Choosing a Leadership style for you

How to choose leadership styles video

How do you choose and develop a leadership style?

What kind of leader do you want to be?

Perhaps even more important, how would you be most effective as a leader?

What kind of leadership style would be of the most benefit to your organization, and would allow you to be the best leader you could be?

Here are a few things you can do to choose and develop your own effective leadership style:

Start with yourself. Use what you know about your own personality, and about how you've exercised leadership in the past.

 

Neither of these has to determine what you choose now - people can change, especially if they believe that what they've done before was ineffective or inconsistent with their values - but it's important to be honest with yourself about who you are.

 

That honesty has two aspects.

 

First, be clear with yourself about what your natural tendencies and talents are. If you want to be a collaborative leader, but you tend to tell people what to do, you have to admit that and think about ways to change it.

 

If you want to be a directive leader, but you have trouble making decisions, you need to deal with that issue. Not everyone can be charismatic, but almost everyone can learn to distill and communicate a vision that reflects the hopes and needs of a group. Knowing who you are is the first step toward both choosing a style and understanding what you'll have to do to adopt it. Being truly honest with yourself is a difficult task.

 

For most of us, it may take some time with a counselor or a trusted friend, or the willingness to hear feedback from colleagues, co-workers, and/or family members. It also takes an honest self -assessment, which can mean stripping away defenses and facing insecurities. These few questions are obviously just a beginning

Some questions you might ask yourself to start:


How great is my need to be in control?


How willing am I to trust others to do their jobs?


How patient am I?

          How organized am I?

How good are my people skills?


Second, acknowledge and be true to your beliefs. If you have a real philosophical commitment to a particular leadership style, it will probably be easier for you to change your behavior to match that style than to live with knowing you're betraying your principles.


Think about the needs of the organization or initiative.


Observe and learn from other leaders. Find a mentor.


Use the research on leadership. There are lots of resources available on leaders and on both the theory and practice of leadership.


Believe in what you're doing. If you've thought it through carefully, and believe in the way you practice leadership, that will be projected to others. If you believe in yourself, they'll believe in you, too.


Be prepared to change. Although this may seem at odds with some of the above, it is probably the most important element to good leadership.


In Summary: Leadership style is the way in which a leader accomplishes his purposes.
Some (very stereotyped) possibilities:


Autocratic - totally in control, making all decisions himself
Managerial - concerned with the smooth operation, rather than the goals and effectiveness, of the organization
Democratic - consulting with others, encouraging equality within the organization, but making final decisions herself
Collaborative - sharing leadership, involving others in all major decisions, spreading ownership of the organization.