Discovering Your Personal Leadership Style

Everyone has a leader inside of them. Don’t believe me? At some point in time, you probably have found yourself in a position to make decisions for other people. It could have been at a large gathering, at work, or even at home with your family. At the time, you probably didn’t even think about it.

What was your leadership style? Some people seek different opinions before making final decisions while others prefer to decide alone. Some leaders are very flexible in decision making to accommodate for different behaviors and personalities while others are firm and disciplined.

While there is no fixed rule on how to lead, the most important thing is to adopt the style that works for you and produces the results you seek. No matter what your style, you can always get better to gain the respect and confidence of more people and achieve even greater results.

Let’s discuss the importance of knowing your leadership style.

 

Why You Must Know Your Leadership Style

As an executive, entrepreneur, or team leader trying to progress in your field, understanding your leadership style is crucial because only then:

  • You will be able to truly hone in and take full advantage of the positive aspects of your leadership style.
  • You will understand your leadership imperfections and gain the awareness to make necessary corrections.
  • You will be able to strengthen relationships with those you lead through better communication.
  • You will grow and develop into higher leadership roles in your career.

 

So, how can you discover your leadership style?

 

Self-Evaluation

When self-evaluating, it is important to be as blunt and reflective as possible. Be honest with yourself, and honestly think through your personal strengths and weaknesses in leadership. Are you quick to stress? Are you a fantastic listener? Write down as many qualities of your leadership style as you can, good or bad. What strengths should you emphasize from now on? What roles are your weaknesses playing in your decision making?

 

Ask for Feedback

Feel free to ask the team you are leading about your style. After all, they are most affected by your leadership. Make sure the people you ask, are those that will give you honest opinions. And when approaching them, mention that you are looking for constructive feedback. Now is not the time to get defensive. If there are negatives, write them down and feel sorry for yourself later. This is valuable data that will effectively help you course-correct your leadership style as swiftly as possible.

 

Take an Online Quiz

Still perplexed about your leadership style? There are hundreds of quizzes available online which you can take to assess your leadership style and quality. These quizzes are often easy, fun, and incredibly insightful. The online tool will rate you, tell you your style, and suggest ways of improvement. Simply google “Leadership Style Quiz” and you will find many to choose from. I suggest taking several so you can see what qualities are consistently popping up for you.

 

There are many ways to lead. One style is not necessarily better than the other. The important thing is to discover the style that works best for you, your team and the organization to sharpen the strengths of that style. With a bit of self-reflection and feedback, you will be a more effective leader in no time.

 

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About Debi

Debi is a coach to high performers, leaders and business owners wanting to achieve more and grow beyond what they believe is possible. Known for her clarifying insight and a pragmatic approach, Debi brings her clients to the next step by asking the right questions during strategy development and supporting them during strategy implementation. With experience in management, recruitment and employee development for various industries, she has a wide scope of expertise and will confidently guide you towards a successful future in your career.

 

Ready to take your career to the next level?

Let’s chat. Schedule a call to discuss innovative solutions to your specific needs.

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Your Leadership Style Impacts the Team

In the workplace, you are and will continue to be exposed to different leadership styles. Just as every person is unique, so is their leadership style. But, before we learn about the most common styles of leadership, let’s take a step back and discuss what leadership truly is.

Leadership is the process of inspiring individuals towards accomplishing a specific goal. The main aim of leadership is to achieve results; leaders should be able to communicate with others in a way that makes them act the way they want them to act.

Now, let’s dig into common leadership styles and tips for each one.

 

Autocratic

This older leadership style places much emphasis on obedience. Leaders using this style do not typically listen to others. Instead, they believe that their decision is the best way to go. This style of leadership can often push down other’s courage to speak up and collaborate, therefore risking the opportunity to capitalize on hidden talent.

If this is your natural leadership style, be mindful to pause and ask for input along the way. You never know what great idea could be waiting for you!

 

Laissez Faire

This style of leading is done in a hands-off way. The leader will often let others make some of the decisions without being involved. While this leadership style is laidback, a standoffish leader might not get to discover the extent of other people’s capabilities and know how best to employ skills.

If this describes you, remember there will be times you will have to step up to take hold of some situations. Also, take the time to get to know your team to pull together everyone’s core strengths.

 

Authoritative

Also known as the visionary style, authoritative leadership is the leader displaying confidence in their decisions, while also involving additional input and ideas. An authoritative leader will issue out orders to employees while taking the time to explain why a particular decision was made. With newer or uncertain teams, this leadership style is great to lean into. When there is an air of confusion or doubt in an organization, it is the job of the leader to step up and make strong decisions.

While there are many benefits to leading by this style, ensuring that employees feel heard will be vital to overall efficiency.

 

Democratic

Leading in a democratic way is done transparently. Typically, the employees are involved in decision making and are invited to provide their input too. It is a highly effective style because it can boost confidence and career development due to the collaborative nature. A democratic leader will unite the team and make them want to work harder.

While allowing leaders to guide while also welcoming collaboration from team members may be one of the most balanced leadership styles, in crisis or uncertain times, one leader may need to make the call.

 

Pacesetting

A pacesetting leader will lead by example. Extremely focused individuals can effectively lead with this style. Essentially, in this style, the leader demonstrates the standards for the team and expects the team to follow with minimal supervision. Usually, this leadership style is best for type A personalities who thrive under pressure or highly-skilled, tenured teams.

Pacesetters can fall into the trap that their team just knows what type of work is expected from them. When leading with this style, take moments to do check-ins with the team.

 

Being a leader means that you are responsible for others. You guide others towards a goal while navigating different personalities, skill levels, and work ethics. Although there are natural-born leaders who seemingly slip into a specific leadership style with no training at all, for the rest of us, leadership is something to be developed.

When you understand your leadership style, you can start testing out other styles. The most effective leaders do not limit themselves to one style. They often switch up their styles when the need arises. So, believe in yourself and your decisions. Others will follow naturally.

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About Debi

Debi is a coach to high performers, leaders and business owners wanting to achieve more and grow beyond what they believe is possible. Known for her clarifying insight and a pragmatic approach, Debi brings her clients to the next step by asking the right questions during strategy development and supporting them during strategy implementation. With experience in management, recruitment and employee development for various industries, she has a wide scope of expertise and will confidently guide you towards a successful future in your career.

 

Ready to take your career to the next level?

Let’s chat. Schedule a call to discuss innovative solutions to your specific needs.

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