5 Leadership types and their qualities: Which one are you?

If you want a company to work well, you should invest in its employees. But if you want the company to grow, you should invest in a leader. A leader is someone who guides the organization like a captain guides a ship. There are five different styles of leadership that leaders can use, but no one style works for everyone. It's up to the leader to choose a style that matches the organization's vision and also fits the goals of the employees. Here are the five styles:

1. Participative Leadership: This style involves working with employees to make decisions together. This can lead to better teamwork and more creative solutions.

2. Transformational Leadership: This style focuses on inspiring employees to work towards a shared vision. It can lead to increased motivation and commitment from employees.

3. Delegative Leadership: This style involves giving employees a lot of autonomy and responsibility. It can lead to more independence and creativity, but also requires trust in the employees.

4. Authoritarian Leadership: This style involves giving orders and expecting them to be followed without question. It can lead to efficient decision-making, but can also result in low morale and resistance from employees.

5. Transactional Leadership: This style focuses on rewarding employees for good performance and punishing them for poor performance. It can lead to a results-driven culture, but may not inspire employees to go above and beyond.

Different leaders use different styles, and each style has its own strengths and weaknesses. Take a moment to think about which style you tend to use and share your thoughts in the comments below.

1. Participative Leadership

Participative leadership means that everyone on the team gets to have a say in making decisions. This makes employees feel important, motivated, and engaged because they get to help make important choices. Even though the leader has the final say, they take into account what the team thinks. Sometimes, this can take longer to make decisions if the team disagrees.

Traits of a participative leader include being curious, good at communicating and listening, open-minded, encouraging, collaborative, and receptive to ideas.

Examples of leaders who use this style are Bill Gates, Indra Nooyi, and Donald Trump.

Pros and Cons of Participative Leadership

Pros	Cons
Motivation and productivity Increases	Time-consuming
Improves job satisfaction	Possibility of communication failure
Encourages employee creativity	Lack of security due to multiple people involved
Instigates teamwork and ownership

2. Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is based on four elements, also known as the four I's:

• Idealized influence

• Intellectual stimulation

• Individual consideration

• Inspirational motivation

In this style, the leader inspires and empowers employees to work towards a common goal. The leader acts as a role model for the employees to follow and draws inspiration from. The goal is not only to achieve the set goal but also to help employees develop leadership skills.

Traits of a transformational leader include simplicity, putting the team first, good communication, willingness to take risks, visionary thinking, charisma, and active listening.

Leaders who have used this style include Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos.

Pros and Cons of Transformational Leadership

Pros	Cons
Communicating new ideas	Can be deceptive
Ideal for collaboration	Constant guidance & motivation required
Increased innovation and creativity	Lack of focus on short-term needs
Establishing trust

3. Delegative Leadership

Delegative leadership, also known as laissez-faire leadership, involves delegating responsibilities to team members. This style can be effective if the employees are responsible, competent, and engaged. However, research has shown that it is the least productive leadership style.

Traits of a delegative leader include giving team members the freedom to make decisions, having a high level of trust in the team, providing access to multiple resources, and expecting responsibility from team members.

Leaders who have used this style include Warren Buffet, Herbert Hoover, Queen Victoria, and Paul Allen.

Pros and Cons of Delegative Leadership

Pros	Cons
Promote Creativity and Innovation	Difficulty in adapting
Positive work environment is created	The extent of command is not well-defined
Encourages competence and experience

4. Authoritarian Leadership

Authoritarian leadership is a type of leadership where the leader makes all the decisions and the employees follow them. This style can only work if the leader has the necessary knowledge and skills and can be very effective in situations where time is limited or when employees need clear direction.

Traits of an authoritarian leader include strong decision-making abilities, being decisive, and efficient crisis management.

Leaders who have used this style include Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Benito Mussolini, and Richard Nixon.

Pros and Cons of Authoritarian Leadership

Pros	Cons
Time saving on critical decisions	More pressure on the leader
Creates consistent results	Can instigate employees to rebel
Mistakes on plan implementation can be reduced	Lack of feedback
Higher level of clarity	Possibility of higher churn rate
Boost in productivity	Eliminates innovation and creativity

5. Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership is a type of leadership that works on a transactional basis. Employees are rewarded or penalized based on task completion. The leader sets clear objectives and rewards the employees for achieving them. It is a give-and-take leadership style.

Traits of a transactional leader include being left-brained, focused on efficiency, opposed to change, inflexible, and rule-oriented.

Leaders who have used this style include Howard Schultz, Joseph McCarthy, and Charles de Gaulle.

Pros and Cons of Transactional Leadership

Pros	Cons
Measurable time-bound goals are set	Lack of innovation and creativity
Productivity and employee motivation increase	Empathy is not given importance
Minimizes confusion	More followers are created rather than leaders

Why choosing a leadership style is important?

Understanding your leadership style can provide clarity on how to manage your team and organization. It helps to define clear roles and responsibilities for yourself and your team members. Furthermore, it can aid in personal and team development.

Concluding Thoughts

Now that you know the different leadership styles, which one would you implement as a leader? Which type of leader is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.