Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all skill. Different situations and contexts may require different approaches. How can you learn from and apply the insights of different leadership frameworks? In this article, you will discover some practical tips and examples to help you integrate different leadership styles and theories into your own practice.
The first step to integrate different leadership styles and theories is to identify your own leadership style. What are your strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and values as a leader? How do you communicate with and motivate others? There are many tools and assessments that can help you discover your leadership style, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the DISC profile, or the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). By knowing your style, you can recognize your biases, blind spots, and areas for improvement.
?? Identifying your own leadership style begins with self-awareness. ?? Reflect on your actions and decisions in various situations. ?? Are you naturally inclined to take charge & provide direction, or do you prefer to empower others & collaborate? ?? Assess your communication style, as effective leaders communicate differently. ?? Seek feedback from colleagues/ mentors to gain insights into your strengths & areas for improvement. ?? Consider your values and principles; they often align with your leadership approach. ?? Lastly, study different leadership models and theories to recognize patterns that resonate with your style. ?? Ultimately, understanding your unique leadership style is crucial for personal/professional growth.
I think it’s more important to understand the styles of those you lead so you can communicate with them in a way they will understand. Also, while the assessments listed can be helpful, not everyone fits in a bucket or category. How about we simply get to know our teams!
Before you can lead others one must learn and understand their strengths and what aspects of their character are unique and can be used as a differentiating factor. Next is understanding the culture in which one is stepping into or wanting to create. Then understand what those one is to lead need from a leader in order to be the best versions of themselves and do their best work. And lastly find a style that can speak to it all in a way that is not only uniquely you, but fit for purpose and empowering to those we seek to lead!
One disappointing career I had was with a business leader who positioned himself as the 'one-and-be-all' person. In my opinion, regardless of the leadership style one practices, 3 key elements must exist : communicate with respect, act responsibly and deliver with humility.
Self awareness is a key component of being a great leader. A simple way to build self awareness is to intentionally get curious about yourself. Begin to notice your habits, your feelings in different situations and how you react when faced with challenges. Mindfulness is another thing that can help build this self awareness.
There are many frameworks and models that describe different aspects of leadership, such as the situational leadership model, transformational leadership theory, or servant leadership approach. You can read books, articles, or courses that explain these concepts and provide examples. This can expand your knowledge, perspective, and repertoire of leadership skills.
?? Explore Articles: Stay updated with the latest leadership insights and trends. ???? Take Courses: Enroll in leadership development programs or workshops. ?? Listen to Podcasts: Learn from experts sharing their leadership experiences. ?? Apply Real-Life Examples: Connect theory to practical scenarios. ?? Seek Role Models: Observe and learn from successful leaders in your field. ?? Embrace Adaptability: Integrate multiple frameworks based on context. ?? Embrace Adaptability: Integrate multiple frameworks based on context. ?? Engage in Discussions: Participate in leadership-focused conversations. ?? Be Curious: Never stop exploring and evolving your leadership toolkit.
Enneagram can get too woo woo but I have found the basics of it sets up a decent frame for helping leaders get a quick yet surprisingly deeper self awareness about their patterns of - intelligence gathering: think/feel/do - relating to situations and people: withdraw/depend/advance - managing their core motivations so it doesn’t sabotage them under stress - acknowledging their personal development path as they move into security - empathising and embracing people’s different styles
In this vuca era, a leader has a better chance of leading their team through adversities if they can adapt quickly. One way to achieve this is to have at your arsenal, different leadership styles to choose from. That way, you can adopt the most suitable style for each situation. There is no one size fits all, and though your innate style will still be the dominant one, it never hurts to have other styles at your disposal.
I believe that learning from different leadership frameworks is crucial for personal growth as a leader. By familiarizing yourself with various models, such as the situational leadership model, transformational leadership theory, or servant leadership approach, you can gain valuable insights into different approaches to leading teams and organizations. This broader understanding will enhance your perspective, enabling you to adapt your leadership style based on the needs of the situation and the individuals you are working with.
Different situations and challenges may require different leadership styles and behaviors. For example, a crisis may demand a more directive and decisive style, while a creative project may benefit from a more collaborative and supportive style. Similarly, different followers may have different expectations, preferences, and levels of competence and commitment. A new employee may need more guidance and feedback, while an experienced employee may need more autonomy and recognition. By analyzing the context and the needs of your followers, you can adapt your leadership style accordingly.
It’s like trying to choose the right outfit for each occasion, but instead of clothes, we need to select our approach to leading our followers. And just like fashion trends, the context and needs of our followers can change in the blink of an eye. Imagine being a leader during a crisis. Your followers need a firm hand and clear instructions to navigate through the crisis. And many more examples we can add on . However the secret recipe is Mix in a pinch of smart decision-making, collaboration, a sprinkle of guidance, and serving the recognition.
Ah, this is what I mentioned above, learning the styles and needs of your team. I always liked to find out what was important to my direct reports. One wanted as much autonomy as possible, another wanted to always be learning something new. Having insights into what makes someone feel appreciated and motivated is helpful.
?? Crisis Management: Be decisive and provide clear direction during challenging times. ?? Creative Projects: Foster collaboration and encourage innovative thinking. ??? Active Listening: Understand your team's needs, concerns, and ideas. ?? Flexibility: Tailor your approach to individual followers based on their abilities and commitment. ?? Empowerment: Delegate tasks and grant autonomy to capable team members. ?? Recognize Achievements: Acknowledge and reward exceptional contributions. ?? Analyze Results: Review outcomes and adjust your style for continuous improvement. ?? Monitor Progress: Keep track of your team's development and adjust as needed. ?? Effective Communication: Clearly convey expectations, goals, and changes.
