Feature
We all know about great leaders. However, there's a good chance we don't think about their leadership styles.
Leadership style refers to a leader's behaviors when motivating, directing or guiding groups of people. There is no one-size-fits-all type of leadership. Think of the coaching leadership style of football's Bill Belichick or baseball's Dave Roberts, the visionary leadership style of Elon Musk or the transformational leadership style of Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
There are significant differences between the leadership styles of each of these people. Experience affects leadership styles, as does the timing and people involved in a particular project. An individual's leadership approach can also change over time or depend upon the situation.
Thinking about your leadership style and how you lead is an important piece of team success.
Table of Contents
- The Importance of Different Leadership Styles
- 13 Common Leadership Styles
- 1. Autocratic Leadership
- 2. Democratic Leadership
- 3. Laissez-Faire Leadership
- 4. Coaching Leadership
- 5. Visionary Leadership
- 6. Affiliative Leadership
- 7. Pacesetting Leadership
- 8. Commanding Leadership
- 9. Transformational Leadership
- 10. Transactional Leadership
- 11. Servant Leadership
- 12. Bureaucratic Leadership
- 13. Charismatic Leadership
- Which Leadership Styles Are Right for Your Organization?
- Final Thoughts on Leadership Styles
The Importance of Different Leadership Styles
Leadership styles refer to a leader's methods when guiding, managing and motivating their teams. Each style has distinct characteristics and can be useful in different scenarios depending on the organization's goals, culture and the team needs.
Developing a leadership style is crucial for effective leadership because it allows leaders to adapt to different situations, improve team performance and foster a positive organizational culture. And the style of leadership you employ today may change over time.
In fact, in one report from Harvard Business Publishing, 62% of leaders surveyed said it's important or very important for leaders to develop greater openness to adapting their behaviors to meet current and future business needs. So, what kind of style or styles will work best for you?
Related Article: What Skills Do Leaders Really Need?
13 Common Leadership Styles
Here's a look at the most common leadership styles. Some argue there are only four styles, others say six, and others cite eight or more. The truth is that some leadership styles are a close match to others but often depend upon the situation that the individual leader finds themselves in. Let’s explore.
1. Autocratic Leadership
Autocratic leadership style, also referred to as authoritarian leadership, is a management style identified by Kurt Lewin and a group of researchers in 1939. Leaders who use autocratic leadership provide individual team members with clear expectations of the task, its completion date and how to do the task properly.
These leaders are focused on results and efficiency. They are in complete control, and the group follows. Autocratic leaders seldom ask for input from teams and make almost all decisions by themselves.
An autocratic leader is confident, self-motivated, follows the rules, gives clear instructions and values highly structured work environments. Military commanders come to mind for this leadership style.
Pros: This leadership style is the most useful where a company relies on strict guidelines or needs to follow rigid compliance regulations. It's also helpful when a leader needs to make a rapid decision or take decisive action — or when dealing with a group of employees who may be new on the job or need strict supervision.
Cons: Autocratic leadership can stifle creativity. These leaders are seldom flexible and not open to the ideas of others. Employees often view them as bossy and dictatorial, which can create a great deal of tension in the workplace.
2. Democratic Leadership
Democratic leadership, also referred to as participative leadership, is where leaders participate in the group, welcome others' ideas and provide guidance. Lewin's researchers felt democratic leadership was the most effective leadership style.
Interestingly, in Lewin's study, which used school children, those who worked with a democratic leader were less productive, but what they did produce was of a higher quality.
Democratic leaders form strong relationships with employees and listen to their ideas but make final decisions. They make sure their teams have all the necessary information during any discussion. Creativity is encouraged. Democratic leaders work hard to make each team member feel like an essential part of the group, encouraging team unity. They're flexible and good at mediation.
Pros: A democratic/participative leadership style makes team members feel valued and empowered. A democratic leader promotes morale and tends to have a high employee retention rate. This is an excellent style for an established company that wants to move in new, creative directions.
Cons: Employees who don't do well in group settings won't prosper under democratic leadership. This style can be inefficient and costly. It also is slower to move into action because the leader considers the opinion of every member of the team when it comes to decision-making.
3. Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-faire leadership, also called delegative leadership, takes a hands-off approach and provides teams with almost no guidance. Decision-making is left to team members. It's a good style when working with a group of highly qualified experts who need little direction and have a deep understanding of the situation.
However, laissez-faire leadership leads to poorly defined roles within the team and a lack of motivation. Workers will often do what is known as the "adult daily minimum requirement," since this leadership approach fails to motivate team members to be creative or to move beyond simple job descriptions.
Pros: Laissez-faire/delegative leadership is good for a startup, where the leader doesn't make any rules about work hours, office conduct or place of work. This leader trusts employees to get the job done and focuses on other aspects of running the company.
Cons: The Lewin study regarded laissez-faire leadership as the least effective and the least productive style. It limits employees’ professional development and misses critical opportunities for the company to grow. It's a bad choice for new employees who need guidance and training. It often creates a lack of structure and confusion about who is in charge, leaving employees feeling unsupported.
4. Coaching Leadership
Coaching leadership is one of six leadership styles identified by Daniel Goleman in 1996. It's most effective when the leader identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and then provides guidance so that they can improve. Coaching leaders focus on continuous skill development and tie these needed skills directly to the company's goals.
Coaching leaders are creative, willing to contribute and provide meaningful feedback. But not everyone can use a coaching style of leadership. Anyone who's ever worked with a lousy coach knows how they can discourage creativity and not be open to others' ideas.
Conference
Oct
20
Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
Conference
Oct
27
Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
Pros: A coaching leader motivates team members who enjoy being a part of a unified group. Team members receive clear expectations, which creates skilled, productive individuals who can go on to coach others.
Cons: Organizations that require rapid results should avoid coaching leadership, as it requires patience. Coaching leadership only works if team members are open to working with this kind of leader. If there is no team chemistry, this style of leadership will suffer.
Related Article: What Is Participative Leadership?
5. Visionary Leadership
This style has some common features with Lewin's authoritative leadership description. It's an excellent leadership choice when a company needs a big change or when team members are willing to follow someone into an unknown future. These leaders clearly understand what direction the company needs to proceed and can motivate employees to follow through on company goals.
However, visionary leaders often don't appreciate or seek the opinions of others. If there are other members of the team who are experts, they may not blindly follow a visionary leader with whom they have differing opinions.
Pros: Visionary leaders have their eyes on the prize. They are not discouraged by minor setbacks. These leaders are good at creating plans to deal with crises or unexpected obstacles.
Cons: This style is often associated with a short-term focus. Visionary leaders aren't crazy about the opinions of others who see the future differently than they do. The problem is that visionary leaders' personalities can overwhelm a company's goals and brand so that the company becomes all about them.
6. Affiliative Leadership
Affiliative leaders focus on building strong relationships. They want to create harmony within the team, which will lead to a more productive and collaborative workplace. This leadership style works well when a team is in crisis or a new team is being created.
Many leaders who use this style can get lost in relationship building. It focuses too much on friendship and not enough on leadership. A good example is a sports team leader who is known as a "players' coach." This type of leadership is suitable for a team where trust and unity are essential but can be detrimental to a team that needs more structure.
Pros: Affiliative leaders have good communication skills and provide constructive feedback to team members. Their relationships enable them to stop conflict within the team quickly. As a result, team members feel less stress and that the relationship with the leader is important. Team members are also willing to spend more time helping each other.
Cons: Team members can sometimes take advantage of an affiliative leadership style. Affiliative leaders can hesitate to criticize because they want to maintain positive relationships. If the leader doesn't clearly define team members' roles, they may not work as hard as they should. Team members can also become too attached to an affiliative leader. If that leader leaves the team, leads a new team or moves to a new job, their old team can feel abandoned.
7. Pacesetting Leadership
Pacesetting leaders aim for quality, performance and high productivity. They share some key characteristics with an authoritative leadership style. These leaders want team members to follow in their footsteps and not question their decision-making process. If team members can't keep up, pacesetters will step in and finish the task.
Pacesetting leadership style won't work if team members don't trust their leader and rebel against the style.
