What Are the Types of Leadership Styles? The 6 Styles and When to Use Each

0:03Welcome to Leadership DNA, a podcast for those who aspire to be a better leader. Alongside Arturo Gomez, I'm Rob Cressy. Arturo, today we are going to be talking about styles of leadership. Why are we doing that? Well, I think it's important people understand that there's not just one defined style to leadership. And I think that, you know, when you look at some of the strongest leaders that we've been able to study, whether it's people in sports or whether it's, you know, CEOs or what have you, I think you realize that these individuals are pushing on a bunch of different levers to really get their message across and to really motivate the people that are around them. Yeah, and with that, it's not just a one size fits all. So oftentimes when people think about success or leadership as a whole, they think that someone is just amazing at any one thing.

1:00But really, it is the combination of a wide variety of different things that all gets melted together almost like a recipe where you say, you know what, I'm gonna have a little bit of this and a little bit of this. And it just so happens, maybe you and I make the same type of dish, but we have different levels of the ingredients. So we can think about this, sports is a fantastic example. And we can look at this from Phil Jackson to Bobby Knight to Pete Carroll to Urban Meyer.

1:30And there's different ways to win a championship. But guess what? There are different players with various personalities. Phil Jackson, I think is a great example. He was dealing with both Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan, Shaq and Kobe. So he couldn't just take a one size fits all approach to his leadership. But then you see Bobby Knight and he's super authoritative. He's throwing chairs over there. Then you get Pete Carroll and he's all loosey goosey and everything.

2:00Right. Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, you're starting to see more and more of this, obviously, now, today, I think that the definition of what a leader is or has been has changed over the last couple decades, right? And so now this concept of emotional intelligence or EQ is really starting to play a big part in how people are looking at and defining leadership, because it's super important that people understand that there is, like you said, there's not one size fits all, that every person is different. And every person requires different forms of motivation to actually push themselves to the next level.

2:42And so some of those, some of those things require a little bit more of an authoritative voice or requires a little bit more compassion to get the message across. Point is that leaders today are really required to wear a lot of different hats from the emotional standpoint to really be able to deliver a strong message and to motivate their teams to the next level. So you sent me over an article called leadership that gets results.

3:10And this was from Harvard and there's six different leadership styles that we are going to break into. So the first one, coercive leaders, they demand immediate compliance. I think Bobby Knight is probably the ultimate of this. When I look at my own leadership, I think it's something where I only want to tell something once. So it's, uh, one of my mentors has a phrase implemented the speed of instruction.

3:38So when we teach something, I expect you to say, got it, Rob, let's move on and make sure that we implement this because a lot of leadership and learning is stacking on top of each other. And we don't want to waste time having to go back to re-talk about things that we just talked about. Yeah. I mean, it's also, it's also depending on the moment, right?

4:01It's I've either told you this before and I don't want to rehash this again, or, you know, the drill and we're in the moment and this is what needs to get done. I'm not going to take you aside and cuddle you. I'm going to tell you immediately how it needs to happen. And unfortunately, that's just one of the things that is required, but, um, it certainly is a style and it certainly is an attribute of this specific article and of these different phases of leadership that we're talking about.

4:32And I think a great example for this will be, uh, so often people are good leaders when everything's puppy dogs and rainbows, but what, when everything is on fire and there's just, oh my, there's just so many things that you've got to try and figure out. And in this exact moment, there is a critical thing going on. What can we do to fix this? And this is where the course of leadership style for yourself can say, listen, Rob, this is going on.

5:01I need you to execute this now. Boom, go and do this. And you need to be able to understand the temperature of the room or what's going on to be able to do that. And if you don't have that, you may not be as good of a leader when the times are the toughest. Yeah, no, that's, that's a perfect example. Of when that style of leadership would be required. So let's move on to the next one.

5:26Authoritative leaders, mobile people, mobilizing people towards a vision. And what I like about this is I'm someone who's very vision oriented. I build the world in my image. So I'm like, here's this thing that we're going to go build. Let's all go this, go do this together. And I think the key word for me is together because I'm someone who's community oriented. I love having others around me.

5:52And there's something about a leader who wants to include other people as opposed to someone who is just on a pedestal by himself. Yeah. I mean, it's, again, it's the authoritative kind of nature that that's required in, not in all situations, but people want to follow figures of authority. I've seen that time and time again, people want structure.

6:19And there's a time and a place to kind of let that emotion or that guard down. But the reality is that in leadership, people are going to gravitate to the highest level of authority. And so it's a hat and it's an attribute that's certainly probably one of the more used in leadership styles. Yeah. And with it, I think there's oftentimes a feel or an aura around an authoritative leader because they have their own self-confidence to themselves for what they know needs to happen to help them get to what they want to accomplish. In our previous podcast episode, we talked about leadership starts with number one. Yeah. And I mean, I think it's, to me, it's that defining of that no-nonsense individual.