From my perspective, analyzing the context and the needs of your followers is paramount in learning from different leadership frameworks. By understanding the specific situation and the individuals involved, you can tailor your approach to match their expectations, capabilities, and the demands of the task at hand. This adaptability and attentiveness to your followers' needs will foster stronger relationships, enhance team performance, and ultimately make you a more effective and influential leader.
You need strong self awareness and situational awareness to determine what is needed and how to deliver it. Compassion, curiosity, collaboration, or occasionally conciseness. With a high level of self and situational awareness you can effectively bring an objective view which must be anchored in your values, mission and vision.
Consider trying new ways of leading that are outside your comfort zone or challenge your assumptions. For example, if you are a more task-oriented leader, you can try to be more relationship-oriented by showing more empathy and appreciation. Or if you are a more visionary leader, you can try to be more pragmatic by setting more measurable goals. Experimenting with different styles and behaviors can test their effectiveness and help you learn from new experiences.
As a leader you have to be agile. You may have a preference for leading with one style but you will always have to modulate based on who you are leading. Each person is like a fingerprint, unique in how they learn, communicate, and engage. As a leader, you have to meet your team members where they are and sometimes it will take you out of your comfort zone.
?? Task-Oriented Leaders: Cultivate empathy and appreciation to build stronger relationships. ?? Visionary Leaders: Set measurable goals and be more pragmatic. ?? Experimentation: Try new leadership styles to learn and grow. ?? Adaptability: Embrace flexibility to meet diverse challenges and followers' needs. ?? Personal Growth: Challenge assumptions and seek continuous improvement. ?? Targeted Feedback: Gather insights from your team to understand the impact of your adjustments. ?? Continuous Learning: Stay curious and invest in your leadership development. ?? Track Progress: Measure the results of your experiments to identify effective strategies. ??? Open Communication: Discuss changes with your team and encourage open dialogue.
One simple frame I’ve found that helps leaders understand how to work with diverse teams is Kilmann’s conflict management frame. It comes down to our ability to dial up and down our capacity for cooperative ness and assertiveness. Ideally a leader has learnt to be both assertive and cooperative and the calibrate it to the situation and people involved. This allows the leader to adapt and engage in all 5 (situationally appropriate) conflict management styles: collaborating avoiding competing compromising accommodating
Ask for feedback from followers, peers, mentors, or coaches on how they perceive your leadership style and impact. You can use self-assessment tools or journals to monitor your progress and challenges. Doing so will help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities as a leader.
Feedback is one of the most essential tools for effectively using various leadership styles and models. As a leader, it is your responsibility to actively seek out and act on feedback. An effective leader benefits from proactively setting up feedback and coaching sessions with peers, employees, mentors, and, where possible, external coaches. Consider an active, ongoing frequency of at least monthly meetings. The sessions should have clear agenda items explicitly calling out the expectation of transparent feedback in various forms.
I recently interviewed one of the greatest college football players of all time and we spent a lot of time talking about the power of feedback. He told me that he heard his coach say that he wasn't the most talented player, but he was the most "coachable." He took that as a badge of honor.
?? Understand the Source: Identify if the feedback is based on facts, emotions, assumptions, or preferences. ?? Analyze the Context: Evaluate if the feedback relates to the change or its implementation process. ?? Address Concerns Directly: Respond transparently, offering explanations and solutions. ?? Embrace Feedback: Use it to learn and improve your future actions. ?? Acknowledge and Empathize: Show respect and understanding for stakeholders' feelings. ?? Involve and Collaborate: Seek their input and invite them to contribute to the change process. ?? Follow Up and Monitor: Stay connected, address concerns, and measure stakeholder satisfaction. ?? Foster Ownership: Empower stakeholders by assigning meaningful roles in the change.
Feedback provides a lens into how others view you. This important for leading and influencing. 360 degree feedback tools ?? are a great way to get the perspective of your supervisor, peers, and direct reports. It is good to engage in these types of reviews every two to three years so you can receive feedback to calibrate and recalibrate as needed.
Understand/evaluate yourself before understanding-evaluating others. Until you don’t know yourself, how will you able to learn about others. Also asking feedbacks from mentors, peer or expert in the field is also a very way to improve your leadership style.
Use the insights and lessons you learned from the previous steps to develop a leadership style that is authentic, flexible, and effective. Use different frameworks and models as references to help you navigate different situations and contexts. By integrating different styles into your own practice, you can become a more versatile and adaptable leader.
Integration is everything! It’s a habit of intellectual curiosity, humility and empathy. Leaders can fall for their own pet theories and favourite frames. That’s normal and human to get over-wedded to our preferences. Integration can help leaders mindfully see the connecting dots between their pet approaches and other people’s preferred world-views. Leaders must be willing to have their own strong opinion AND try to find those connective tissues that integrate between different people, diverse views etc
In my experience, in today’s BANI world , one cannot be rigid about styles and frameworks. It’s about leadership agility and what you need to measure and impact. Most often than not, psychometric tools and frameworks can operate well contextually but with changing business environment it’s important to measure the impact leaders create.
This is a wonderful exercise and it correlates to the need for leaders to constantly be continuously learning and growing. As leaders, we should challenge ourselves to learn about different leadership styles and ensure we are practicing effective and supportive ones.
Trust is critical, in my view leaders have to build trust with their teams and others. We cannot be a true leader if there is no trust. Leadership is also about accountability and resilience. Also, for those who lead teams, leaders need to nurture their teams.
Leadership is tailor made and you are the creator of the design that suits you best. There is a lot that you can learn from reading and observing others but to be an authentic leader, you need to find what is true to you and your values.