Pros: Pacesetting leaders achieve goals on target and on time. Pacesetting leadership allows leaders to identify problems and provide solutions quickly. Their teams, oriented toward performance, can be placed into situations where high-performance adults are needed.
Cons: Pacesetting leadership can create stressed and unmotivated teams suffering from low morale. These leaders are slow to praise, even when a job is well done. Team members can feel over-controlled if the leader corrects every tiny misstep. Pacesetting is not the right leadership style in situations requiring creativity.
8. Commanding Leadership
A commanding leader sets clear goals and objectives and communicates these to the team, who expects to follow that direction. Commanding leadership style works well in an organization acquiring structure built on procedures and policies.
This leadership works best when employees lack skill or expertise. Creating structure can encourage team members to be productive. However, commanding leadership does not appreciate creativity or innovation and does not seek the opinions of team members. Commanding leadership works best when combined with some other leadership style.
Pros: Commanding leaders provide clear expectations that help improve performance and work well when developing team members. This leadership style works best when there is a crisis and leaders need to move through the decision-making process quickly.
Cons: If another team member has more experience or skills than the team leader, this leadership style won't work. Team members under this style of leadership often hesitate to make even small decisions on their own, leading to productivity slowdowns. Commanding leaders don't welcome or appreciate creativity.
Related Article: How to Practice Servant Leadership in the Digital Workplace
9. Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is one of two styles documented by American psychologist Bernard M. Bass in 1985. It can be the most effective leadership style when appropriately used.
Transformational leaders are emotionally intelligent and passionate about what they do. They want to help both the organization and the members of their group do well. They motivate and inspire employees, which positively changes the entire group's status quo.
However, sometimes transformational leaders can forget important smaller tasks, making achieving the overall goal difficult. A transformational leader needs to ensure that their goals align with the company's goals.
Pros: Transformational leadership relies on coaching and encouragement to build engagement within the team. Transformational leaders unite their teams to encourage growth and increase revenue. Each team member can use their unique skills to the greatest advantage. Individual employees prosper the most with a transformational leader.
Cons: While a transformational leader is a hands-on leader, this can sometimes overwhelm employees, resulting in undue pressure and burnout. Transformational leadership needs each team member to agree with the leader's approach to building the company, and they must respect them.
10. Transactional Leadership
Although sociologist Max Weber developed this style in 1947, Bernard Bass expanded it as a theory opposed to transformational leadership in 1981.
A transactional leader regards his relationship with his team members as a transaction. The transaction involves completing a certain number of tasks in exchange for monetary compensation. When an individual accepts a position as a team member, they agree to follow the leader's orders.
Transactional leadership establishes roles where people have a clear idea of expectations and what they will receive in return. A transactional leadership style works well in a situation that requires supervision and direction.
Pros: Transactional leadership is a style that is particularly useful in a situation with a clearly defined problem. All team members know their roles and what the leader expects of them.
Cons: A transactional leadership style heavily impacts creativity and seldom supports the emotional needs of team members. Transactional leaders typically don't have long-term success because they are so focused on short-term results. They do not reward innovation.
11. Servant Leadership
Servant leadership style is a philosophy where the leader's main goal is to serve others. It emphasizes the growth and wellbeing of people and the communities to which they belong. It was a concept in 1970, who believed that the true essence of leadership lies in the desire to help others.
Servant leaders prioritize the needs of their team, fostering an environment where employees feel valued, respected and empowered. These leaders develop a relationship with workers that allows them to reach their full potential, both professionally and personally. A servant leader actively listens, has empathy and is committed to the personal growth of team members.
Pros: Servant leaders can lead to high team morale and strong loyalty within an organization. It promotes a positive culture and can improve employee engagement. Servant leadership is particularly effective in organizations where company values are emphasized and where the leader has a long-term perspective.
Cons: A servant leader may not work well in a competitive or fast-paced environment where quick decision-making is crucial. Servant leadership can also be challenging to implement if the existing organizational culture does not support it. This style of leadership can also delay decision-making processes or conflict with business goals.
