There have been various leaders through the years who have left their mark on the world. Some of these leaders include Nelson Mandela, Mary Seacole, Barack Obama, and P.J. Patterson. They have demonstrated such styles ranging from Participative Leadership to Transformational Leadership.
Developing your leadership skills is part of the full package of your professional journey. An integral part of this development is having the ability to adopt different leadership styles to make them work for you and your team. Here are eight (8) tips that should help you do just that:
Be your authentic self
Be flexible and open to adapt to sudden changes
Have knowledge of the various leadership styles
Use your emotional intelligence
Strike that balance
Don’t be scared to get out the box and experiment
Seeking feedback is a must
Ask for formal support
Let’s have a discussion on these tips in details.
Be Your Authentic Self
Being your true self is of great importance. If your style is not naturally authoritative but you decide to use this approach with your team, you may not appear authentic and are unlikely to garner respect from the individuals you are leading. Instead try to think about your natural skills and strengths then consider how you can apply them in directing your team effectively.
Be Flexible and Open to Adapt to Sudden Changes
Another tip that one should bear in mind as it relates to developing their leadership style is to be flexible. You should be able to adapt your leadership style to navigate the different situations you encounter.
In an article by Barker (2015), he referred to an example of the change initiative leader who on the one hand must be inspiring and engaging, to ensure that others buy-in and are committed to the task to be done. On the other hand, such a leader would need to command greater control should a crisis arise, in order to convey an appropriate sense of urgency. It should be noted however, that while adapting your style to “different situations, you should also be sensitive to the motivations, needs and personalities of individual team members”.
Have Knowledge of the Various Leadership Styles
Before you launch off into taking the lead role on a project or assignment, whether in a business or volunteer organization, it would be very helpful to identify the various approaches to see if you match closely with one style over another or if you channel a combination of different styles.
The three most common approaches are:
Autocratic – a traditional, top-down approach, which is highly directional
Democratic – a more consultative and participative leadership style
Transformational – a leadership style that is concerned with vision and driving change
However, with the advent of more research and experiment other approaches have also been identified:
Collaborative – a leadership approach based on a willingness to share knowledge, power and credit
Servant leadership – based on a sense of community and shared decision-making
Transactional leadership – a behaviour-based approach that is concerned with the interaction between leader and followers
Use Your Emotional Intelligence
What does it mean to have emotional intelligence? This means being aware that emotions can drive our behaviours and impact people positively or negatively, and learning how to manage those emotions – both our own and that of others. As it relates to being a leader it means understanding how to manoeuvre various situations involving an array of different personalities.
Strike That Balance
Leadership is pretty similar to a that of a juggler in that you will need to balance the various needs of individual team members against what is best for the group overall. The questions that you should ask yourself when considering your leadership approach are:
What type of work would you and your team be undertaking?
What are the different skills, experiences, and personalities within your team?
What is your departmental or organisational culture?
Don’t Be Scared to Get Out the Box and Experiment
Stepping out of the box and incorporating the different approaches is one of the best ways of finding out which leadership style suits you best. There are several opportunities to test your leadership styles which may include either of the following:
A leadership training course which will offer a safe environment to explore
Volunteering to lead an initiative within a special interest group like Kiwanis. This offers you further opportunities to work on the different leadership styles
Seeking Feedback Is a Must!
In order to objectively review your leadership style it is recommended that you seek feedback. This could be done through various means such as online assessment as well as by asking for observations from persons in a senior capacity and from persons on your team. Some of the questions that could be asked include ‘what could I do differently to help our team improve on our performance? or ‘what can I do to help motivate our team?' These questions will reveal suggestions in terms of how you may refine your leadership approach.
Ask for Formal Support
If you are new to a leadership role, you might it overwhelming to tackle the various tasks that are part of the role. It is very important to have someone that you can rely on for external support such as a mentor or coach who can assist you in assessing your progress as well as talking through your ongoing development.
In summary, being a leader is a tall task with great responsibilities attached however, by following these eight tips you will be on the right path of developing your own leadership style which would be an asset in any organization.
Contributed by Vice-President Shauna McLeod
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