What Is Leadership...Really?

Complete this sentence: “A leader is…”

What’s your answer? Someone who’s in a formal position of power?

Whoever’s ranked above you on the org chart? The person with the
corner office and the higher salary?

Those might be the traditional perceptions, but it’s important to

recognize that anybody can be a leader. Yes, that means you, too.
Fundamentally, a leader is somebody who influences or guides other
people through their own actions and behaviors. That might mean
someone who’s the designated head of a department. But make no
mistake—having that seniority isn’t a prerequisite.

Even if you’re not managing a team on a daily basis, you might still
have to step into a leadership role from time to time. Maybe you’re
spearheading an important cross-functional project or you have to
host a meeting.

Those are opportunities for you to fulfill a leadership role and be

looked to as an example. They’re also moments when your own
leadership qualities and style will bubble to the surface. So, don’t
write off these approaches as something that don’t apply to you just
because you don’t have a C-suite role.

Why Is it Important to Understand Your

Leadership Style?
Before we jump right into the nitty gritty, there’s one critical question
that needs to be answered: Why the heck do leadership styles matter?

“Understanding how you lead and want to lead will give you a better
sense of control over the size and scope of your reach and impact,”
explains Joyel Crawford, a Muse career coach and leadership
development consultant.
“Bringing awareness allows you to take ownership and responsibility,”
adds Tara Padua, executive coach, entrepreneur, and startup advisor.
“Our leadership style is a whirlpool of our values, our natural
strengths and abilities, [and] our beliefs and experiences. Knowing
your leadership style can help you align that whirlpool with your
vision, goals, and even your organization’s mission and vision.”
Put simply, to have an impact as a leader, you need to be an effective
one. And in order to be effective, you have to understand exactly
where you’re starting from—as well as where you want to go.
Knowing your current approach gives you a baseline that you can use
to identify the improvements you need to make.

8 Different Leadership Styles (and Their

Pros and Cons)
Here’s the good, bad, and the ugly on eight common, “textbook”
approaches to leadership.

These styles are based on the findings of several well-known

leadership researchers (such as Karl Lewin, Bernard M. Bass, Robert
K. Greenleaf, and more). However, be aware that you’ll see different
experts define these buckets differently.

1. Transactional Leadership
The best way to understand transactional leadership is to think of a
typical transaction: I give you this, and you do this in return.

That’s really the basis of this leadership style. Transactional leaders

dish out instructions to their team members and then use
different rewards and penalties to either recognize or punish what
they do in response.
Think of a leader offering praise to applaud a job well done or
mandating that a group member handles a despised department-wide
task because they missed a deadline. Those are examples of rewards
and punishments in a work setting.

Needless to say, this approach is highly directive, and is often

referred to as a “telling” leadership style.
 Pro: Confusion and guesswork are eliminated, because tasks and
expectations are clearly mapped out by the leader.

Con: Due to the rigid environment and expectations, creativity and

innovation may be stifled.

You Might Be a Transactional Leader If…

 You frequently use the threat of having to stay late when you need to
motivate your team.

 You’re constantly brainstorming clever ways to recognize solid work—

your team can’t wait to see what you come up with after last month’s
taco party.

2. Transformational Leadership
Again, with this leadership style, it’s all in the name: Transformational
leaders seek to change (ahem, transform) the businesses or groups in
which they lead by inspiring their employees to innovate.

These leaders are all about making improvements and finding better
ways to get things done. And as a result, they inspire and
empower other people to own their work and chime in with their
suggestions or observations about how things could be streamlined or
upgraded.
Under transformational leaders, people have tons of autonomy, as
well as plenty of breathing room to innovate and think outside the
box.

Pro: Leaders are able to establish a high level of trust with employees
and rally them around a shared vision or end goal.

Con: In environments where existing processes are valued, this desire

to change things up can ruffle some feathers.

You Might Be a Transformational Leader If…

 You look at every single existing process with a discerning eye and a
strong sense that it could be better.
 You’re always encouraging others to get outside their comfort zones
and push their own limits.

 You could burst with pride whenever you see a team member achieve
something that was previously thought to be impossible.

3. Servant Leadership
Servant leaders operate with this standard motto: Serve first and lead
second.

Rather than thinking about how they can inspire people to follow their
lead, they channel the majority of their energy into finding ways that
they can help others. They prioritize the needs of other people above
their own.
Despite the fact that they’re natural leaders, those who follow the
servant leadership model don’t try to maintain a white-knuckle grasp
on their own status or power. Instead, they focus on elevating and
developing the people who follow them.

As Simon Sinek eloquently explains in his book, Leaders Eat Last:

Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, “leaders are the
ones who are willing to give up something of their own for us. Their
time, their energy, their money, maybe even the food off their plate.
When it matters, leaders choose to eat last.”
Pro: This approach boosts morale and leads to a high level of trust,
which results in better employee performance and a more positive
company culture overall.

Con: It’s challenging. Constantly pushing your own needs and

priorities to the backburner isn’t something that comes as second
nature for most of us.

You Might Be a Servant Leader If…

 You’re known for asking, “What can I do to help?” at least three times
a day.

 You place a high priority on removing roadblocks and helping others

get things done.
 You never think twice about helping out when you’re asked—because
you know that your own to-do list will still be there when you return.

4. Democratic Leadership
You might also hear this leadership style referred to as “participative
leadership.” Leaders in this category run groups and projects like…
well, a democracy.

Even if these leaders are technically higher on the org chart, they
emphasize working together and actively involve their teams in the
decision-making process. Democratic leaders value ideas and input
from others, and encourage discussion about those contributions.
They aren’t handing down orders from on high, and instead take a
much more collaborative approach to getting things done.