12. Bureaucratic Leadership
Bureaucratic leadership is a rules-based approach to management where all decisions and processes conform strictly to organizational rules, policies and procedures. It's a style grounded in the writings of Max Weber, who emphasized the importance of a structured hierarchy and clear responsibilities.
These leaders focus on a strict adherence to efficiency and predictability. Bureaucratic leadership is common in highly regulated industries or departments where precision, safety and consistency are crucial, such as healthcare, finance and government agencies.
Pros: Bureaucratic leadership promotes a stable and predictable work environment, which can be effective in settings where errors and deviations can lead to significant problems. It also ensures all team members are treated equally.
Cons: This style can stifle creativity and innovation since it discourages deviation from established rules. It may lead to inefficiencies in environments that require flexibility and rapid decision-making. It can also be demotivating to employees who seek more autonomy.
13. Charismatic Leadership
Charismatic leadership is defined by a leader's ability to inspire and motivate employees based on their charm and persuasiveness. It's often associated with leaders who possess a compelling vision and strong personal appeal. This style of leadership was popularized by Max Weber, who described these leaders as capable of inspiring followers through personal charisma alone.
Charismatic leaders have excellent communication skills and can articulate high expectations and a clear vision. They possess confidence and passion, which often leads to strong emotional connections between the leader and their followers. It's a style of leadership prevalent in startups and politics.
Pros: This style of company leadership can be extremely effective in driving change and mobilizing a group toward a common vision. It often leads to high levels of enthusiasm and devotion among employees, which can accelerate project completion and improve team cohesion.
Cons: The success of charismatic leadership depends heavily on the leader themselves, which can result in instability if the leader leaves. It might also inhibit the development of a second tier of leadership due to the emphasis on a single, charismatic leader. These leaders risk focusing more on personal vision than on team needs, potentially leading to poor decision-making or possible employee burnout.
Related Article: 9 Learning and Development Certifications for the Workplace
Which Leadership Styles Are Right for Your Organization?
When it comes to selecting leadership styles, you need to be aware of your organization's culture, goals, employees and more to determine the best fit. You also need to look at your current leadership skills and highlight any gaps you might need to fill.
When it comes to selecting effective leadership styles, ask yourself the following questions:
- Which is more important to me, goals or relationships?
- Do I like to work in a highly structured environment or one where there is lots of freedom of choice?
- Do I prefer making decisions within a group or on my own?
- Do I prefer to work on short-term goals or long-term goals?
- Do I motivate people by empowering them or directing them?
- What do I consider a healthy team dynamic?
Strategies to Follow
Along with these questions, you can consider the following strategies to help you decide between different leadership styles:
- Experiment: Remember, leadership styles are not one-size-fits-all. Be flexible as you move from one situation to another. Try different approaches and carefully observe the outcome.
- Find a mentor: Mentors can help you understand which leadership style works best in each situation. They will share how they developed their own leadership style and why it has worked for them.
- Seek feedback: It can be challenging for a leader to accept criticism, even when it's constructive. Yet, there are few better ways to help you become a good leader. If you find it difficult to listen to criticism from your team members, seek out trusted individuals who can be honest with you but constructive.
- Be Authentic: Leadership style and personality are two different things. Although you can select the leadership style that best fits the situation, look for one that complements your personality if possible. If you choose a leadership style in total opposition to your personality, you will seem inauthentic to your team members and your superiors.
The best leadership style is often a blend of styles. A leader can be democratic in seeking other team members' views but adopt a more autocratic leadership style when deadlines approach. It can be difficult to bounce between one style and another, but it will become easier with time, experience and emotional intelligence. Also, as you switch leadership roles as you move through an organization or into a new organization, a new position may require you to adopt a new leadership style. Understanding each of the different leadership styles enables you to better adapt to each situation.
Final Thoughts on Leadership Styles
You will become a more effective leader when you know your leadership style. Understanding the pros and cons of each style will help you select the right one at the right time. If one style isn't working, consider trying another one.
Whether you lead a small team, a big team or an entire organization, your leadership style will affect your team and how they report to you. Selecting the correct leadership style will help your team achieve your company's goals.
