Developing Your Leadership Style: What You Need to Know
Achieving success in a managerial role demands robust leadership abilities, yet it encompasses more than mere skills. Being an effective leader involves developing a style that aligns with your strengths, position, and the specific business landscape you operate within. This tailored approach not only accentuates your leadership prowess but also empowers you to excel in your role. To cultivate your unique leadership style, diving deeper into various leadership behaviors and styles is essential.
As described in the book, “Elevate Your Leadership: 10 Leadership Styles for Every Situation” by VERSAtile Reads, various leadership styles—like democratic, autocratic, transformational, bureaucratic, etc. —are worth studying. However, amidst these defined styles, the key is to find your own. Your leadership style encapsulates your unique capacity and method to inspire others towards task accomplishment, selfless service to the community, and the willingness to dedicate time and talent for the benefit of others.
This blog offers innovative leadership style insights that aim to help you discover your personal leadership style. So, let’s dive in!
What is a Personal Leadership Style?
Defining leadership or what makes a remarkable leader isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept. Each person holds their unique perception of leadership and its impact on their life. Your individual leadership style embodies the practices, actions, and values you uphold as a leader—an amalgamation of personal life lessons and experiences acquired over time. Thus, while leadership styles possess a solid foundation, they are also adaptable. New lessons and experiences continuously mold how you lead.
Discovering your personal leadership style involves a genuine struggle to discern what resonates with you and what doesn’t. As a leader, you determine the lessons and principles you adhere to—an essential aspect of defining your leadership identity. Be discerning in selecting elements for your leadership style, focusing on areas you believe are optimal for fostering the growth of those skills. Over time, your leadership style evolves through diverse challenges and successes.
When drawing upon your leadership philosophy to make decisions, rely on past successful experiences and your current instincts. Confidence in your leadership style strengthens as you consistently employ it advantageously. Embrace this journey of self-discovery, as it’s integral to refining and solidifying your unique approach to leadership.
Which Style of Leadership Is the Best?
Various leadership styles find application in business or management roles, yet determining the best style hinges on specific factors like your workplace environment and personal strengths and weaknesses. Situational demands might also warrant different leadership approaches. It’s advantageous to delve into these styles, learning to adapt your own to suit particular situations. Consider the following leadership styles when shaping your approach:
· Coach: Traits of coaching leaders include enabling team members to reach their potential assisting in goal-setting and improvement.
· Visionary: They possess a clear organizational vision and motivate teams to actualize it, providing a roadmap for goal achievement.
· Autocratic: Using authority to direct, these leaders make decisions independently, expecting compliance.
· Delegative or Laissez-Faire: This approach grants autonomy to team members, with minimal guidance or direction from the leader.
· Democratic: By welcoming feedback, these leaders involve team input in goal-setting and decision-making processes.
· Pacesetter: Prioritizing rapid goal achievement, these leaders thrive in fast-paced environments.
· Transformational: Focusing on a shared vision, these leaders engage team members in creative problem-solving and self-discovery.
· Transactional: Using incentives to drive goal attainment, these leaders may mentor team members toward objectives.
· Bureaucratic: Adhering strictly to rules, these leaders might overlook creativity in goal setting or implementation despite considering team feedback.
Finding the most effective leadership style often involves a tailored approach, considering context, team dynamics, and individual strengths. Flexibility in adopting and adapting these styles fosters effective leadership in various scenarios.
Tips For Developing Your Leadership Style
Developing your leadership style is an integral aspect of the managerial path. Essential to this growth is your skill in embracing and customizing diverse styles to suit your needs. The following tips aim to facilitate this process for you.
1. Embrace Authenticity
Being genuine in the workplace is crucial. Strive to present a professional version of yourself that aligns with your natural demeanor. If authority doesn’t come naturally, abruptly assuming a commanding role might feel awkward and fail to garner respect from your team. Instead, leverage your innate mannerisms, strengths, and abilities to wield authority in a positive and effective manner.
