Types of Leadership Styles

“To be a good leader, one should… What do you think about this? Well, finishing the sentence might tell a great deal about the individual and his or her leadership styles. With this comes another thing, leadership styles. What do you know about leadership styles? How many leadership styles types are there?

Regardless of the leadership styles types, a person is not born with it. It is acquired over time. Moreover, the style of leadership one possesses is the result of learning and surroundings. You do not just pick one style and make it yours. You need to own it.

In this blog, you will learn about the type of leadership styles.

Above all, leadership styles are present in several domains such as sports, management, education and more. However, before you dig deep into types of leadership styles in management, know what leadership styles are.

What are leadership styles?

Let’s understand the meaning of leadership styles in layman’s terms. This will make it easier to understand it.

Leadership is a behavioral pattern (a leadership skill) which a leader follows to motivate and influence his/ her followers. This is done to ensure that his/ her followers achieve the objectives effectively. Several characteristics form the leadership behavior which is further classified as a particular style.

Now, let’s jump into understanding the leadership styles types. Whether you talk about leadership styles in management or sports, every type has unique characteristics making it different.

Autocratic Leadership

Starting with leadership styles autocratic, you like to make decisions alone without consulting your team members or stakeholders. This is helpful in quick decision-making and in cases where there is no need for team input or agreement. However, this form of leadership can demoralize your team members and make them feel valueless. Also, it can result in staff turnover or a high level of absenteeism.

Democratic Leadership

In making final decisions, leadership styles democratic come into play. However, in this, the
members are a part of the decision making process. These leaders ensure that the team members have high productivity as well as job satisfaction.
It is also termed as participative leadership in the business world where they say ‘two is always better than one.

Strategic Leadership

We all know that a good strategy can be the key to success. Therefore, strategic leaders are always at the intersection point of company work and growth opportunities. You maintain the upper-level management but ensure that everyone else is not negatively affected by it. They ensure that working conditions are best for everyone.

Bureaucratic Leadership

Now let’s come to the next leadership styles of management, bureaucratic leadership. The leaders are committed to their rules and want to get things done in a particular order and manner. Just like you would like a chef to follow a recipe or a mechanic to follow the procedure, the leader leads the team by the rules. Little to no deviation from the rules is experienced.
It brings discipline but rigidity can come in the way of creativity. Therefore, always be careful if you are this type of leader.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

The French term “Laissez-Faire” means that the leader let the team do it. It can also be interpreted as delegation or zero leadership. However, as a leader, you will always be there to guide and instruct them. You should have trust in the capabilities and abilities of your team. Moreover, this offers you an exceptional opportunity to bring in creativity in your workplace.

Transformational Leadership

As the name suggests, this type of leadership always follows the concept of transformation. The team members get the chance of letting their creativity flow.
As a leader, you should make your team feel that you put them first. They should know that they matter. However, you should be cautious as ineffectiveness can result in losing a clear and strong path. You should ensure the perfect balance.

Charismatic Leadership

You might find it similar to transformational leadership but different.
Motivating and inspiring your team remains the primary goal of you as the leader. However, there is no transformation in this process.
As a leader, you are determined that you are always right even if people tell you about the wrongs. This can lead to certain risks and damage to the team or organization at times.

Transactional Leadership

The leaders and followers transact rewards and punishments for the tasks performed. For the goals set and accomplished, the leader rewards the team members. You can easily term it as a give and take relationship. Transactional leadership helps in developing measurable and specific results which the employees can effectively achieve.
However, it minimizes creativity and innovation along with creating more followers than leaders.

Coach-style Leadership

You should identify and nurture the strengths of each of the members. This results in better teamwork and better strategy building. Also, you can find subtle hints of democratic and strategic leadership in this type of leadership.
The leader creates a team where all the team members contribute as per their expertise and skills. Moreover, teams have better communication and cooperation spirit to get things done in order.

Servant Leadership

Now, our leadership style will move on to servant leadership styles. Don’t worry, it does not mean that the leader is the servant. As a leader, you are focused on meeting the requirements of the team. In this case, you might not have formal leader recognition. The leader gains their position due to their ideals, ethics and values and holds high integrity and generosity.

Were you able to identify your leadership style?

Could you find the one you think would be best for you?

Work on your skills and commit yourself to create your signature style. Knowing which one works best for you tells you that you are a good leader. And don’t worry if you don’t know. Developing your style will portray your ability to nurture into an effective and successful leader. Therefore, get yourself involved, understand the different styles and practice as it makes a man perfect and a woman too.