Leadership Styles You Need To Know About

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ased on the book Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard

Boyatzis, and Annie McKee, there are 6 different leadership styles you
should know about.
1 of 18 4/6/2017 12:38 PM
The main premise of the book (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show

/163106.Primal_Leadership) is that it is neither IQ or skills that make a great
leader (https://www.officevibe.com/employee-engagement-solution
/leadership).
The secret to great leadership is a high level of emotional intelligence.
The book talks about 6 different leadership approaches – four of which are
resonant (visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic) and two of which are
dissonant (pacesetting and commanding).
Leadership Styles Definition

The leadership styles are the behaviours that leaders use to interact with
their employees. It’s their style of how they motivate, give directions, and
accomplish goals.
It’s the personality traits of the leader that will likely determine which style
they use most often.
Some styles are considered better for employee engagement, but it’s
important to understand that certain situations call for different leadership
approaches (https://www.hr.com/en/app/blog/2013/04/different-leadership-
styles-and-their-advantages-a_hfcoua95.html), so it’s perfectly normal to
switch between different styles.
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tips delivered right to your GET OUR TIPS!
Sometimes,
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SH AR ES if it’s a high-pressure, rushed situation, you might need to be a bit
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more of a commanding leader, whereas if you’re deciding something for your

own team, you can be a bit more democratic.
It all depends on the situation, and you should be ready to adjust as

necessary.
Looking to step up your leadership game? This free 11-day

leadership course (https://www.officevibe.com/resources
/leadership-training) will take you to the next level.

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()
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<a href="https://www.officevibe.com/blog/different-leadership-styles"><img
src="https://assets.officevibe.com/infographics/infographic-leadership-styles2.png" alt="6
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with love by Officevibe, the software that shows you <a href="https://www.officevibe.com
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In their research, they discovered that certain styles had a more positive
effect on company culture. While it’s okay to switch between different
approaches, it’s important to understand how each of these will impact your
team.

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Visionary Leadership
The visionary leader moves people towards a shared vision.
It’s not about how to get there, this is about getting the team to understand
where we want to go.
According to the
Get our expert authors, this style is best for when a new direction is needed.
leadership
What’s
SH AR ES great about this style is that it’s all about autonomy and allowing
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people to innovate and experiment to get towards a goal

(https://www.officevibe.com/blog/okr-goal-setting-system).
Failure is accepted, and employees can feel comfortable trying new things
that will help move that mission forward.
They say that this style has the highest impact on company culture.
So many organizations don’t have a mission, or at least a clearly articulated

one, which leads to employees feeling unmotivated. It’s so important to have
a mission, or a “why” behind what you’re doing.
As an example, our vision at Officevibe (https://www.officevibe.com

/blog/define-core-values) is to create greater workplaces. Incredibly simple
and powerful, it’s a vision that’s hard not to get excited about.
Pro Tip To Become A Visionary Leader

Be bold. Don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment. Create one
ambitious goal that the whole team can focus on. When you’re about to
start a new task, ask yourself if it will help you reach your one goal.
Coaching Leadership
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This leadership style, like its name suggests, is all about coaching employees
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to get better at what they do.
Things like one-on-ones with employees (https://www.officevibe.com

/blog/guide-to-better-one-on-ones) are common with coaching.
The only issue with this leadership style is that depending on how the
coaching is done, it could be perceived as micromanaging, which can backfire
for you.
As a leader, I’d recommend spending the time addressing those concerns, so

that no employee thinks that you’re micromanaging.
Remind employees that ultimately it’s their call how they do things, you’re
just there to help and offer advice when/if needed.
According to the authors, this style has a very high impact on company
culture.
One of the biggest mistakes that leaders make with this style is focusing on
improving the weaknesses of their employees. As a leader, if you want to get
the best results from your team you need to focus on their strengths
(https://www.officevibe.com/blog/biggest-performance-management-
mistake).

tipsPro Tip right
delivered To Become
to your A Coaching Leader
GET OUR TIPS!
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Check in frequently with each member of your team, and make the time
to mentor them. No matter how busy you are, if you’re a coaching
leader, then you need to empower each of your employees to be the
best they can be.
An Affiliative Leader
This leadership style acts as an affiliate – making connections throughout the
organization.
It’s all about creating a more harmonious workplace where everyone knows
and works well with each other.
Often, employees will have disagreements among themselves and maybe

won’t like some of their coworkers, but this leadership style aims to fix all of
that.
If trust is ever broken in an organization, then this leadership style is perfect

for trying to fix it.
The authors say that this style has a positive impact on culture.

tipsPro Tip right
delivered To Become
to your An Affiliative Leader
GET OUR TIPS!
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SH AR ES
Build a culture of recognition (https://www.officevibe.com/blog/build-
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culture-employee-recognition) on your team. Over time, this will get

everyone on the team closer with each other and help to build those
relationships. Otherwise, regular team building activities are a great way
to bring the team closer together.
Democratic Leadership
A democratic leadership style is all about creating a group commitment
towards a result.
This leadership style is best to use when you, as a leader, aren’t 100% sure of
which direction to take and you want to use the wisdom of the crowd
(https://hbr.org/2014/04/improve-decision-making-with-help-from-the-
crowd) to help you make a decision.
For major decision or time-sensitive decisions, this might not be the best
approach to take. In those situations, leaders are expected to make the
decisions for the team and be confident with their choice.
The authors say that this style has a positive impact on culture.
GetPro Tip To
our expert Become A Democratic Leader
leadership
Learn to trust your employees and work on your communication skills
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(https://www.officevibe.com/blog/improve-communication-at-work) so
that you can discuss ideas with everyone on the team. A democratic
leader gives everyone on the team an equal say in the decision making.
Pacesetting Leadership
Now we’re starting to get into what the authors refer to as “dissonant”
leadership styles (negative).
A pacesetting leader sets the pace for their team. They set goals and expect
the team to reach those goals no matter what. They demand a lot from their
teams and have no problem calling out poor performers.
They tend to offer very little to no guidance and expects the team to know it
all already.
The authors, not surprisingly, say that this style has a negative impact on
culture.
This leadership style is best associated with overworking employees and

leading to burnout (https://www.officevibe.com/blog/dealing-
with-employee-burnout). They’ll get results in the short term, but long term,
this style does a lot of damage to morale.