Pro: Creativity and innovation are encouraged, which also improves

job satisfaction among employees and team members.

Con: Constantly trying to achieve consensus among a group can be

inefficient and, in some cases, costly.

You Might Be a Democratic Leader If…

 You think the best meetings are the ones where everyone has an
equal chance to weigh in.

 You can’t remember the last time you made an important decision
without getting input from at least one other person.

5. Autocratic Leadership
Autocratic leadership exists on the opposite side of the spectrum from
democratic leadership.

You can think of this as a “my way or the highway” approach.

Autocratic leaders view themselves as having absolute power and

make decisions on behalf of their subordinates. They dictate not only
 what needs to be done, but also how those tasks should be
accomplished.
Pro: Decisions are often made quickly and strategically, and teams
are kept on track as a result.

Con: Employees can feel ignored, restricted, and—in the absolute

worst of cases—even abused.

You Might Be an Autocratic Leader If…

 You think group discussions and brainstorming only slow things down,
and it’s better if you make important decisions alone.

 You dislike it when employees question your decisions—when you’ve

said something, that’s final.

6. Bureaucratic Leadership
Bureaucratic leadership goes “by the book,” so to speak. With this
leadership style, there’s a prescribed set of boxes to check in order to
be a true leader.

For example, bureaucratic leaders have hierarchical authority—

meaning their power comes from a formal position or title, rather than
unique traits or characteristics that they possess.
They also have a set list of responsibilities, as well as clearly-defined
rules and systems for how they’ll manage others and make decisions.
They just need to follow that roadmap that’s laid out for them.

Pro: There’s plenty of stability. Since this is a systematized approach

to leadership, things remain constant even through personnel changes
and other shifts that threaten to rock the boat.

Con: It’s tempting to fall into the “we’ve always done it this way”
trap. This approach can be inflexible and neglect to leave room for
creativity or ideas from employees.

You Might Be a Bureaucratic Leader If…

 You frequently find yourself asking how your predecessor handled
certain scenarios—you want to make sure that you’re following the
accepted procedure.

 You always request confirmation that you’re doing things right

whenever you’re tasked with something new.

7. Laissez-Faire Leadership
Do you remember the term “laissez-faire” from your high school
French or history class? If not, let’s refresh your memory.

This is a French term that translates to “leave it be,” which pretty

accurately summarizes this hands-off leadership approach. It’s the
exact opposite of micromanagement.
Laissez-faire leaders provide the necessary tools and resources. But
then they step back and let their team members make decisions, solve
problems, and get their work accomplished—without having to worry
about the leader obsessively supervising their every move.

Pro: This level of trust and independence is empowering for teams

that are creative and self-motivated.

Con: Chaos and confusion can quickly ensue—especially if a team

isn’t organized or self-directed.

You Might Be a Laissez-Faire Leader If…

 You hardly do any of the talking in project status update meetings.

Instead, your team members are the ones filling you in on where
things are.

 You’re really only involved in most tasks and projects at two key
points: the beginning and the end.

8. Charismatic Leadership
You know what it means to have a lot of charisma, and that’s exactly
what these leaders possess.
 Charismatic leaders have magnetic personalities, as well as a lot of
conviction to achieve their objectives.

Rather than encouraging behaviors through strict instructions, these

leaders use eloquent communication and persuasion to unite a team
around a cause. They’re able to clearly lay out their vision and get
others excited about that same goal.
Pro: Charismatic leaders are very inspirational and effective at
getting an entire group invested in a shared objective.

Con: Due to their intense focus, it’s easy for these leaders to develop
“tunnel vision” and lose sight of other important issues or tasks that
crop up.

You Might Be a Charismatic Leader If…

 You’re known for giving amazing “rally the troops” types of

presentations.

 You’re usually the one elected to give toasts and speeches at various
company events.

 How Hard Is it to Change Your

Leadership Style?
So you’ve familiarized yourself with the ins and outs of the above
approaches…what if you’ve realized that you want to make some
changes? Perhaps you’ve pegged yourself as a transactional leader
and want to be more transformational, or you think you could
incorporate more servant leadership into your existing style.

The good news: You absolutely can change your personal leadership
style. “Your leadership style isn’t an annual membership,” says
Crawford. Altering your approach is actually fairly straightforward in
concept (although a little more difficult in practice), and you can do it
at any time. The key is to swap out ineffective habits for new ones that
are more in line with the style you’d like to align with, and “stay
committed to practicing your new leadership style and technique.”

For example, if you tend to be autocratic and want to incorporate

some more democratic practices, try some things that force you to
 relinquish some power like: Requesting a second opinion on a decision
you’re making.

 Instituting a weekly brainstorming session with your team.

 Asking a colleague to co-lead a project that you otherwise would’ve

handled alone.

If you’re struggling to even figure out how you can be more effective
or what the best leadership style for you is in the first place, Padua
recommends that you start by thinking about a leader or mentor you
admired. “What were their qualities?” she asks. “What did they do?
What did they say? How did it impact you?”

That exercise can help you identify some traits that you’d like to
implement in your own style.

Here’s the thing: There’s no such thing as a “perfect” leadership style,

because leadership isn’t one size fits all. All of these approaches come
with their benefits and drawbacks, and some of them will be more
effective in certain scenarios.

That very idea has paved the way for one final style: situational
leadership. It’s highly flexible and suggests that leaders should adapt
their approach to the specific circumstances they’re in.

Regardless of where you think your own current style fits in, there are
likely a few changes you can make to be even more effective. Like
anything, leadership is a learning process, and it takes a little bit of
trial and error to get it right.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” concludes Crawford. “That’s how

we learn. Sometimes you may have to take a few tries at different
styles to make things work. Be easy on yourself.”