Achieve Excellence in Leadership: Understand 10 Varieties of Leadership Methods
Recognizing a myriad of management styles and knowing when to employ them will boost your capabilities as a supervisor, parent, and various other roles in your personal and professional lives. Understanding these 10 styles of leadership not only helps you identify areas to improve in your leadership but also aids in recognizing them in others.
Knowing and adapting to different leadership styles can be highly advantageous. For instance, understanding the leadership styles of those above and below you can help you address your supervisor more effectively or guide a subordinate who may benefit from another approach in specific situations.
10 Different Styles of Leadership
1. Coaching Leadership Style
Coaching leadership is a popular management style that focuses on nurturing subordinates. Its primary aim is to help teams work efficiently together, and it is used to motivate employees while fabricating a collective vision.
Coaching leaders welcome suggestions and ideas from beneath, as they recognize the potential of every team member. They inspire their teams to achieve personal and professional aspirations rather than micro-managing them.
Disadvantages
This leadership style may sometimes result in slower outcomes due to the coach's dedication to teaching. This approach may not be the most suitable when results need to be achieved promptly.
In certain situations with urgent short-term lessons to be learned, a coach may accept short-term failures, which may not be ideal in instances without room for failure.
Advantages
Despite its disadvantages, coaching leadership can be very advantageous compared to other management styles, especially at opportune times. Knowing when to employ coaching leadership can be helpful for leaders.
Numerous situations call for this style over others in management, and when used wisely, coaching leadership can lead to a decrease in short-term results with an increase in long-term results, making the organization stronger in the process.
Coaching Leadership Example
Many exceptional leaders, such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Apple's Steve Jobs, have embraced coaching leadership to make their mark on history by inspiring and motivating their employees to innovate new products and services.
2. Visionary Leadership Style
Visionary leaders have a clear-cut idea of where a company or organization should be headed. They often focus on the big picture rather than the minor details, and they are typically unafraid to alter people and processes to move closer to their desired destination.
Visionary leaders are charismatic and determined to push forward towards their goals. They demonstrate immense resolve because they truly believe in the change they seek.
This form of leadership excels before and during transition phases within a company. These leaders are gifted at galvanizing their troops and keeping them on the move towards their goal.
Disadvantages
While visionary leadership can be highly effective, it may be less useful in situations where employees are resistant to change or stuck in their ways.
In scenarios where one individual becomes indispensable, the leader may become too essential. Without measures to cultivate their vision in others, struggles may surface when the leader is absent. To avoid this, leaders must empower others to carry their vision forward.
Advantages
The dynamic world we reside in favors visionary leaders. They encourage their employees to progress and improve, which is crucial in today's fast-paced environment. Recognizing when to employ visionary leadership can be valuable for a leader.
Visionary Leadership Example
Many influential leaders, such as Martin Luther King, have harnessed visionary leadership over other management styles, impacting the world with their powerful messages and ideals.
Adapting your Leadership Style
To maximize your impact as a leader, it is essential to comprehend when to use various management styles depending on the situation and the individuals involved. By flexibly tailoring your approach to the specific circumstances, you can ensure your leadership style is optimized for success.
- A coaching leadership style, which emphasizes nurturing subordinates to work effectively together and motivate employees, can be beneficial when seeking to create a collective vision and inspire personal and professional growth.
- Coaching leaders are open to ideas from their team members, recognizing the potential in each individual, and inspiring them to achieve their aspirations, rather than micro-managing them.
- However, coaching leadership may result in slower outcomes in some cases due to the coach's dedication to teaching, making it less suitable when prompt results are necessary.
- In situations with urgent short-term lessons to be learned, a coach might accept short-term failures which may not be ideal in instances without room for failure.
- Despite its disadvantages, coaching leadership is advantageous compared to other management styles in suitable situations, leading to an increase in long-term results and a stronger organization overall.
- Visionary leaders have a clear understanding of their organization's direction and are excellent during transition phases, galvanizing their team towards their goals.
- However, visionary leadership can be less useful in situations where employees resist change or are resistant to adapting to the leader's vision.
- To maximize impact as a leader, it is crucial to adapt and tailor your approach to different situations, using various management styles, such as coaching or visionary leadership, to ensure your leadership style is optimized for success.
