It is not enough to be leaders, we must exercise effective leadership.

Leadership is a highly studied and discussed topic, we believe that we know it well and that our style works... until one day something makes us see that our team is unmotivated, disunited and that we will not be able to achieve our objectives. 

We hope that is not the case, but it never hurts to turn the spotlight on ourselves and analyze our own performance, possibly there will be something to improve.

Types of leadership

Why is it important to know them?

Because once you learn to identify yours, you can make the adjustments to become the leader your company needs. Remember: self-knowledge is a great tool, it will help you know your strengths and areas of opportunity.

What kind of leader should I be? Is there one that is better than the others? 

Not necessarily. Although some types of leadership have more advantages than others, the one you will need to exercise will depend on a set of variables such as your own personality, the personality of your employees, the company culture and its objectives.

However, it is undeniable that as a leader you will influence your people: for better or worse. One of your goals should be to improve their performance and well-being. On the other hand, take into account that negative leadership can generate stress, low self-esteem or even burnout.

Now, do you have your type of leadership well identified? Below, we list the most common ones:

1. Democratic or participatory. 

The democratic leader decides taking into consideration the opinion of his team, seeks to involve everyone and delegates authority. 

2. Autocratic.

On the contrary, autocrats act on their own, no one questions their decisions, they expect obedience.

3. Laissez-Faire or delegative.

The “let-do” style is very flexible, it intervenes little, it provides tools.

4. Transformational.

Transformational leaders seek to inspire their team to “go further”, they cultivate change, they motivate.

5. Transactional.

The transactional ones see the short term, they look for their collaborators to meet certain objectives and they reward them for it.

6. Bureaucratic.

The bureaucratic ones stick to the rules, they are not very flexible, they follow tradition. 

7. Of service.

For the servant leader, the team is his priority. They try to develop and inspire their people. They have strong values and ideals.

It is evident that each type of leadership has advantages and disadvantages (for more detail, click here); The context will dictate which is appropriate. However, regardless of your style, you will have to check if it has the characteristics of effective leadership.

What is effective leadership?

First, effective leadership achieves results and helps the organization grow. This is achieved through motivation and other factors such as:

• Good planning and development of strategies. If necessary, also apply good change management.
• Proper management of finances.
• Organize tasks in the best way, assigning them to the right people.
• Control deviations and solve them in time.

Other strategies to be a better leader

According to him Business News DailyIn addition to the previous points, an effective leader incorporates the following strategies:

1. Open and honest communication.
2. Connect with team members.
3. Encourage your personal and professional growth.
4. Keep a positive attitude.
5. Teach employees instead of just giving orders.
6. Set clear objectives.
7. Give feedback about performance.
8. Ask for feedback about your own leadership.
9. Be open to new ideas.
10. Understand your own motivation.

How do I know if my leadership is failing?

The Center for Creative Leadership revealed a disturbing statistic: the leadership of new leaders tends to fail within 18 months at a rate ranging from 38% to more than 50%. The data may be disconcerting, but the good thing is that the skills to carry out our task can be refined and improved. 

If you are not very sure how your leadership is working, we recommend that you pay attention to some indicators:

1. Have any of your collaborators questioned one of your decisions in the last month? If not, ask yourself if you inspire confidence in them, if you show openness.
2. Have you had at least three non-work-related conversations with a member of your team in the week? Remember, you don't work with machines; We all like to feel “seen” and heard.
3. Are the people who work with you afraid of failing? This is counterproductive, as it only increases the pressure on them and can affect their performance.
4. What would your team members answer if asked to name this year's 3 priorities? Are all agreed? If your answers do not match, it is very likely that the team's efforts are being diluted and that each one is pulling in a different direction.

If when answering these questions you realize that you are having a problem in several aspects, it would be worth asking yourself why your team is like this and what you can do to improve the situation.

One last consideration

As with everything, each leadership style has its advantages and disadvantages, but it is also true that times change and the way of doing things changes. Apparently, today autocratic, imposing and unquestionable leaders are viewed with some disapproval and greater consideration is given to the well-being of team members.

Conclusion

Well, now we reminded you of the types of leadership and gave you some points to define if your leadership is effective. We hope that our article has helped you pause and reflect on your performance. If you have any concerns and want to read more about it, visit our Blog.

On the other hand, we know that this is a complex issue, since, as we mentioned above, there are many variables that intervene in the dynamics of your team. If you find it a little difficult to determine what the situation is like or what concrete steps you could take to improve it, we recommend that you go to an expert who will help you formally evaluate the situation and provide you with the appropriate tools.

In the Coacharte team we have experts in Communication, Organizational Culture, Processes and Change Management who can gladly support you.