What type of CEO would you be?

Our global research at Imperative has identified eight different types of CEOs. They are each driven by a different vision for how to make an impact as a leader. It defines their style as well as how they hack their jobs to be successful.

Which of these eight leadership styles best reflects your core belief about how to add value in the world? Click on the name of the example CEO for each leadership style to read their full story on Fast Company. Use the insights from the profiles to inform your development and to realize your potential - the world needs you to lead!

1. Organization- Driven

Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP

The core belief of organization-driven leaders is that by enabling an organization, group or community to succeed, they are able to touch the lives of many.

Bill McDermott is probably best known for being a sales guru but his true super power has not been his ability to sell but instead how he has created sales organizations that rather than having people competing, they work to ensure their colleagues all hit their goals.

2. Society-Driven

Tim Ryan, CEO of PwC

The core belief of society-driven leaders is that we need to change the game to address the scale of challenges and opportunities. Even a small change at a systemic level has a massive impact in the world.

PwCs new CEO Tim Ryan has a simple mission in his job: change the world. He sees in the massive accounting firm a convening power that is capable of moving the needle in the sphere of social impact. He is currently focusing his efforts on addressing issues of race in the firm and beyond. 

3. Harmony-Driven

Nancy Green, CEO of Athleta

The core belief of harmony-driven leaders is that when we are a society of equals we will be truly a great society.

Nancy Green wants the company to present a more realistic image of women in the media, and a more friendly workplace for its employees. In her role as CEO of the women's athletic apparel company, she is working to “break the stereotypes of health and wellness, and what strength and beauty look like by showing much more body-type diversity and age diversity.” 

4. Karma-Driven

Spencer Rascoff, CEO and Co-Founder of Zillow

The core belief of karma-driven leaders is that when allowed to realize their potential, people can move mountains.

Rascoff has ensconced Zillow into the real estate marketplace, with over 150 million people visiting their site each month. He seeks to make an impact by empowering people in the real estate market with the information they need to make informed decisions. He calls it "turning on the lights" and it applies not only to his customers but also to his team.

5. Community-Driven

Erin Ganju, CEO of Room to Read

The core belief of community-driven leaders is that the challenges and opportunities will change over time, but if we build strong communities, they will rise to the occasion every time.

Erin Ganju has built one of the most successful nonprofits in the world by any measure. Room to Read, who builds libraries and educates girls in Asia and Africa has scaled to a team of 1,300 employees across ten countries serving 10 million children per year. Her success is directly tied to what brings her purpose - empowering others.

6. Human-Driven

Don Katz, CEO and Co-Founder of Audible

The core belief of human-driven leaders is that we can create breakthrough solutions to any challenge or opportunity if we start with empathy and understanding the human and environmental context.

Don Katz’s journey began as a writer. “There's no better training for starting an invention company than being an inquisitive writer...You have to go out and find the facts, as a journalist. This is a fantastic backdrop for being morally and courageously honest about what you don't know.” These are the traits that now define and distinguish him as the CEO of Audible, the dominant audio book platform. 

7. Structure-Driven

David Blake, CEO and Founder or Degreed

The core belief of structure-driven leaders is that we are able to achieve unimaginable things when we have the right structures in place to support us - from goals to roles to training.

At the age of 18, David Blake “wrote what [he] believed was just a better system for higher education.” At the core of the idea, which would later morph into the company Degreed, was a fundamental belief that the educational system was broken; there was a critical need to “reorient the market's perception and recognition of education.” His company has disrupted the industry by making education a lifelong pursuit that captures our learning journey from a diversity of sources. 

8. Knowledge-Driven

Denise Morrison, CEO of Campbell Soup

The core belief of knowledge-driven leaders is that knowledge is the key to unlocking change. Curiosity will uncover the answers we need to solve our greatest challenges and realize our most exciting opportunities.

As a child, Denise Morrison's father made her do a book report for him every week. This built an insatiable appetite for learning in her that continues to this day and is behind her success at the helm of Campbell Soup. They have surpassed Whole Foods in ingredient transparency and seen their stock nearly double. 

Three Stages of Leadership Development - eBook

In our research we have identified three stages in the development of purpose-driven leaders. They serve as a framework to design leadership development programs and to measure purpose within an organization. Imperative has just released a guide to develop purpose-driven leaders that includes step-by-step advice on how to invest in purpose in your organization.

Download the eBook: Purpose-Driven Leaders - The Three Phases of Development

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Aaron Hurst is an Ashoka Fellow, award-winning entrepreneur and globally recognized leader in fields of purpose at work and social innovation. He is the CEO of Imperative and founder of the Taproot Foundation which he led for a dozen years. Aaron is the author of the Purpose Economy and has written for or been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg TV and is the author of the Fast Company Purposeful CEO series.