Does Your Style Of Leadership Matter?

Leadership is often hailed as the cornerstone of organisational success, but does your specific style really impact outcomes?

In today’s complex business environment, where different leadership models compete for attention, the question of whether your approach truly matters is more relevant than ever. Does your leadership style directly affect team performance, engagement, and innovation, or are other factors, such as company culture and external market forces - more decisive?

This blog examines the extent to which different leadership styles influence outcomes and explores the strategic implications of aligning leadership with organisational goals. Whether you’re navigating your first steps into leadership, or leading a global corporation, understanding the role of your leadership style could redefine your approach - and, ultimately, your success. Read on to uncover the critical insights you need to lead more effectively.

Top Down Leadership

Until fairly recently, ‘top down’ leadership was the most common model of organisation in traditional businesses, but it is quickly becoming outdated. This style of leadership is one that is ruled by decisions of the senior leadership team, with minimal strategic input from the wider workforce.

When leaders employ this autocratic style of leadership, it can be met with negativity and suspicion, even when decisions have been made in the interest of the whole team.

Top down leadership can be useful when critical decisions need to be made quickly, but for other less urgent process or product-based decisions, where possible, getting team members at all levels involved in the decisions that actually shape the business, can be invaluable in creating confidence and establishing a bond between individual team members and the wider organisation. At all levels of leadership, you have the opportunity to involve internal stakeholders to make decisions and shape the systems and culture that make up your team.

Participative Leadership

Opposed to a top down model, participative – or democratic – leadership includes involving team members of all levels in decision-making processes.

Leaders who embody participative leadership understand the importance of collaboration and embrace creativity in the development process. They understand the importance of feedback for improving both strategy and working relationships. This type of leader is receptive to receiving even developmental feedback, knowing that when there is a culture where employees feel psychologically safe enough to freely discuss how things could be improved, that is the mark of a strong and cohesive team.

If you would like to develop yourself as a democratic leader, it all starts with a focus on honesty. As a leader, it can be tempting to want to protect your team, and to avoid involving them in things you believe are outside of their remit which might dilute or confuse their roles. Aim to break down the psychological barriers that exist placing different team members on different ‘levels’ and view everyone as a stakeholder with the same value. Ask for feedback and reflect on it. When new projects or workstreams, or changes to current ones occur, use this as an opportunity to encourage cross-functional collaboration.

Transformative Leadership

Transformative leadership goes deeper than participative leadership, it is the practice of embedding transformation, creating and maintaining a positive purpose and vision, and communicating this effectively with your team.

One example of transformative leadership is the practice of considering people’s personal values, not just their skills and experience, when onboarding and creating teams. Importantly, transformative leaders lead with ethical considerations for their team – they act with compassion and integrity to ensure the workforce feels nurtured and supported, there are no unnecessary negative consequences. Additionally, they embody these principles themselves, sharing information openly and avoiding restrictive hierarchies.??Opportunities for growth are always encouraged and these leaders are happy to mentor and develop their team.

Embodying this style of leadership certainly matters – it can be the difference between a team that lacks confidence and direction, and one that is effortlessly cohesive and successful.

Finally

Parts of your leadership style will be inherited from your mentors, other parts will be made up from your own drives and personality traits, and some elements of your leadership style will be what you have learned and developed yourself.

Different leadership styles can produce different outcomes, they set the tone for the whole team and it can be where teams are strengthened or weakened. Successful leadership is about providing your team with clear vision and direction, it's about building and maintaining teams full of trust who are interested in developing themselves along with the business.

If you’re thinking about how your leadership could be more transformative, Zestfor offers a range of leadership programmes which will enable you to be the leader you want to be. Our programmes are the perfect place to start when you want to improve the effectiveness of leadership in your organisation, but aren’t sure where to start. Click here to learn more about our various leadership programmes and how they can benefit your organisation.

Until next time,

Julia Carter

About Julia Carter

Julia Carter is the MD of Zestfor?Ltd and specialises in working with leaders and managers of virtual and hybrid teams to improve team effectiveness.

Effective leadership involves numerous competencies, but it also requires a core mindset which is rarely explored in leadership programmes. Julia’s mission is to instil this core mindset into as many leaders as possible so that they can empower their people in their areas of specialty...and hopefully in their personal lives too.

In 2009, Julia founded Zestfor - a training consultancy and continues her mission.