What Kind of Leader Are You?

8 Common Leadership Styles

(and Their Pros and Cons)
Considering a new job?
EXPLORE POSITIONS

by
KAT BOOGAARD
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Let’s talk about leadership styles.

When we think about different types of leaders, it’s tempting to group them into
just two categories: good and bad.

Maybe there was that former boss who made you feel supported and inspired.
And then there was also that manager who was so critical, they made you wonder
if you were even qualified to handle the afternoon coffee runs.

Yes, those are two drastically different kinds of management. But here’s the
thing: Leadership isn’t always so straightforward or black and white.

There are numerous styles of leadership that aren’t inherently good or bad—
they’re just different. They all have their benefits and drawbacks, as well as their
appropriate uses in certain scenarios.

Read on to find out why understanding your own approach matters, to get a
breakdown of eight common leadership styles—along with their pros, cons,
identifying characteristics—and to learn how you can change your leadership
style.

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

are 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.”