Ways Leaders Lead

There are many ways that Leaders choose to lead. Each style has merit and could play to the leaders strengths. 

 

This image names some traditional leadership styles. Each plays to a person's strengths.

Someone who has Democratic type of leadership wants others to feel like they can be part of the leadership decisions. It allows for the people who follow to have a say in what goes on. Someone who leads in a Democratic style is looking for the input of people around them and wants their input. 

Someone who takes a Coaching style they are good at helping their followers grow in their roles. People in this style are good at bringing out the best in the people around them.

Someone with a Coercive leadership style is good at getting people to believe in their vision. This style is good at getting things done when they need to be. This leader would have to be good at getting people to truly believe in their visions and ways of doing things. This style would not be successful most of the time. It does not allow for contributions of the team. 

These are just a few of the many leadership styles. They give you a sense of how each on could work for some situations and fail in others. An important part of being a leader is know which style will work with your team and in your situation. If your team is in the middle of an emergent situation then you make not want to use a democratic style because it would take up time to come to a consensus within the group, but a coercive style would allows for things to get done quickly. Each styles has its strengths and weaknesses.