No two businesses are exactly the same — which means that no two leaders can employ exactly the same strategies and see success. If you are a new business leader looking to develop your leadership style, you might take inspiration from any of the following nine well-known types of leadership:
Autocratic Leader
The autocratic leadership style is what many workers imagine when they think of a boss. These leaders make decisions without input from staff; they expect full obedience from team members, and they do not tolerate poor performance well. Treatment of workers by autocratic leaders tends to be harsh, which is perhaps why this style of leadership is plummeting in popularity in a post–Great Resignation world.
Visionary Leader
A visionary leader is one intent on unifying their team with a common vision. They strive to bring clarity to the organization’s mission and form strong bonds between employees in pursuit of specific and inspiring goals. Rather than outlining expectations for day-to-day behavior, visionary leaders tend to utilize a hands-off approach to allow employees to develop their own methods of achieving success — though too much focus on the big picture can cause them to miss important details.
High-impact Leader
Leaders who are committed to driving results tend to function as high-impact leaders. These leaders put plenty of effort into understanding their own strengths as well as the strengths of fellow leaders and employees. Then, they learn to leverage those strengths to achieve professional and organizational goals. When properly trained through high-impact leadership courses, this type of leader can become unstoppable in the workplace.
Laissez-faire Leader
Using a French phrase meaning “let you do,” laissez-faire leaders operate under the belief that workers have all the necessary skills, knowledge and resources to do their work effectively. Some laissez-faire leaders believe that any intervention from management has the potential to cause harm, perhaps through lower productivity and perhaps through lower employee morale. This type of leader will try to remain as hands-off as possible, giving employees almost full autonomy to complete their tasks.
Democratic Leader
Democratic leaders prioritize employee feedback while making decisions that affect the entire team. Many democratic leaders encourage workers to engage in dialogues with one another and with leadership to ensure that everyone’s thoughts, ideas and opinions are heard. Often, employees operating under democratic leaders feel more connected to their organization as they know that their voice can have an impact.
Coach-style Leader
A coach is tasked with improving individual team members to make the rest of the team stronger. Similarly, coach-style leaders invest time and energy in the professional development of individual employees to help the organization function better as a whole. Coach-style leaders often believe that every worker has an important purpose within the team, and they strive to identify that purpose and cultivate the skills and knowledge that worker needs to thrive. A high-quality online course for project management might be a useful credential for leaders who naturally gravitate toward this type.
Transactional Leader
A transactional leader sees their role in simple terms: A worker performs, and a leader rewards that performance. Some transactional leaders strive to develop complex reward structures to ensure that high-performing employees receive more rewards for their efforts. All business leaders operate as transactional leaders to some degree — as all workers need to be paid for their contributions — but some leaders try to promote other aspects of their leadership style to help employees develop deeper bonds with their employer.
Transformational Leader
Inspiration is the main goal of transformational leaders, who tend to have impeccable communication skills which they use to encourage their teams. Often, transformation leaders strive to develop the creative power of their employees in the hopes of promoting powerful innovation. In pursuit of organizational or industry transformation, this type of leader is not afraid of taking major risks — though it is best if those risks are thoroughly researched and strategized beforehand.
Situational Leader
Some of the best leaders for changeable workplaces, situational leaders are experts in adaptation. This type of leader works to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their workforce to better understand its requirements in different circumstances. Thus, situational leaders can take on the attributes and actions of other types of leaders when the need arises. Some situational leaders can even apply distinct leadership techniques to specific employees, ensuring that every worker receives the best possible leader at every moment.