The 7 Leadership Styles & When To Use Them

The 7 Leadership Styles & When To Use Them

“IT’S COMING HOME …”

As any Brit not living in a cave will remember, 2018 was the year we made it to the FIFA World Cup Semi-Finals for the first time in decades. Under super-hero football manager Gareth Southgate unique leadership style, England became serious contenders for the World Cup, once more and waistcoat sales went up by 35% thanks to the “Gareth Southgate effect”!

“It’s impossible to please everybody all of the time, but you just have to believe that you’re making decisions for the right reasons.” Says the man himself.

Leadership is not for everyone. But for those of us driven to take charge, it can be an amazing opportunity to transform, inspire and enliven. But with that comes responsibility – after all, there’s a reason why they say people leave bosses, not companies! Harvard Business Review even found that over 50% of people quit because of their managers. On the flip side, a good leader can make all the difference in how well your company retains and attracts the best and brightest.

As any supervisor, manager or even director will know, leaders have to be multi-faceted. Business is unpredictable and managers have to be able to embody chameleonic levels of adaptability if they are to succeed. With that it mind, we’ve pooled the 8 most common leadership styles. Which best describes your approach?

The Pacesetter

Ready, steady … go! If your industry is one when decisions have to be made at breakneck pace, you’ve likely evolved into a true pacesetter. As you will be well aware, the pros of this style include the ability to halve production time and maximize output under pressurized conditions. You know you’re a true pacesetter if you’ve found yourself slicing weekly meeting times, asking for ETAs on your team’s tasks and generally thinking several months ahead at all times!

The Captain

In the cockpit of an airplane, no one’s questioning the pilot. Thousands of feet in the air, things run smoothest when the expert is in charge and their team support. The Captain is unquestionably the one (thankfully!) in the drivers’ seat and what they say, goes. If you operate in an industry rife with regulations and compliance procedures that must be strenuously adhered to at all times, it’s likely you’ve developed a true Captain-style leadership. Fields such as medicine and law are particularly common for this type of figurehead.

The Hands-Off Leader

Think about what type of person would be a good art teacher. That’s this type of leader. The anti-micro-manager, this leader can be a real tonic for allowing creativity and innovation to flourish. If you currently supervise a highly experienced team whose expertise and self-motivation can be trusted, you probably find yourself employing this particular style more often than not.

The Team Player Leader

When the deadline is looming and the workload is still piling, a good leader will find themselves channeling the Team Player! Down in the trenches with their men, the team know they can count on the Team Player Leader to have their back and pitch in at the last hurdles. If you work in a small or medium company, you may find yourself utilizing this approach more often than otherwise. That said, even if you work for a large corporation, increasing your visibility and involvement with your team will have the same morale-boosting effect.

The Influencer

Whether it’s a favorite athlete, nutritionist, TV personality or chef, we’ve all been lured by the glow of an influencer. We want to be them! They inspire us! If you’re entering a new company in a management position, this will be your go-to style. Change can be difficult and you want to light a fire in your new team members! You will likely identify with this leadership style if you’re revamping your team’s projects, or bringing a new vision to a company.

The Coach

Being a coach – or a “Southgate” - is about being good with people. With sensitivity and insights, the coaches’ leadership style celebrates their team members’ individuality, channeling their strengths and supporting their weaknesses. As anyone in a managerial position will be aware, we all take from the coach-style at times. You’ll probably find yourself dipping into this style more frequently at the beginning of a project, when strategy is key.

Getting the right team!

Of course, you can be the best business leader in the world, but you’ll have a hard time getting your ideas off the ground if you don’t have a solid team behind you. You can water the soil all you like, but if you don’t have the right seed in there in the first place, you won’t be able to grow a garden anytime soon. To make sure you have the best team to nurture, discipline and motivate through key goals, why not consultant a talent acquisition expert? Get chatting to one of our friendly recruiters today and we’ll make sure you have a World Cup ready team behind you in no time. And this time, we’ll make sure they win!