2. Foster Adaptability
Varied circumstances call for subtle shifts in leadership approaches. For instance, leading a change initiative demands inspiration and engagement to secure others’ commitment. Conversely, during a crisis, a more directive stance might be necessary to convey urgency appropriately. Adaptive leadership skills mastery is essential, and being attuned to individual team members’ motivations, needs, and personalities is equally vital.
3. Familiarize Yourself With Diverse Approaches
Though leadership perspectives vary, certain leadership styles hold universal recognition. Even if you naturally transition between styles, understanding these diverse approaches is beneficial. As a new manager, seeking insights from seasoned leaders can be invaluable. Engage with experienced managers to learn about the styles and approaches they’ve employed, what proved successful and the wisdom they can share.
4. Harness Emotional Intelligence
Employing emotional intelligence involves being attuned to your environment and self-awareness. While we all possess some ability to empathize, there are moments where heightened emotional awareness is crucial. For instance, during departmental layoffs, displaying empathy toward your team is vital. However, it’s essential to avoid offering false assurances or promises that cannot be fulfilled.
5. Maintain Balance
Leadership necessitates balancing individual team members’ motivations and needs with the department’s or organization’s best interests. Consider several factors when determining the most suitable leadership approach:
· The nature of your team’s work
· The diverse skills, experiences, and personalities within your team
· The prevailing culture within your department or organization.
6. Embrace Experimentation
Exploring various leadership styles is an effective way to discover what suits you best and when. Engage in leadership training courses, providing a safe space for experimentation. Volunteering to lead initiatives or special interest groups, either within or outside your organization, presents further opportunities to refine different leadership approaches.
7. Ask for feedback
Gaining objective insights into your leadership style and its efficacy can be challenging. Seek constructive feedback through online assessment tools, senior colleague observations, or during individual catch-up meetings with your team. Questions like ‘What more can I do?’ or ‘How can I better support you in your role?’ often unveil areas for adaptation or enhancement in your leadership approach.
8. Seek Formal Guidance
Navigating managerial responsibilities can be daunting, especially for new team leaders. Consider seeking external support, such as a coach or mentor, to provide benchmarking, discuss leadership ideas, and identify areas for ongoing development. You may ask for leadership self-awareness tips from those before you to help you stay on the right track. Having someone to turn to for guidance can greatly assist in your leadership journey.
The Bottom Line
Discovering that your way of leading might not give you the results you want or that there might be better ways to do things is a chance to think about how you lead. It’s important to look at your own style and change bits of it if needed while staying true to who you really are. Change can be good or bad—it depends on how you see it.
Including effective leadership growth principles into your style helps you get better as a leader. If you resist change, it makes things harder for you. But if you welcome it, you can use it to help you. Understand it, adjust to it, and work with it instead of fighting against it. This will help your leadership grow as you learn new things.
The way we lead shows who we are—our personalities, experiences, education, passions, and dreams. That’s what makes learning about leadership so interesting and rewarding. Enjoy finding out more about yourself on this journey, and be open to surprising yourself along the way!
FAQS
How do I develop a leadership style?
Cultivate your style through self-reflection, learning from experiences, and staying true to your authentic self. Embrace diverse approaches and adapt them to suit your strengths.
Why is it important to know your leadership style?
Understanding your style shapes how you influence others and handle various situations. It ensures leadership is aligned with your strengths, fostering effectiveness and authenticity.
Can I have multiple leadership styles?
Yes, it’s common to adopt different styles based on situations. Combining elements from various approaches allows flexibility in leadership.
How do I find my authentic leadership style?
Explore your strengths, values, and experiences. Reflect on what feels natural and aligns with your principles to discover your authentic leadership approach. Remember to follow leadership style assessment best practices.
Can my leadership style evolve over time?
Absolutely. As you learn and grow, your style may adapt to new experiences and challenges, evolving to better suit your evolving leadership needs. You can always develop an evolving leadership strategies guide to help you keep track of your progress.
