Hi, everybody and welcome.
My name is Jenn, and I'm a career coach
at Indeed with over 10 years of career services experience.
I personally work with hundreds of job-seekers
in a variety of different roles, from individual contributors
to CEOs.
Today, I'm going to share eight common leadership
styles, their benefits and challenges, and signs that one
might be your natural style.
At the end of the video, I'll share a strategy
to help you decide which leadership style is best suited
for you.
Different situations may have different needs,
so it's important to know when a specific style might work best.
Let's begin with our first common leadership style, Coach.
A coaching leader quickly recognizes the strengths,
weaknesses, and motivations of others to help them improve.
They often assist in setting goals
and provide regular feedback with challenging projects
to promote growth.
Coaching leaders are skilled in setting clear expectations
and creating positive, motivating environments.
The coach leadership style is one of the most advantageous
for employers, as well as the employees they lead.
Unfortunately, it's often one of the most underutilized styles,
mostly because it can be more time intensive
than other types of leadership.
Coaching leadership might be a natural style for you
if you're supportive, offer guidance
instead of giving commands, value
learning as a way of growing, ask guided questions,
and balance relaying knowledge with helping others find it
for themselves.
Coaching leadership is positive in nature.
It promotes the development of new skills, free thinking,
empowerment.
It revisits company objectives and fosters a confident company
culture.
Leaders who coach are often seen as valuable mentors.
While this style does have many advantages,
it can also be more time-consuming,
as it requires one on one time with employees.
This can sometimes be difficult to obtain
in fast-paced environments when you
have time-sensitive priorities.
An example of coaching leadership style
in the workplace is to mentor someone
who is interested in your role or area of business.
You assess what they know and where their gaps of knowledge
are.
Then recommend readings, videos, or courses
they can take to learn more.
Set up a follow-up meeting and discuss what they've learned,
assess the knowledge gained, and determine new areas to work on.
You can also send interesting articles or resources to them
as they come up.
And don't forget to congratulate them periodically
on their progress.
For more information on coaching leadership
and when to use this style, be sure to check out
this career guide article.
Now, if you find that you naturally
lead through inspiration and confidence,
you might be a visionary leader.
Visionary leaders have a strong ability
to drive progress and change.
They inspire employees and earn trust for new ideas.
They are also able to establish a strong organizational bond
and strive to foster confidence among direct reports
and colleagues alike.
This type of leadership is especially
helpful in small, fast-growing organizations.
But it can also be helpful in larger organizations
experiencing transformations or corporate restructuring.
You might be a visionary leader if you are persistent and bold,
strategic, risk-taking, inspirational, optimistic,
and innovative.
Visionary leaders can help companies grow.
They unite teams, the overall company,
and improve outdated technologies or practices.
Often focusing on the big picture,
they should be careful not to miss important details
or opportunities.
They may also sacrifice the resolution of present day
issues because they're so future-oriented,
which could leave their team feeling unheard.
On the other hand, a leader that is known for helping their team
feel fulfilled is a servant leader.
Servant leaders live by a people-first mindset.
They believe that when a team member feels personally
and professionally fulfilled, they're
most effective and more likely to consistently produce
great work.
Their emphasis on employee satisfaction and collaboration
can lead to achieving higher levels of respect
from their team.
A servant leader is well-suited to perform well
in different industries and company sizes.
But it's especially prevalent within nonprofits.
These types of leaders are exceptionally
skilled in building employee morale
and helping people re-engage with their work.
You may be a servant leader if you motivate your team,
have excellent communication skills,
personally care about your team, encourage collaboration
and engagement, and commit to growing
your team professionally.
Servant leaders have the capacity
to boost employee loyalty and productivity.
They can also improve employee development
and decision-making, cultivate trust,
and create future leaders.
But servant leaders have to be cautious.
They can experience burnout by putting the needs of their team
above their own.
Since they develop such close relationships with their team,
they may also have a hard time being authoritative
when they need to be.