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Pro Tip To Become A Pacesetting Leader

I would try my best to avoid this style as much as possible, but the key
to getting this one right is about motivation. Because you’re moving at
such a fast pace, learn to motivate your team and get them excited
about the potential results of all the hard work they’re doing.
Commanding Leadership
The commanding leader leads with fear (https://www.entrepreneur.com
/article/284505).
Leaders come across as cold and emotionless. Most of the time, this style has
very negative effects on company culture.
Unfortunately, the authors note that this is still the most often used
leadership style, even though it’s by far the least effective.
There isn’t much praise with this style, but instead a lot of criticism.
Goleman says that the only time this style might be effective is in a crisis,
when an urgent turnaround is needed, but for the most part, this style doesn’t
work.
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Stop Being A Commanding Leader

I would avoid this style altogether. The authors say it’s still the most
used style, so watch out for this. If you’re using it, do everything you can
to stop it. No one likes to be commanded. Leading by fear doesn’t work
anymore.
Want to become a leader that employees respect? Sign up for this

free 11-day leadership course (https://www.officevibe.com
/resources/leadership-training) to get all the skills you need.
What Leadership Style Are You Used To?

Let us know what styles you’ve seen in the past.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacob Shriar
Jacob is the Director of Content at OGicevibe, and is on a mission to make
everyone happier, healthier, and more productive at work. Follow him on
Twitter (https://twitter.com/JacobShriar) or connect with him on LinkedIn
(https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jacob-shriar-56199324).
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12 Comments Officevibe 
1 Login
 Recommend 6 ⤤ Share Sort by Newest
Join the discussion
Dr. Salman • a day ago

Interesting post....... but I think the world has moved ahead with the concept of spiritual
intelligence and specifically regarding leadership style...... Servant Leadership makes more
sense where you find a judicious mix of above mentioned styles and at the same time
consider yourself responsible for serving others.
• Reply • Share ›
Trent Bowman • a day ago

I've worked for a lot of bosses over the years and the ones who have been the most
memorable and who inspired the most all had military backgrounds. They knew how to get
their employees to work and share their vision.
Yemisi Akindele • 2 days ago

Thank you for this very detailed lecture, I did a course on leadership at Harvard and thpugh
fantastic, this cements it better for me. Better understanding of the autocratic leadership
style.
Mohammed Ismail Murtuza • a year ago

I'm not able to download the guide. Though the popup asks for my email but I havent got the
guide yet.
1 • Reply • Share ›
JacobShriar Mod > Mohammed Ismail Murtuza • a year ago

Hi Mohammed,
Get our expert
Sorryleadership
about that! Not sure what happened there, but here is a link to the guide
tips delivered right to your
http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub... Enjoy!
GET OUR TIPS!
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THE SIMPLEST TOOL FOR

A GREATER WORKPLACE
Measure and improve employee satisfaction in real-time.
Learn More (/employee-engagement-solution)

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The 6 Different Leadership Styles You Need To Know About https://www.officevibe.com/blog/different-leadership-styles?utm_source...

ased on the book Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard

The main premise of the book (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show

The secret to great leadership is a high level of emotional intelligence.

Leadership Styles Definition

more of a commanding leader, whereas if you’re deciding something for your

It all depends on the situation, and you should be ready to adjust as

Looking to step up your leadership game? This free 11-day

Get our expert leadership

Get our expert leadership

Get our expert leadership

Get our expert leadership

Get our expert leadership

Add this infographic to your site by copying this code:

Get our expert leadership

people to innovate and experiment to get towards a goal

So many organizations don’t have a mission, or at least a clearly articulated

As an example, our vision at Officevibe (https://www.officevibe.com

Pro Tip To Become A Visionary Leader

to get better at what they do.

Things like one-on-ones with employees (https://www.officevibe.com

As a leader, I’d recommend spending the time addressing those concerns, so

Get our expert leadership

Often, employees will have disagreements among themselves and maybe

If trust is ever broken in an organization, then this leadership style is perfect

Get our expert leadership

culture-employee-recognition) on your team. Over time, this will get

This leadership style is best associated with overworking employees and

Get our expert leadership

Pro Tip To Become A Pacesetting Leader

Stop Being A Commanding Leader

Want to become a leader that employees respect? Sign up for this

What Leadership Style Are You Used To?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Recommend 6 ⤤ Share Sort by Newest

Join the discussion

Dr. Salman • a day ago

Trent Bowman • a day ago

Yemisi Akindele • 2 days ago

Mohammed Ismail Murtuza • a year ago

JacobShriar Mod > Mohammed Ismail Murtuza • a year ago

THE SIMPLEST TOOL FOR

Learn More (/employee-engagement-solution)

Get our expert leadership

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