What’s Your Leadership Style?

We’ve learned through researching different types of leadership styles and the importance of finding yours, that workplace leaders possess a lot of power — whether they know it or not. Yes, it’s widely understood that managers make decisions that directly impact their employees, like hiring people, delegating tasks, approving raises, etc.

But what about the indirect choices? Choices that affect things like workplace culture, or establish expectations, or foster cohesion and inspire teamwork?

These decisions, and how they’re implemented, aren’t only highly dependent on leadership style, but they have a dramatic impact on employee success. Research shows that 35% of individuals report their boss as being “a primary cause of workplace stress” and “as a result of inadequate employee and leadership engagement, one in every five employees is susceptible to experiencing burnout.”

While there is a lot of focus on whether one has leadership skills, there’s less of an emphasis on establishing a consistent leadership style. More importantly, the leadership style should be compatible with your employees and the industry you’re working in. So let’s take a closer look at the different leadership styles and in what settings they are the most effective.

The Five Most Common Leadership Styles

Before diving individually into the leadership styles, we’ve compiled a few important statistics that leaders should keep in mind more broadly.

• A recent survey found that 57% of workers reported that leadership doesn’t share their workplace values.

• According to research from The Harris Poll, American workers overwhelmingly agreed that trustworthiness was the most important trait to being a successful leader.

• Another survey found that workers said the most important leadership behaviors are working collaboratively and a strong sense of belonging/safety.

All this is to say that regardless of which leadership style you choose to embody, it’s vital that you give your employees reasons to trust you, evidence that you can work as a team, and demonstrate an ongoing effort to create a safe work environment.

Types of Leadership Styles

1. Coaching Leadership Style

A coaching leader is one who pays close attention to their employees strengths and weaknesses. They focus on motivating people individually and the team. They do this by setting fair expectations and giving regular feedback.

It’s worth noting that this type of leadership isn’t always the most popular, and can be seen as a form of micromanagement. One study found that only 23% of employees reported a desire for more coaching from their manager, and ranked it as one of the least preferred methods of learning. Because of this, we think the coaching style is best implemented when managing entry-level employees and/or people who are very new to the field.

2. Democratic/Bureaucratic Leadership Style

Some experts consider these to be two different types of leadership styles, but they share many key features. For example, they both involve establishing a consensus among all team members while still maintaining a clear and agreed-upon hierarchy. Every individual has a set of tasks/duties, as well as someone they answer to directly.

The democratic leadership style is one of the most popular, and when implemented correctly, it can ensure the workplace operates as a well-oiled machine. This type of leadership is also highly effective and sought-after in the world of remote work.

3. Authoritative Leadership Style

This leadership style is fairly self-explanatory. An authoritative leader is someone who focuses primarily on results and has no problem making decisions on their own. In these settings, employees are required to follow orders, usually without question.

This type of leadership style is especially needed in high-stress work environments in which the aforementioned ‘results’ can be a matter of life and death. An ER doctor, for instance, needs to act as an authoritative leader because in the emergency room, there’s no time for deliberation. In calm, less dire working conditions, however, this leadership style can cause a lot of friction and stress.

4. Pacesetting Leadership Style

A pacesetting leader is someone who sets high expectations and wants employees to strive for excellence. Under this style of leadership, primary goals will be based on performance and there’s an understanding that team members are all responsible for both successes and failures.

Another cornerstone of this leadership style is the act of ‘leading by example’. Unlike an authoritative leader, pacesetters feel the need to demonstrate their ability to uphold the same high standards they set for everyone else.

5. Affiliative/Servant Leadership Style

The servant leadership style emphasizes building strong emotional bonds and ensuring that team members find fulfillment in their work. This leadership style heavily relies on collaboration, and typically involves a lot of positive feedback.

These leaders are especially effective in creative spaces, where their employees need to feel safe exploring new ideas. Managers in startups, for instance, will often utilize this leadership style to promote creativity and innovation, rather than focusing intensely on results and obedience.

Other Important Findings

You may have noticed that there are overlapping features within all five leadership styles, and it’s common that most leaders possess qualities from more than one. In fact, the ability to adapt one’s leadership approach based on the needs of their specific team is extremely valuable and is a reason to avoid pigeonholing yourself into a single leadership style.

Another thing leaders should keep in mind while developing their personal leadership style, is the importance of DEI. Recent data suggests that many workers are concerned with leadership’s approach to diversity. “Close to 75% say business leaders should be addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion” more than they are currently.

Taking all of this into consideration, it might be time for you to re-evaluate your role as a leader, or perhaps you find yourself questioning those who are supposed to be leading you. Good leadership is a make-or-break factor in most workplaces. If you don’t feel like you’re part of a harmonious professional team, it can have a negative impact on your career regardless of your skills as an individual worker.

Don’t let poor management or a disjointed team drag you down. Instead, let CyberCoders match you with a new opportunity. Our expert recruiters are eager to place you in a position where you can truly thrive. To learn more about our services and proven track record, check out our website today!