The 8 Faces of Leadership
The landscape of leadership literature is vast: At Medium alone the topic “Leadership” has 2.2M followers - there is so much advice out there, that it can be hard to get started.
In the past years I read a lot of literature in the realm of leadership and made some experiences myself (if you are interested, you can have a look here). What I found helpful is to identify my personal leadership style.
In this article I want to share the different types of authority and leadership styles so you can choose the one that suits you best!
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| Image created in cooperation with DALL·E 3 |
Types of Authority
Before we plunge into the captivating world of leadership styles, let’s take a brief detour to explore the various types of authority that lay the foundation.
Every leader needs some authority.
Authority comes in different forms - some sources claim that there are 8 different types, while others boil it down to just three. By using four different types, we get a good overview:
- Legitimate Authority: This form of authority comes from ones position or role. This can be held by a founding member of a group or organization. Furthermore, legitimate authority can come from ownership (e.g. business owners or shareholders).
- Reward/Coercive Authority: This involves the power to reward others for positive actions and behaviors. This may also include punitive authority to withhold rewards for negative behaviors.
- Expert Authority: An expert holds authority based on a high level of knowledge or specialized skills.
- Reverent (Charismatic) Authority: Individuals possessing reverent authority have gained the respect and admiration of their peers through their people-centric approach, based in values of respect, compassion, and empathy for others.
Leadership Styles
There are as many different leadership styles as there are leaders. However, leadership styles can be characterized by incorporating a blend of the following traits.
1. Autocratic Leadership
The autocratic leadership style is one of the most known and feared ones. When we think of autocratic leaders, the villains of history such as Stalin, Hitler and Mao come to mind.
Autocratic leaders instill fear as they centralize decision-making, excluding employee input. They rigidly enforce rules, expecting unwavering obedience and unquestioning adherence from their team members.
But not all is bad when it comes to an autocratic leadership style. As the decision-making is concentrated, decisions are usually made very quickly. This is one reason why this leadership style is so common in military. However, the downside is that it stifles innovation and creativity as those who follow an autocratic leader might stop thinking on their own.
2. Bureaucratic Leadership
This is yet another well-known leadership style. It is similar to the autocratic leadership style as it rigidly enforces rules. However, the difference is that it does not center around one shiny leader, but around a bureaucratic set of rules, a clear chain of command and fixed duties.
Bureaucratic leadership is best suited for specialized work with strict guidelines (e.g. organizations that carry out audits or issue certificates).
This leadership-style has the upside of efficiency, but lacks room for innovation and creativity.
3. Transactional Leadership
Transactional leadership is an exchange-based style where leaders reward followers for meeting expectations and intervene only when deviations occur. It relies on contingent rewards and management by exception.
This leadership approach is prevalent in larger organizations, particularly where managers’ bonuses are tied to specific outcomes, following a “management by objectives” framework.
Similar to (1) and (2) the leadership style produces consistent results, but falls short in inspiration and therefore lack adaptability in dynamic or creative settings.
4. Democratic Leadership
The core of this leadership style is inclusive decision-making: leaders seek input from team members.
It values collaboration, encourages participation, and fosters a sense of shared responsibility. This style promotes open communication, consensus-building, and empowerment within the team, leading to increased engagement and motivation among members.
Democratic leadership has many benefits and will be seen positively by most team members as they can take part in decision-making. However, it is challenging in fast-paced decision-making scenarios as democratic processes take their time.
5. Laissez-Faire Leadership
This style is often seen as the “hands-off” or “no leadership” approach.
But it is more than that.
A laissez-faire leader provides minimal guidance and intervention in order to empower the teams’ creativity and decision-making skills. The leader delegates most of the decisions to the team and they make decisions independently
While it can stimulate creativity and initiative, it may lead to a lack of direction and coordination, requiring self-motivated and skilled individuals to thrive.
Like democratic leadership, the laissez-faire approach may result in sluggish responses to change. In the absence of a highly motivated team, it can lead to stagnation. Hence, this style is most suitable for teams that are both highly skilled and inherently motivated.
6. Charismatic Leadership
This leadership approach bears some resemblance to the autocratic style, centered on the leader. However, the distinction lies in the leader’s role, which is not dictatorial but rather focused on inspiration and motivation.
Charismatic leaders exhibit confidence, charm, and passion, captivating followers. While effective in motivating and mobilizing teams, its success may hinge on the leader’s ability to maintain authenticity and align their charisma with organizational goals.
This leadership approach demands an inspirational leader. Due to its dependence on the individual, it becomes challenging to adjust the course when the leader departs.
7. Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is a dynamic style where leaders inspire positive changes by fostering creativity, innovation, and individual growth. The focus is a shared (team) vision which is broken down into long-term goals.
This approach cultivates a motivated and dedicated team committed to achieving collective goals and continuous improvement.
At first it sounds like the style to go for. However, it is slow-paced and therefore leads to slow decision-making. Furthermore, it can be very demanding on the employees and risk employee burnout.
8. Servant Leadership
The servant leader prioritizes nurturing the personal development of their team. They engage in active listening, demonstrate empathy, and provide support wherever possible to ensure the well-being and growth of their team members.
The backbone of servant leadership are authentic relationships that contribute to a positive culture and a high satisfaction of the employees.
This leadership style can be very demanding for the leader as it needs a lot of dedication, energy and time.
Pick your Leadership Style
Each of the 8 leadership styles stands out with its unique characteristics.
To identify the leadership style that aligns best with your preferences, blend various styles and shape your own distinctive approach.
Nevertheless, the 8 leadership styles offer a reference point for selecting an effective style tailored to your specific environment.
Thank you for reading! I hope you found my article helpful.
For this article I used the following sources: