The Four Types of Leaders

There are four types of leaders and each of us has the potential to grow through each phase during our leadership journey. It’s important to realize we can be a different type of leader to different people based on our relationship with them.

?

The Conductor

The Conductor isn’t really a leader at all. The Conductor is a manager. He or she has been given a position, a title, and a job description that includes directing the activities of others. But telling someone what to do and having them do it simply because you are the boss isn’t leadership. It’s dictatorship. Early in my career, I didn’t realize leadership skills weren’t going to automatically come with my title. Until I learned how to develop my influence and leadership, I remained a very effective Conductor, but a very poor leader. My epic wakeup call came in 2007 when I tried to implement a process improvement in the office without first getting the buy-in of those affected. If leadership is influence, we must be able to influence people (volunteers, employees, friends, family, and children) without having to fall back on the common dictatorial phrase?”Because I said so.”

?Telling someone what to do and having them do it simply because you are the boss isn’t leadership. It’s dictatorship.

The Connector

The Connector is a leader who has learned to effectively build productive and mutually rewarding relationships, allowing him or her to increase their influence. To be effective as a leader, you must build strong, solid relationships. As Rick Warren stated,?“You can impress people from a distance, but you must get close to influence them.”?

Great leaders are relationship builders.

People must know you care about them and for them before they will trust you and go the extra mile for you. It may not be a surprise to you, but it was a surprise to me when I first realized people do have different types of personalities. I don’t mean people like different kinds of food or have different hobbies. I mean truly realizing different people have preferred styles of communication, preferred ways of interacting with others, and preferred ways of being appreciated, valued, and respected. After learning this, I dramatically changed my leadership style and became a Connector. I realized building relationships with people would significantly increase my influence.

Great leaders are relationship builders. However, in the corporate world, this is often (falsely) assumed to be “soft.” I think some leaders feel pressured to be “harder” when it comes to leadership. I know I did, especially with the people who worked with me.?

?

The Compounder

The Compounder is a very effective relational leader who has leveraged those relationships in a positive way to achieve the goal(s). Leaders should leverage relationships to get results.?Organizations don’t need a leader who can’t achieve the objectives, mission, or goals. Leaders must build relationships to increase their influence, but they must be balanced in order to achieve results. Balance means having difficult conversations when a team member isn’t performing, getting work done, or coming to work on time. It can also mean helping a team member see the job isn’t a good fit for them or releasing them to excel elsewhere. Leaders have a job to do and a responsibility to accomplish the mission with and through others. That’s why they are chosen to lead. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone who reports to you. In fact, there needs to be a recognition that, as the leader, you sometimes must make tough decisions related to discipline, resources, or promotions.

?

The Catalyst

A Catalyst is a leader who has experienced personal transformation and who is prepared to help others experience it as well in order to achieve their potential. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the top level is self-actualization. In terms of leadership, self-actualization is becoming the type of leader that develops other leaders. One can only reach this level by transforming from a Compounder, a very effective relational leader who gets results, into a Catalyst, a transformational leader who has reached the point of developing other leaders. As Bill Bradley stated, “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.”

A Catalyst helps other people become better by influencing them, developing them, pouring into them, encouraging them, motivating them, supporting them, and sacrificing for them. Yes, sacrifice is required to become a Catalyst because a truly transformational leader must be willing to put aside personal aspirations, selfish needs, desires, and wants, in order to reach self-actualization. We are also required to make a sacrifice, or investment, of time and energy. As a leader, self-actualization can only be achieved by becoming an effective relational leader who gets results and invests in the development of others to help them get results.?

Reflection questions:

1) Where do I show up as a Conductor? Who would say I'm a Conductor?

2) Where do I show up as a Connector? Who would say I'm a Connector?

3) Where do I show up as a Compounder? Who would say I'm a Compounder?

4) Where do I show up as a Catalyst? Who would say I'm a Catalyst?

5) Who has been a Catalyst in my life? What changes did I make because of them?

Are you looking to bring great leadership content to your event or audience? Take advantage of my "Special Offer" which includes 300 copies of my books and up to 2 hours training!