Every leader wants their business to be healthy, efficient, and successful. As the boss, improving your own skill set is one of the best ways to help your organization reach these goals.
Strong leadership can help increase profitability, decrease employee turnover, and boost production. According to research from McKinsey, strong leadership reduces the likelihood of financial stress by 59%.
However, leadership styles aren’t one-size-fits-all. Learn about eight common types of leadership styles to find the right philosophy for your personality and organization.
What are leadership styles?
Your leadership style is the way you approach managing people and making decisions. It shows up in how you behave, how you communicate, and how you relate to your team. Some leadership styles, like bureaucratic and autocratic leadership, can also shape the structure and culture of your organization.
Leadership is a skill that you can improve with practice, self-awareness, and reflection. Understanding your leadership style is the first step toward leading with intention. When you know how you lead, you can be more intentional and more effective in the way you impact your team.
The 8 most common leadership styles
- Autocratic leadership
- Bureaucratic leadership
- Coaching leadership
- Democratic leadership
- Laissez-faire leadership
- Servant leadership
- Transactional leadership
- Transformational leadership
Leadership styles refer to general approaches to management and organizational structure, but there’s room for interpretation. Every leader has a slightly different style, often personalizing or combining different leadership styles to find what works best. Here are some of the most common leadership styles:
1. Autocratic leadership
Autocratic leadership is rigid and top-down. Organizations with this type of approach to leadership tend to have strict rules, hierarchical structures, and a single, centralized source of authority. Autocratic leaders retain unilateral decision-making power, and team members are expected to follow directions without question. While an autocratic leadership style can be efficient in high-stakes situations or tightly controlled industries, it may lead to dissatisfaction over time if employees don’t feel empowered or respected in their roles.
2. Bureaucratic leadership
Bureaucratic organizations rely on a clear, hierarchical chain of command and standard operating procedures to create stability. Bureaucratic leaders retain ultimate decision-making power. Lower-level managers are responsible for enforcing rules and managing teams.
This style is well-suited for tightly regulated industries. In healthcare, for example, bureaucracy helps ensure strict adherence to safety regulations. Nurses and physicians follow detailed protocols, including thorough hand-washing, donning latex gloves, and working with sterile instruments before each procedure. In the operating room, the lead surgeon makes decisions quickly and unilaterally. There’s no time to debate during open-heart surgery.
3. Coaching leadership
Coaching leaders focus on developing and empowering their team members. These leaders take care to recognize individual strengths and provide mentorship to nurture professional development. This leadership style relies on emotional intelligence, active listening, and conflict resolution to encourage strong team dynamics. This leadership style often creates a positive work environment, but can be emotionally demanding for leaders, potentially leading to burnout.
4. Democratic leadership
Democratic leaders value input and collaboration. Also known as a participative leadership style, this management style emphasizes equality, open communication, and shared decision-making. Leaders seek out employee opinions and incorporate them into their decisions. A democratic leadership style can bolster engagement, as team members are more likely to invest in their work when they feel their opinion matters. However, this style requires flexibility and a willingness to compromise, as team disagreements may slow down the decision-making process.
For example, imagine you’re the leader of a boutique nail polish ecommerce business, and it’s time to launch a new product. As a democratic leader, you might gather a cross-functional team of marketers, customer service representatives, and product specialists for a brainstorming session. After discussing with your team, you’d weigh everyone’s ideas and input before making the final call.
5. Laissez-faire leadership
Laissez-faire is a French phrase that translates to “let do” or “let them do.” Laissez-faire leadership takes a hands-off approach to management. Leaders delegate tasks and grant employees a high degree of autonomy, and teams are often trusted to make their own decisions with little oversight. This approach can work well with experienced, self-motivated employees, but a laissez-faire leadership style does little to nurture talent and can lead to employees becoming disengaged if they feel unsupported or overlooked.
6. Servant leadership
The servant leadership style emphasizes employee satisfaction. Servant leaders focus on understanding individual needs and promoting harmony. They use leadership skills like active listening and conflict resolution to foster community and build strong relationships.
Tony Hsieh practiced servant leadership as the CEO of Zappos. Hsieh established a caring corporate culture that prioritized employee well-being. He also encouraged team members to apply this mindset to customer service to create a positive consumer experience.
7. Transactional leadership
Transactional leadership is based on a system of rewards and consequences. Leaders clearly define expectations and may offer incentives, like bonuses or other perks, to motivate employees. Transactional leadership brings clarity and structure, but can sometimes discourage creativity, as employees may fear punishment if they take a risk or deviate from standard protocol.
8. Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership requires passion and enthusiasm. Leaders aim to unite followers around a shared vision for the future. When employees are inspired by the company’s mission, they may feel genuinely motivated to achieve their goals. This style is associated with change and innovation—transformational leaders encourage employees to take risks and explore new ideas.
How to find your ideal leadership style
- Review organizational needs
- Consider role models
- Evaluate your strengths
- Ask for feedback
- Experiment with different styles
What will be the most effective leadership style for you depends on your strengths, team members, and the organization’s needs. Leadership is a skill—effective leaders adjust their management style to suit the circumstances or may combine leadership approaches to find the right fit. Try these tips to find the right approach for you:
Review organizational needs
Reflect on your goals and the nature of your company. Think about what you’d like to accomplish to help reveal the right motivational techniques. The founder of a tech start-up seeking to shake up the industry may choose a flexible model, like a transformational or democratic leadership style, to facilitate innovation. On the other hand, a seasoned executive taking over the CEO role at a legacy pharmaceutical company might prefer a more stable approach, such as bureaucratic leadership.
Consider role models
Think about leaders who have had a positive impact on your life or career. What made their leadership style work for you? How did they inspire you to work harder or think more creatively? If you don’t have leaders in your life to look to, you can also look for inspiration in biographies, instructive books, and quotes about leadership.
Evaluate your strengths
Identify your personal strengths. Reflecting on what you do well might reveal the most natural approach. Consider your weaknesses as well—these present opportunities for improvement or hint at leadership styles you may want to avoid.
Ask for feedback
Check in with your team to gather feedback. Ask them to evaluate your leadership style—they may have different opinions about your skill set. Encourage employees to describe their ideal manager relationship. This will help you identify a leadership style to meet their needs.
Experiment with different styles
Test out a few different leadership styles to see what feels natural to you. Take note of how your team responds and which experiment gets the best results. Choose one leadership style or consider mixing and matching elements to find your ideal approach.
Leadership styles FAQ
What are the five most common leadership styles?
Autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, bureaucratic, and transformational leadership are all common approaches to management. Leaders put their own spin on management, and these styles may vary depending on their implementation.
How do I identify my leadership style?
To identify your own leadership style, start by reflecting on your natural skill set, including your decision-making process and approach to conflict resolution. Solicit feedback from peers and employees to gain a deeper understanding of your working style. Compare your notes to a list of leadership styles to identify your approach.
How do I engage my team as a leader?
Leaders can foster engagement by listening to team members, accepting feedback, and demonstrating interest in employee development. Taking time to acknowledge hard work and success can help bolster employee engagement.
