Types of Leadership

If you have ambitions to become a leader, then it’s important to recognise and understand different leadership styles. The leadership style you choose will define you: it will become as much a part of you, in the workplace at least, as your qualifications or the type of suit you wear. Each core leadership style has been developed and expanded by business and psychology experts around the world, creating a series of models that are the basis for almost every workplace in the world. But it’s important to note that these leadership models are not set in stone, and it is possible to change the leadership style that you use depending on the situation that you find yourself in.

Wondering what type of leadership will suit you best? Or what leadership model might work best for your business? Here’s everything you need to know:

Different Leadership Styles

There are a huge variety of different leadership styles. These refer to the characteristics and approaches taken when leaders interact with their employees or team members. The leadership approach you take will have a huge impact on your employee’s morale and mental well-being, as well as on their productivity and whether your company reaches its goals. So it’s important to choose the right approach.

Some of the most widely used leadership styles in modern business environments are:

Autocratic leadership
Democratic leadership
Affiliative leadership
Laissez faire leadership
Coaching leadership
Pacesetting leadership
Authoritative leadership

Here we will outline what each of these leadership models will look like in the workplace, as well as share the pros and cons of adopting each approach:

Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership is a leadership style in which the leader remains in ultimate control of their team members. Rather than gather input from their employees, autocratic leaders make decisions independently and then instruct their employees to implement those decisions. Autocratic leaders expect their employees to do as they are told and to accept the tasks they are assigned without question. This unquestioning obedience can be very difficult for some employees to deal with on a long-term basis, but this leadership style is particularly useful in situations with urgent deadlines or time constraints.

Because it can be useful in some situations, research shows that approximately 21% of employees do see the benefits of autocratic leadership. Other benefits of this leadership style include that:

• It is efficient, ensuring that decisions are made quickly. This means it works well in high-pressure or emergencies where time is of the essence
• Leadership decisions are cohesive and consistent, as they are made by just one person
• Employee stress levels are reduced because they do not carry the weight of the decision-making process
• Employees are clear about what their role in the organisation is because they are not encouraged to explore other positions or step outside of their existing roles

Whilst there are many benefits of the autocratic leadership style, there are also many drawbacks of adopting this approach. These include:

• A lack of creativity and imagination. Out-of-the-box thinking is not encouraged under this model which prizes conformity in employees
• Autocratic leaders can become highly stressed or suffer from burnout because responsibility for each decision falls to them

Democratic Leadership

Unlike autocratic leadership, democratic leadership is an incredibly collaborative leadership style. Democratic leaders will encourage each of their team members to share their thoughts and opinions. Whilst the democratic leader is still the individual responsible for making the final decision, the whole team’s ideas and suggestions will be included in this decision-making process. The democratic leadership style works best in situations where there is plenty of time to deliberate over decisions, and in creative industries where out-of-the-box thinking can lead to welcome innovation.

Democratic leadership fosters trust between leaders and employees. This is important because trust in leaders is the highest-ranked link to employee engagement, with 77% of survey respondents saying they need this to fully engage. Other benefits of democratic leadership include:

• Under this leadership model, new ideas are valued, meaning that creative and innovative individuals can shine and feel heard by those they are working with
• Collaboration increases customer morale and also improves levels of customer productivity
• Accountability is shared amongst all of the team members, meaning that they feel more involved and engaged in their projects, and the decision-making processes

The democratic leadership style also has drawbacks. Some of the negatives of this leadership model include:

• Collaborative decision-making can be a very time-consuming process, meaning that this model is not suitable for time-sensitive situations
• This model can also breed resentment in some teams, because whilst all of their ideas can be heard, not all of them can be implemented. This could be difficult to cope with for team members whose ideas are never chosen
• Democratic leadership is intended to create team harmony, but it can also lead to delays, confusion and even conflict in teams

Affiliative Leadership

Affiliative leadership is very similar to democratic leadership, in that it encourages collaborative relationships between team members and their leadership teams. Under the affiliative leadership model, the personal characteristics and behaviours used to carry out tasks are recognised for their value in just the same way as delivering the completed task. Affiliative leaders encourage positive working relationships between all members of their teams. This is a ‘people first’ leadership model above all else. There are many obvious benefits of this leadership model, including:

• Affiliative leadership opens up more opportunities for diversity within the workplace
• Levels of team motivation tend to be higher in situations where affiliative leadership is used. This is because team relationships are strengthened and teams are given higher autonomy, which lowers their stress levels
• People skills are rewarded and recognised under this model, which means that affiliative leadership environments are generally positive ones to work in

By contrast, there are some drawbacks to adopting an affiliative leadership model. These include;

• This model doesn’t work for everyone. If you have task-oriented team members then they will find the focus on interpersonal relationships that is encouraged by affiliative leaders distracting and unnecessary
• Prioritising people over tasks can harm performance, meaning that tasks might not always be completed to the highest standard, or on time
• Finally, affiliative leadership lacks clear direction in times of crisis, meaning that this model won’t be effective in situations where clear and decisive action is needed, or when it is important that decisions are made quickly

