What kind of leader are you?
Everyone has to lead at some point in their life. The experience may come to you at home, through a volunteer opportunity, or in a neighborhood group. Ideally, you will know how to be an effective leader in each event.
Understanding the various leadership styles will be an important step to know which style to use. We’ll walk through four main types of leadership: directive, coaching, supporting, and delegating.
Directing Leadership
Directing leadership may also be referred to as authoritarian leadership. Directing leadership is a high direction, low support style of leadership. Directing is used when direct reports need more supervision because they have less experience and lower knowledge, but they are highly committed.
When employing this style, the leader will give direct reports clear direction with an expectation of when the task will be completed. The direct report will have no say in how the task gets completed.
Creativity will likely be nonexistent when using this style of leadership because direct reports do not have autonomy to act in a way that expresses their personality, thinking, or underlying skills.
Am I a Directing Leader?
A directing leader will be highly self-confident, very structured, and will love to follow the rules. This type of leader will also require a highly-structured staff schedule and output metrics.
A directing leader must have excellent communication skills to clearly direct subordinates. Proper communication ensures each subordinate understands the expected outcome.
Coaching Leadership
Coaching leadership is a high direction, high support leadership style. Coaching is used when direct reports have some level of knowledge but may not be as committed to the function as management desires.
This leadership style is similar to the style used by an athletic coach. The leader that uses this style will observe his direct reports in order to understand strengths and weaknesses. He will also see areas of opportunities for improvement in each of his people that may help them grow in their role.
The coaching leader can identify helpful training opportunities that will play into each employee’s motivation for growth. When acting as an athletic coach does, the leader will show that he respects his employees, thereby gaining each employee’s trust.
Am I a Coaching Leader?
Coaching leaders are very supportive. At home or at work, they want to help individuals to be successful in each task they perform. The coaching leader will ask questions.
They will help their employees learn to think on their own, organically creating growth. This type of leader is more apt to provide guidance rather than strong direction. The coaching leader sets a goal to develop each employee and help them grow into a more robust, knowledgeable person.
Supporting Leadership
A supporting leadership style is a high support, low direction style. This type of leader supports his employees by making sure they can perform each job unimpeded.
The supporting leader ensures his direct reports have the skills, resources, and tools to perform their jobs. The relationship between the supporting leader and his or her direct reports moves closer to autonomy.
A supporting leader ultimately wants each employee on the team to be able to perform their job independently, only utilizing the leader’s direction when truly needed.
Am I a Supporting Leader?
A supporting leader values each relationship. They learn each employee’s needs in order to create a more mutually beneficial workplace.
The supporting leader is less hands-on than other leadership styles. This leader wants their employees to know what to do and how to do it, while being there to support each individual when needed.
Delegating Leadership
Delegating is a low direction and low support style. This style of leadership is ideal when you are in an environment where employees are highly competent and also have a high level of commitment. The employees are generally more mature.
With this leadership style, the leader will delegate a task to a subordinate without much direction on how to get it done. The leader knows their employee is knowledgeable enough to accomplish the task.
Am I a Delegating Leader?
Leaders focused on delegation are more hands-off than other styles of leadership. Delegating leadership is essentially the opposite of directing leadership. The delegating leader fosters an environment where autonomy is encouraged.
A leader with this style is comfortable offering constructive criticism to help each employee grow and develop in their role. A delegating leader enables a creative workplace. This allows more freethinking by each individual.
Changing your Style is OK
You may not always be the same type of leader. Each role may require a different type of leadership style. As you move through your career, you may need to change the way you act as a leader.
If you move from a manager at McDonald’s to a manager over a call center, you will likely change from a directing leader to a coaching leader. Your subordinates at McDonald’s will require more direction and have less knowledge than the employees at the call center. This requires you to handle each team in a different way.
Additionally, if you stay in the same role, you may grow with your team. You may begin with a coaching or supporting leadership style and end with a delegating style.
At the outset, your team may not be very knowledgeable, but over time they grow and learn more. As the team progresses, your leadership style may change to a more autonomous style.
By exhibiting flexibility and adaptability to each teams’ needs, you will gain employee respect. It will also help you grow as a leader. Ultimately your leadership style should lead the way in each environment.
Mandy Swofford is a product manager for Pemko Manufacturing in Memphis, Tennessee. She has worked in the building products industry (Division 08 Hardware) for over 19 years. She is currently attending Charleston Southern University in pursuit of her MBA.
References:
Gerdes, D. L. (2011). The bottom line: Lessons in leadership and management. Lynchburg, VA: Bright Images [Only available in CSU bookstore]
Bhasin, H. (June 30, 2020). 5 types of leadership. Marketing91. https://www.marketing91.com/types-of-leadership-style/
Indeed. (May 17, 2022). 10 common leadership styles (plus how to find your own). https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/10-common-leadership-styles
Indeed. (March 2, 2021). Supportive leadership: What it is and how to develop it. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/supportive-leadership
