Leadership style #2 : The Conqueror manager
Characterized by high expectations and a directive tendency, for this type of leader, what matters is the performance at all costs. Although useful in a crisis when there is an urgency to obtain concrete results, or in competitive situations, this different style of leadership should be used sparingly when attempting to build a culture of continuous improvement, such as a coaching culture.
Indeed, in their exclusively results-oriented vision, authoritarian leaders tend to overlook human relations and the organization's long-term goals.
With this autocratic leadership style, the lack of consideration, communication skills, and the frequent use of disciplinary measures can lead to latent frustration within the teams, leading to employee who do not feel engaged, and to high levels of staff turnover.
Moreover, employees feel left out (especially new or inexperienced employees), and rarely come forward with suggestions for improvements in such an atmosphere, fearing being ignored or even dismissed.
Leadership style #3 : The Peacemaker manager
Gifted with emotional intelligence, good communication skills, and quick to show gratitude to their employees, this type of manager has a democratic leadership style. He creates a positive working environment where everyone, even new or inexperienced employees, is encouraged to express new ideas.
However, the peacemaker manager tends to forget to take account of the team members achievements on the performance axes (productivity, quality, health & safety, etc.). This often leads to situations where the deliverable is insufficiently measured and/or evaluated.
As the polar opposite of the conqueror manager and his autocratic leadership style, this democratic leader has trouble giving clear targets and ensuring everyone understands their accountability within the organization’s performance. Faced with this lack of alignment with organizational objectives, their team members often have trouble prioritizing their activities and time.
Leadership style #4 : The Managerial leader
As you may have guessed, our aim is to achieve balanced management. And to achieve this, here is a very effective leadership style.
The managerial leader knows how to motivate employees. Like a coaching leader, they encourage them to develop new skills, come up with fresh ideas, and give them regular feedback. With this type of management, team members and their well-being are as important as the company's performance.
This good leader is aware of themself and their impact on others. They have a thorough understanding of their role and responsibilities within the organization, and become a driving force for engagement, with long-term benefits for the organization's performance. They are able to create a positive work environment where corporate objectives, productivity and job satisfaction can coexist.
Measuring management behaviors to progress as a leader
So what is the best style of leadership? Even if the managerial leader can often be considered as the « better leader », each leadership style has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on the situation, company goals, organizational culture, and employees.
To evaluate your own leadership style, two key behavior indicators (or KBIs) can be monitored concerning your orientation toward performance and consideration for every team member. Although simple in theory, this involves two important areas of work that managers generally find difficult to integrate into their daily interactions.
Indeed, becoming an effective leader, giving clear objectives to team members and acknowledging good work in every management interaction, such as an active supervision tour, requires rigor and various skills. Those can be developed through awareness and appropriate management coaching.