7:11And, you know, even I, you know, I'll take myself, for example. I have, I'm a business first and then play afterwards. And I bring that really to the style of leadership that I do. And so it's, we're going to get the job done, guys. And then as soon as the job is done or we are on path, we can all let our hair down. And so that's when other styles of leadership will start coming out from my standpoint.

7:36But I think it's always, you know, that the authority component is a necessary thing to drive the bus in the direction that we want. All right. Next one. Affiliative leaders create emotional bonds and harmony. So this is something where you're playing more on the EQ, which is something that we're going to be talking about in future episodes. Can you speak a little bit more about this style of leadership?

8:06Yeah, for me, it's always been, you know, having this heightened sense of really of radar, of trying to pick up the energy and the sentiment of the team at any given point. And so if you are a strong leader, again, it requires you to have not only that self-love, but that love of others. And so that would, you know, that would be include your team. Right. And so it's essential to be able to pick up those cues.

8:34And so when you know that somebody is having a bad day or somebody's energy is off, this is where that other hat would have to come in play. And you have to take somebody aside and you have to try to understand where they are from a mental state and bring them along and bring them along and let them know that if for some reason that day they can't participate at the level that maybe that you wanted, that's okay. That's okay.

9:04Don't worry about it. We got a team here. Everybody's going to help. And that style, that ability to actually connect with your team is probably one of the more powerful things that will happen in any leadership experience. Because when people feel that the leader, this authority, doesn't only care about themselves and doesn't only care about the job or the task at hand, but that really, truly cares about the well-being of the team, that's when extraordinary things begin to happen because that's when you get locked in. You, the job, the mission, the goal all gets locked into the team's heads as he really, he or she really cares greatly about who we are and what we're doing here. And it just takes the goal and the mission to another level. I love that.

10:00And I actually believe if we're going to think about things from a marketing standpoint, I believe more brands need to actually lead this way. Instead of jamming, buy what I'm selling, buy what I'm selling, have more of a community approach where you feel some sort of way about a brand. Because you're right, there is so much power in connection and relationships because people will never forget the way you make them feel. That's right.

10:28Next one, democratic leaders build consensus through participation. Break this one down for us. Yeah, I mean, it's, listen, there's going to be times that you're going to have to be authoritative, right? And it's, it is, guys, I know the direction. I know where we should be going and this is what we're going to do. And you got to live with that. You got to live with that decision as well, right? And there are times for that to happen.

10:56But I would say that the leaders that I've studied in the experiences that I've had where I've realized that we've been able to achieve tremendous things, it's where you're incorporating everybody. And everybody has a piece or feels responsible to some degree for the success. And this doesn't only, this doesn't only come on the front end. You know, how many times have you been there when you knew that there was a strong team effort that actually created a success? And you had an individual or the leader or the boss or whatever you say, you know, really taking this for themselves and saying, you know, this is really kind of putting themselves on a pedestal. That is not how strong leaders behave. They share the victory. And in most cases, they actually give the victory. They hand the trophy.

11:50They don't want to touch the trophy first. They give it to the people, the team, and the group that actually pushed them to that goal. And so this is a big one too. I mean, they're all big, man. These are all really very clear, defined styles of leadership that are required to take teams at high levels. All right, next one, pace setting leaders. Expect excellence and self-direction.

12:18And this is an element that very much resonates with me because I'm someone who leads by example. I start with number one and say, all right, I'm going to do this. I would never expect you to do something that I won't do for myself. And I think this podcast is also a great example of this where we are leading by example. But something great happens to a team when you have self-directed leaders where people have the ability to think for themselves and not always be told what to do because they can be thinking ahead because they know the culture that you've set for the expectations of everything. They go, we know how we get down. Boom, let's keep moving this forward. That way you can build more momentum and more progress because we expect excellence, and that is the standard of it. And that was perfectly said. So to me, it's a coaching thing.

13:12I mean, if you're a pace setting leader or using that specific attribute, your team is either going to respond in a way that they actually understand that there's a cadence involved in the work that we're doing, there's a certain amount of hurry up that's required, or they won't. And so that requires you to step into another hat and bring some other type of leadership style down.

13:37But it's kind of cracking that whip, so to speak, to really kind of keep the momentum and the pace of the program or the mission on goal. I find one of the biggest challenges of this style of leadership is actually the absence of structure. Sometimes you can have your own standard be some sort of way, and someone comes in, and do you do what you can to onboard them or assimilate them to the culture to allow them to get that mindset?

14:04And that can be hard when you're someone who does things a certain way because I expect everybody else to do it because I'm doing that. But are you giving everybody else the opportunities, especially if you think about the various levels of leadership or the people who may work with you? Right. Yeah. I mean, that's another great example. Yeah, that's correct. All right. Last one we have here, coaching leaders, develop people for the future.