Before I move on, let me know if this video is
helpful by looking and subscribing for more
career and job search advice.
All right.
Let's say you prefer to make decisions with little
to no input from others.
You might be an autocratic leader.
Sometimes called an authoritarian style
of leadership, this type of leader
is someone who is focused almost entirely
on results and efficiency.
They often make decisions alone or with a small trusted group.
And they expect employees to do exactly what they're asked.
This leadership style can excel in organizations
with strict guidelines or in compliance-heavy industries
like military, manufacturing, law enforcement,
and health care.
It can also be beneficial when used
with employees who need a great deal of supervision.
An example might be with a new member of a team with little
to no experience.
However, this leadership style can stifle creativity
and make employees feel confined and micromanaged.
You may be an autocratic leader if you have self-confidence,
are self-motivated, communicate clearly
and consistently, follow the rules, are dependable,
value highly structured environments,
and believe in supervised work environments.
Autocratic leaders can promote productivity
through delegation.
They provide clear, direct communication
and reduce employees' stress by making decisions quickly
on their own.
But this style of leadership can also cause stress
to the leader, who has to bear all
of the weight of the decision-making.
The lack of flexibility and rigidness, as well as
the lack of interest in hearing ideas from others,
can also cause resentment on the team.
To learn more about the autocratic leadership style,
be sure to check out this career guide article.
Now, let's say you prefer to delegate tasks and provide
a lot of autonomy.
You might be a laissez-faire leader.
Often referred to as hands-off leadership,
this style is the opposite of the autocratic leadership type.
Hands-off leaders focus mostly on delegating tasks
to team members, while providing little to no supervision.
Because a laissez-faire leader does not
spend their time intensely managing employees,
they often have more time to dedicate to other projects.
This leadership style works best when all team members
are highly experienced, well-trained,
and require little oversight.
However, it can cause a dip in productivity
if employees are confused about their leader's expectations
or if a team member needs consistent motivation
or boundaries to work well.
You might be a laissez-faire leader if you effectively
delegate, believe in the freedom of choice,
provide sufficient resources and tools,
will take control if needed, offer constructive
criticism, foster leadership qualities in others, and value
autonomy.
This style encourages accountability and creativity
within a relaxed work environment.
Because of this, it can also increase employee retention.
Try to avoid this style when working with new employees,
as they need guidance and hands-on support
in the early days.
An example of hands-off leadership in the workplace
might be if you give your employees the option
to set their own working hours, as long as they
work the 40 hours in a work week and hit individual goals.
Now, if you like to consider the opinions of others
before you make a decision, you might be a democratic leader.
The democratic leadership style is a combination of autocratic
and laissez-faire.
A democratic leader is someone who asks for input
and considers feedback from their team
before making a decision.
This leadership style is often credited
with fostering higher levels of employee engagement
and workplace satisfaction.
But this is because they drive discussion and participation.
It's an excellent style for organizations
focused on creativity and innovation,
like the tech industry.
You may be a democratic leader if you value group discussions,
provide all information to a team when making decisions,
promote a work environment where everyone shares their ideas,
are flexible, and are good at mediation.
Under this leadership style, employees
can feel empowered, valued and unified.
It has the power to boost retention and morale.
It also requires less managerial oversight,
as employees are typically part of the decision-making process
and know exactly what to do.
One thing to be aware of is that this leadership style
has the potential to seem inefficient and costly.
It takes time to organize big group discussions,
obtain ideas and feedback, discuss possible outcomes,
and communicate a decision.
Now, if you're the type of person
who likes to set high standards and focuses on performance,
you might be a pacesetter.
The pacesetting leadership style is one of the most effective
for driving fast results.
These leaders are primarily focused on performance.
They often set high standards and hold
their team members accountable for hitting their goals.
While the pacesetting leadership style
is helpful in fast-paced environments, where
team members need to be energized,
it's not always the best option for team members
who need mentorship and feedback.
