Exploring Leadership Styles: Which One Are You?

So what do we mean by leadership style? Why does leadership style matter? Are some leadership styles more effective than others? Daniel Goleman, who is probably best known for his work on emotional intelligence, has also investigated the impact of leadership style on the climate of organisations.

He identified that, as leaders, we tend to use the following six different leadership styles:

Visionary (authoritative)
Primary objective: providing long-term direction and vision. You tend to:

• develop and articulate a clear vision

• solicit staff perspective on the vision and see selling the vision as key to success

• persuade staff by explaining the rationale for the team’s best long-term interests

• set standards and monitor performance in relation to the wider vision

• motivate with a balance of positive and negative feedback.

Affiliative
Primary objective: creating staff harmony. You tend to:

• be concerned with promoting friendly interactions.

• place more emphasis on addressing staff needs than on goals and standards

• pay attention to, and care for, the whole person; stress things that keep people happy

• avoid performance related confrontations

• reward personal characteristics more than job performance.

Directive (coercive)
Primary objective: compliance. You tend to:

• give lots of directives, not direction

• expect immediate staff compliance

• control tightly

• rely on negative, corrective feedback

• motivate by imposing sanctions for non-compliance, with few rewards

• rarely explains rationale, only negative consequences.

Democratic
Primary objective: building commitment and generating new ideas, You tend to:

• trust that staff can develop the appropriate direction for themselves and the school

• invite staff to participate in decisions

• reach decisions by consensus

• delegate decision-making as well as tasks

• hold many meetings and listen to staff concerns

• reward adequate performance; rarely give negative feedback.

Pacesetting
Primary objective: making rapid progress and achieving tasks to high standards of excellence. You tend to:

• lead by example and have standards: ‘look at me; do what I am doing; keep up with me’

• except others to know the rationale behind what is being modelled

• are apprehensive about delegating

• take responsibility away if high performance is not forthcoming, and have little sympathy for poor performance

• rescue the situation or give detailed task instructions when staff experience difficulties.

Coaching
Primary objective: long term professional development of others. You tend to:

• help staff identify their unique strengths and weaknesses

• encourage staff to establish long-range development goals

• reach agreement with staff on the team leaders’ and individuals’ roles in the development process

• provide on-going advice and feedback

• sometimes trade off immediate standards of performance for long-term development.

As you reflect upon the six styles, is there one you tend to predominantly use? Which do you rarely use? Do you make a conscious effort to think about the right approach for any given situation or do you rely on gut instinct?

It ain’t what you do; it’s the way that you do it - Melvin Oliver and James Young

Love and Light

DAO