14:31And this is a great last one because it's a blend of all of these things, because this is leadership with you leading by helping others get better at the things that they want to get better at. Yeah. I mean, for me, the whole concept of trial by fire, I love it. I love giving people a foundation. So to the point that you were making in the previous attribute, you know, you got to onboard people the right way and make sure that they have the competency and the skill set and the tools to actually succeed. But I'm also not afraid to to let people it depends on the job. Right. It depends on what we're talking about. Depends on is there an opportunity here in front of us to allow somebody to jump into it and see how they do. Because for me, the greatest opportunity for coaching has always been on the job and in the moment.

15:25And so when somebody either either they excel and you say, oh, my God, tremendous job and you applaud them. And one of the things, too, that I've always told my my managers and the team and the people that I'm trying to coach to get to that point that they become stronger leaders. Is that for every time you push somebody down, you have to be there to pick them up.

15:48And so you have to be able to applaud their wins and really highlight why what they did was excellent as much as you have to give constructive feedback. There is no positive and negative feedback. It's constructive. And and that's it. It's why candor is one of my core values. It's one of the reasons why someone would want to work with me and my company, because I am going to tell you exactly how it is, good or bad, because our goal is to accomplish this goal that we're not in this hurt feelings business. And I actually really learned that I've got a background in improv and comedy writing from Second City. And one of the things that they teach you is in writers rooms. We're bringing these jokes to the table and listen, this isn't a right or wrong. It's just either funny or not funny. And we're going to tell you as it is.

16:41So as we rack this up, I want to give some book recommendations that can actually help here more specifically on the coaching side of things. So Phil Jackson's got a good book, 11 Rings, The Soul of Success. Urban Meyer's book, Above the Line, Lessons in Leadership. Anything John Wooden is phenomenal. Attitude, Develop a Winning Mindset on and Off the Court by Jay Wright, the Villanova head coach. Bill Walsh, The Score Takes Care of Itself. Absolutely incredible.

17:11And anything Nick Saban. Arturo, is there any that you would like to add to this? Dude, your list was fantastic. The one thing I will add, maybe because it's top of mind, but also because I think that it truly shows all these leadership skills and attributes being highlighted in a very unique way, is the Bob Iger book. The most recent Bob Iger book, Ride of a Lifetime.

17:34He really highlights the requirement and the need to have different speeds and to be different to different needs from different people. And that's why I think Bob Iger, in my opinion, is one of the greatest leaders, at least of our time, and certainly one of the greatest CEOs of our time. So now time for the takeaway and action item.

18:00And on my end, what I would like the listener to do is to, one, identify the area of leadership where you feel like you are the strongest. But at the same time, I would also like you to evaluate where is one that you think is an area of need that you might be able to work on? Arturo, what about you? What's the takeaway you have for this? I think that's correct.

18:23I think, listen, there's been, this article that I sent you has actually been a tool that I've been using probably for the last 10 years. People that I've tried to coach and tried to develop as leaders, I put that article in front of them and I said, identify the things that you think you're the strongest at. Okay? And there's never, ever been one person that has come back to me and submitted, I think, that I excel at all of them. And sometimes I help them. I say, hey, listen, you have a very authoritative style of leadership.

18:51There's other pieces that you need to insert to really kind of round out and complete the next phase of where you're going. I think doing a gut check and a self-exploration in terms of those attributes, how you're doing is great. I think if you want to take it a step further, you know, put yourself into a 360 situation and actually ask people that you may be currently leading or that you may have on the team and say, listen, this can be anonymous.

19:20It doesn't need to be anonymous. I'm actually asking you for some feedback. I used to do that exercise every year for probably a period of like eight to nine years. I'd actually, and this was as president of one of my former companies, I would send it out to probably, I'd say about 50 to 60 people. Some of them were hourly and some of them were salaried. And it was very specific that they were going to be answering things related to me.

19:51Most left it anonymous, which was fine because it allowed them the opportunity to actually speak their mind. I think I learned more about myself and about my leadership style from that feedback that I received. Things that actually changed my personal trajectory in terms of how I deal with people because I kept on seeing signs. I kept on seeing consistencies and people saying that you do this and you do that and you do this. And there was a lot of great.

20:19There was a lot of positive from it. And everything that was sent in was done in a constructive way, but it really was very helpful. You have to be brave to do it because not everybody likes to hear the areas that they're deficient in. But I think if you're a very strong and conscious and dedicated and committed leader, that you'll do this thing for yourself and treat it as a very loving thing that you're doing for yourself. Absolutely love it.

20:49And as always, we would love to hear from you about this episode. Did anything resonate with you or cause you to take action?

Transcript cleaned up for reading. Sign-off trimmed.