You may be a pacesetter leader if you
set a high bar, focus on goals, are slow to praise, will jump
in to hit goals if needed, or highly competent,
and value performance over soft skills.
Pacesetting leadership pushes employees
to hit goals and accomplish business objectives.
It promotes high energy, dynamic work environments.
But pacesetting leadership can also
lead to stressed out employees, as they're always pushing
towards a goal or a deadline.
The fast-paced work environment fostered under this style
can also create miscommunications.
Work environments where this works
well include legal, sales, fast food,
or any environment that is deadline or results-driven.
The pacesetter approach works well when all team members
are self-motivated, highly competent,
and need little direction.
To be most effective, this style in particular
works best in combination with other leadership styles.
Lastly, if you'd like to follow a strict hierarchy
and expect team members to follow procedures,
you might be a bureaucratic leader.
Bureaucratic leaders are similar to autocratic leaders
in that they expect their team members to follow the rules
and procedures precisely as written.
This leadership style focuses on fixed duties
within a hierarchy, where each employee has
a set list of responsibilities.
There's little room for collaboration and creativity.
This style is most effective in highly regulated industries
like finance, health care, or government.
Signs that you might be a bureaucratic leader could
be if you're detail-oriented and task-focused,
value rules and structure, have a great work ethic,
are strong-willed, feel a commitment
to your organization, and are self-disciplined.
Bureaucratic leaders can be efficient in organizations
that need to follow strict rules and regulations,
especially if each person on the team or company
has a clearly defined role, which leads to efficiency.
These leaders might separate work from relationships
to avoid the clouding of a team's ability to hit goals.
While these leaders can lead highly efficient teams,
this style does not promote creativity.
It can feel restricting to some employees.
This leadership style is also slow to change
and does not thrive in environments
that need to be dynamic.
For more information on how to demonstrate leadership skills
at work, be sure to check out this career guide article.
And now for a bonus tip, how to choose and develop
your leadership style.
It's important to remember that you
don't have to be a manager to be a leader within your team
or your organization.
If you're interested in a leadership career path,
or just looking to refine your leadership approach,
start by choosing a style that feels authentic
or that you respond to as an individual contributor.
If you're just starting to refine your style,
choose one that aligns with your strengths.
Choosing one that doesn't align with your personality or values
can come across as inauthentic.
To find out what style that might be,
ask yourself the following questions.
Would I rather make a decision on my own or collectively?
Do I focus on short or long-term goals?
Does my motivation come from empowerment or direction?
What does a healthy team dynamic look like to me?
If you've determined what type of leadership style
you'd like to develop, now try these strategies.
First, speak with a more experienced leader
to gain insight into how they developed their style
and what worked for them.
Next, experiment by trying out varied approaches
in different circumstances.
Pay attention to the outcome and how natural the style
felt to you in those moments.
Be flexible in changing your approach.
Then, ask for feedback from both managers and colleagues.
Although sometimes hard to hear, constructive feedback
helps you grow into a successful leader.
In my experience, I've found that the best leaders use
a blend of leadership styles.
As you gain more leadership experience,
you'll start to learn which style to use,
depending on the situation.
For example, if you are a veteran,
you might have used an autocratic style
when you were on active duty.
After entering the public sector,
you might try a more democratic approach.
For more examples of leadership styles,
and when they're best used, be sure to check out
this career guide article.
So there you have it.
As a recap, the eight most common leadership styles
are coach, visionary, servant, autocratic, laissez-faire,
democratic, pacesetter, and bureaucratic.
If you're interested in learning more
about leadership theories for career growth,
be sure to check out this career guide article.
I hope that you found this overview
of the different leadership styles to be helpful.
As you continue to learn more about different leadership
types and the outcomes they're designed to achieve,
you can select the right leadership style for you
in your situation.
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Thank you so much for watching.
We'll see you next time.