more control and power to team members, which empowers their decision-making. Delegative leaders identify employee strengths and entrust them to exercise autonomy.
- Charismatic – leadership style that is built on strong communication skills; charismatic leaders recognize the power to motivate others relies on their ability to charm, connect interpersonally, and persuade.
- Authoritative – also referred to as visionary or autocratic leadership; authoritative leaders are in complete control and take on a hands-on approach to guiding their employees. They create the goals and retain authority in defining and assigning the tasks that will achieve those goals.
- Participative – also known as democratic leadership; participative or democratic leaders allow multiple people to participate in decision-making. Through shared leadership, everyone is given the opportunity to share ideas and provide input while the leader acts as a facilitator to guide productive conversations.
- Bureaucratic – leadership style that relies on a clear chain of command or hierarchy. Team members’ formal duties are clearly defined, including who has decision-making power regarding certain functions.
How do I identify my leadership style?
You may identify with certain methods and behaviors when directing and managing others. And it’s been found that using multiple approaches may make you a more effective leader. What’s important, however, is to adopt leadership styles that complement one another. Otherwise, you run the risk of becoming an inconsistent and consequently, an unreliable leader. Here are ways to identify your leadership style.
- Take a leadership style online assessment – There are formal leadership style assessments that you can take online. These tests are designed to identify your personality and unique characteristics and how they fit with your ability to lead, manage, and direct others. Inscape Consulting offers several industry proven assessments.
- Ask a mentor or your team – Get feedback from a mentor, colleague, or employees who have worked with you and observed your leadership. It may help to give them an anonymous platform to share their input.
- Ask the experts – Leadership consulting firms can not only help you identify your leadership style but also help you leverage your strengths and core competencies. The right firm can not only define your current leadership style but assess your performance to help you develop into a more effective and authentic leader.
Should you wish for more information on leadership assessments, I can help you. Please send me an email at greg@inscapeconsulting.com