Laissez-faire Leadership

The definition of laissez-faire is “unwillingness to get involved in or influence other people’s decisions.” Whilst this term is often used to describe government or economic models, it is also a popular leadership style. Laissez-faire leadership is a model in which the leader takes a hands-off approach. Laissez-faire leaders are the opposite of autocratic leaders; they trust their employees to work independently, so they don’t get involved in their day-to-day task management activities. Because employees are often left to their own devices, this model works best when the leader is confident in the abilities of their team and has already trained and empowered them to carry out their role effectively. The laissez-faire leadership style does have its benefits. These include:

• Laissez-faire leadership encourages a relationship of trust between the team leader and the employee. When employees are keen not to break this trusted bond, they’re likely to be more productive and committed to their role
• This type of leadership can lead to increased innovation and creativity within teams. When they are not given direction from their leaders, employees will often innovate to meet targets and to find the solutions to their problems
• The concept of self-managing teams is promoted via laissez-faire leadership, which is a new and innovative concept that could ultimately save companies significant sums of money

Whilst there are many benefits of the laissez-faire leadership style, there are also drawbacks to adopting this approach too. These include:

• Leaders using this model can often seem difficult and unapproachable. Conversely, it can be hard for laissez-faire leaders to let go enough for the approach to work successfully
• Without the support of a dominant leader, laissez-faire leadership can result in low productivity among employees
• This leadership model can also lead to competitiveness amongst employees, with those employees vying to fulfil the leadership position, where they perceive a gap to be

Coaching Leadership

A coaching leader is a leader that will coach their employees, training them and encouraging them to reach their goals. Coaching leaders want to bring out the best in their teams and will coach and guide them regularly. This leadership style works well when leaders want to develop the skills of an inexperienced or junior team member. Rather than tell their employees what to do, a coaching leader will often use phrases like “what else could you try”, coaching their team members to try new solutions.  There are many benefits of a coaching leadership model. These include;

• Two-way communication and a collaborative approach are encouraged in this model. Individual skills are developed and enhanced as a result
• Having support makes meeting performance expectations motivating for individuals. Those individuals are also confident in the knowledge that If they might not reach those targets, their coaching leader will support and advise them until they do
• Teams are strong under a coaching leadership approach. This is because this model enables organisations to develop talent and grow a highly skilled workforce. That workforce is also likely to stay in place because they feel nurtured and motivated

There are also negatives of the coaching leadership model, including:

• This is perhaps one of the most time-consuming leadership approaches. Leaders will need to dedicate plenty of one-on-one time to each of their employees and have endless patience
• Coaching leaders need to be highly qualified and highly competent. It is impossible to coach and lead a team is a skill that you have not mastered yourself, under this approach
• When leaders have to prioritise their own work rather than their coaching role, this switch can be both confusing and demoralising for their employees

Pacesetting Leadership

As the name suggests, pacesetting leaders set the pace for their workforce. They are highly skilled and highly motivated, and they expect the same level of commitment from their employees. Pacesetting leaders will never ask their employees to do something they aren’t prepared to do themselves; in fact, they’re often on the floor with their team getting their hands dirty and encouraging them to keep up. This is a leadership style that works best when the employees are as highly skilled and highly motivated as the leader. When this is the case, the benefits of this approach include:

• This is a great approach for achieving results in a short period, as the pacesetting leader is continually encouraging their staff to work faster and more efficiently
• This is a great way to lead teams that are already motivated and need a little direction, as the leader can focus on setting the pace rather than on coaching or training their team

However, the pacesetting leadership style should only be used in short bursts because it can create a highly stressful, high pressure environment for team members. Other negatives of this leadership style include:

• Results are valued above anything else, including the well-being of the team. This can have an extremely negative impact on both staff morale and motivation
• Employees will receive little to no feedback or development opportunities, as only the results and the task at hand are the focus under this approach

Authoritative Leadership

The authoritative leadership style is perhaps the most controversial of all the leadership models. However, the one benefit that this approach does have over the also disciplinarian autocratic approach is that authoritative leaders will take the time to explain their decision-making processes to their employees. Their employees will still be expected to follow the authoritative leadership, and to complete any tasks they are assigned without questioning the authority of the overall leader. As you can imagine, it takes a very specific personality type to work under an authoritative leader: successful employees are often passive listeners and enjoy being assigned key tasks. This model also works well in uncertain or emergencies, where having a confident authority figure leading you can feel reassuring. Some of the benefits of an authoritative leadership approach are that:

• It can be motivating for some teams
• It can build a strong relationship between the authoritative leader and their team members, especially when those team members are encouraged to work collaboratively

Of course, a model like this will also have negatives, including:

• This model puts a lot of pressure on the leader, who has to lead by example and therefore has no room for error, or off days, of their own
• In traditional organisations, this model might not be a good fit. Many employees in these situations could find the approach confusing and therefore this could lower employee morale

Understanding Different Leadership Types

When you enter a leadership situation (either as the leader or as an employee) it can be massively beneficial to understand the different leadership types available to you, as well as the leadership model being used in specific situations. If you’re interviewing for a new role, you could ask what leadership model is used in the organisation: it could be helpful to know whether the model in place will suit your personality and work style. But it is important to note that some of the best leaders will utilise more than one different leadership type, changing their style to suit the situation. Your leader might be pacesetting at the end of the year when targets need to be met, for example, but coaching or laissez-faire during the slower parts of your work cycle.

Leading people can be challenging, especially during times of adversity. But the leadership styles above have been tried and tested. Although they each have their drawbacks, they have been proven to work and are effective people management techniques.