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Leadership styles and when to use them Ngā momo ārahitanga me te wā hei whakamahi

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Learn about different leadership styles, how they work, and how to choose the ones that work for you. How you lead may need to change weekly, daily or even by the hour.

Types of leaderships

In a three-year study of more than 3,000 business leaders, behavioural scientist Daniel Goleman observed six main leadership styles. Goleman   found that when leaders used several different leadership styles, their businesses performed better than when they used just one or two.

Leadership style

Behaviour

Authoritative

Authoritative leaders:

  • make time to find new and better ways of doing things
  • show people how they are involved in the business vision
  • encourage people to achieve their goals
  • take a step back to work on the big picture.

Pace-setting

Pace-setting leaders:

  • expect immediate results
  • work quickly and to a high standard, and expect others to do the same
  • quick to point out weaknesses in people and processes and demand more
  • more likely to set employees new goals to work on than stop to offer feedback or rewards.

Affiliative

Affiliative leaders:

  • put people first
  • focus on building strong emotional relationships and trust
  • make sure there are processes in place to support the team
  • create teams who get on well and look out for one another.

Democratic

Democratic leaders:

  • listen first, act second
  • encourage their people to work together
  • solve problems by consensus
  • make sure everyone’s voice is heard
  • won’t impose decisions
  • make sure no-one dominates meetings.

Coaching

Coaching leaders:

  • recognise employees’ strengths and weaknesses
  • support personal and professional development
  • readily delegate and give people constructive feedback
  • encourage people to establish long term goals and plan how to get there.

Coercive

Coercive leaders:

  • give a lot of orders
  • tend to take charge
  • tell team members exactly how to do tasks
  • make decisions without consulting the team.
What sort of leader are you?Skills you need

Authoritative leadership style

Hallmark: Inspiring people to fulfil a vision.

Pros:

  • useful when you need vision and a clear path for getting there.
  • works well in many business situations.
  • effective when the business is trying something new.
  • most effective for getting people behind ideas, to perform well and to act with integrity.
  • motivates employees by giving their work a sense of worth.
  • let's employees find their way to meet the business’ goals.

Cons: Less effective if you’re working with people who have more experience than you.

Pace-setting leadership style

Hallmark: Expecting excellence, hard work and self-direction.

Pros:

  • can work well when people are highly motivated and competent.
  • useful in times when you have a big goal and very short timeframe to achieve it.
  • useful for situations when competition is strong or when you need to make decisions quickly.

Cons:

  • can only be sustained for relatively short periods.
  • tends to hurt culture, motivation and employee performance.
  • there’s no room for employees to develop.
  • people can feel lost if the leader leaves.

Affiliative leadership style

Hallmark: Focusing on relationships and team bonds.

Pros:

  • useful when you’re facing conflict or hard times.
  • builds strong team relationships and trust.
  • employees feel loyal to the business.
  • people feel confident experimenting and are more likely to be innovative.

Cons:

  • always looking for agreement can mean you avoid conflict or making hard decisions.
  • focusing on relationships can leave employees wondering what tasks they’re meant to be doing.
  • not helpful when you just need to get things done.
  • may not work well in a time of crisis or when something is urgent.

Democratic leadership style

Hallmark: Asking what people think.

Pros:

  • helps people take ownership of projects.
  • people are more likely to have a vested interest in the project.
  • talking things through helps you uncover ways to keep staff motivated.
  • helps shape or establish a collective vision.
  • ensures people have a voice.

Cons:

  • may be difficult for people who aren’t used to having a say in things.
  • people can end up frustrated and unclear what they’re responsible for doing. 
  • meetings can go on with no clear outcome. 
  • can be time-consuming especially if it involves multiple stakeholders. 
  • employees with limited communication and interpersonal skills may feel left out.

Coaching leadership style

Hallmark: Helping people develop and grow.

Pros:

  • encourages employees to take ownership of how they perform.
  • creates an environment where people are supportive and happy to give each other constructive feedback.
  • ongoing dialogue helps build relationships and communicate your expectations and purpose.
  • good for developing employees’ skills as it helps them to perform well long-term.
  • positively affects your business long-term.
  • eventually frees up your time.

Cons:

  • may be problematic when the person is unskilled and has never done the task. 
  • not useful in a time of crisis or when things need to be done quickly.
  • feedback needs to be motivating and positive to avoid micromanaging.
  • may not work when people are resistant to change.
  • you need to be ready to accept short-term failure to achieve long-term learning.

Coercive leadership style

Hallmark: Demanding people do what you say.

Pros:

  • benefits employees who need close supervision and direction.
  • highly effective in an emergency or crisis.
  • useful when working towards tight deadlines.
  • allows the leader to demonstrate their talents and expertise.

Cons:

  • needs to be used with caution as can alienate employees.
  • may limit creativity and stop employees from expressing their own opinions and ideas.
  • can stop people from using their initiative.
  • may make employees feel they have no independence in their work.
  • can negatively affect motivation.

Choosing your leadership style

No leadership style is effective all the time and in all situations. Be ready to change your leadership style depending on the situation.

To choose your leadership style, ask yourself:

  • who you’re working with – what their motivations, personality traits, knowledge and skill are
  • what’s required – what your business goals are
  • how often you see your employees
  • when you want the work done.
Motivating your staff

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Leadership and culture