Leadership Styles: Understanding Your Approach and Impact

Feb 20, 2023·By Damesha Craig

Leadership is a critical aspect of any organization and has a significant impact on the success and growth of a company. Leaders are responsible for setting the tone and direction of the organization, inspiring and motivating employees, and making key decisions that shape the future of the company.

There are several leadership styles that have been identified, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Understanding your leadership style is essential in order to maximize your impact as a leader and to be able to adapt your approach to different situations and people.

Here are some of the most common leadership styles:

Autocratic Leadership: This style is characterized by a top-down approach to decision-making, where the leader makes all the decisions and communicates them to the team. Autocratic leaders typically have a clear vision and a strong sense of direction, but can also be seen as inflexible and lacking empathy for their employees. The leader holds all authority and responsibility. They have absolute power and dictate all tasks to be undertaken. There is no consultation with employees before a decision is made. After the decision is made, everyone is expected to support the decision made by the leader. There is often some level of fear of the leader by the team and can lead to persistent absenteeism and high employee turnover.

Transformational Leadership: This style focuses on inspiring and motivating employees to achieve their full potential. Transformational leaders are visionary, charismatic, and innovative, and they encourage employees to think creatively and take risks. Transformational leadership is about cultivating change in organizations and people. The transformation is done through motivating team members to go beyond their comfort zone and achieve much more than their perceived capabilities. To be effective, transformational leaders should possess high levels of integrity, emotional intelligence, a shared vision of the future, empathy, and good communication skills. Such a style of leadership is often associated with high growth-oriented organizations that push boundaries in innovation and productivity. Practically, such leaders tend to give employees tasks that grow in difficulty and deadlines that keep getting tighter as time progresses.This style is highly effective when leading change and innovation, but can be less effective in situations where quick decisions need to be made.

Laissez-Faire Leadership: This style is characterized by a hands-off approach, where the leader delegates authority and decision-making to the team. Laissez-faire leaders trust their employees to make the right decisions and are less involved in the day-to-day operations of the organization. This style can be effective in empowering employees and promoting creativity, but can also lead to a lack of direction and accountability. The laissez-faire leadership approach is empowering to employees who are creative, skilled, and self-motivated. The level of trust and independence given to the team can prove to be uplifting and productive and can lead to job satisfaction. At the same time, it is important to keep such a type of leadership in check as chaos and confusion can quickly ensue if the team is not organized. The team can end up doing completely different things contrary to what the leader expects. According to research, laissez-faire leadership is the least satisfying and least effective.

Servant Leadership: This style focuses on serving the needs of the team and putting the needs of others before your own. Servant leaders are empathetic, selfless, and focused on the development of their employees. This style is highly effective in creating a positive work culture and building trust, but can also be seen as lacking assertiveness and the ability to make tough decisions. Servant leadership may not be suitable for competitive situations where other leaders compete with servant leaders. Servant leaders can easily fall behind more ambitious leaders. The servant leadership style is also criticized for not being agile enough to respond to tight deadlines and high-velocity organizations or situations.

Transactional Leadership: This style focuses on clear expectations and consequences for meeting goals. Transactional leaders use a reward-and-punishment system to motivate employees and ensure that goals are met. This style is effective in achieving short-term results and maintaining stability, but can be seen as lacking inspiration and creativity.

Situational Leadership is a leadership theory that was first developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard. It suggests that the most effective leadership style depends on the situation and the development level of the people being led.

According to this theory, leaders should adapt their leadership style to match the needs of their employees, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach. The situational leadership model consists of four leadership styles: directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating.

Directing: This style is appropriate when followers are new to a task and need clear guidance and direction. The leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises the work.

Coaching: This style is appropriate when followers have some experience with the task but still need support and guidance. The leader provides feedback and coaching to help the followers improve their skills and become more self-sufficient.

Supporting: This style is appropriate when followers are competent at the task but need encouragement and support. The leader provides praise and support to help maintain motivation and build confidence.

Delegating: This style is appropriate when followers are highly competent and capable of performing the task without close supervision. The leader delegates responsibility and authority to the followers, allowing them to take ownership of the work.

Situational leadership is based on the idea that effective leadership involves not only adapting to the situation, but also to the development level of the people being led. By understanding the development level of their employees, leaders can choose the most appropriate leadership style to achieve the best results.

I have had the privilege of working in many startups that have lead by each of these different leadership styles and I was able to witness the pros and cons of each. Personally, my leadership style is combination of transformational and situational as I believe the combination best serves direct reports and other team members who are operating at different levels.

In final thoughts, one’s leadership style is a critical aspect of any organization and has a significant impact on the success and growth of a company and its employees. As a Leader, it’s imperative to understand your leadership style in order to maximize your impact as a leader and to be able to adapt your approach to different situations and people. By having awareness of your leadership style and its strengths and weaknesses, will allow you communicate your leadership style better, assess others' needs, forge productive relationships and motivate your team to achieve success. Additionally, your leadership style will impact not only your team, but other employees in the companies and will create a ripple effect to others they encounter in their lives.