When choosing a leader, candidates must go through a rigorous process. This is to ensure that they have the qualities that a leader must possess for leadership and team development. They must have experience, communication skills, adaptability, and a collaborative mindset. Business leaders must also be able to inspire trust, display empathy, and lead by example. 

But no matter how stringent the hiring or discernment process of choosing a leader, their skills will differ once they are already in the field. This is where the various leadership styles come into play. 

Different Leadership Styles

The workforce today is composed of employees from different backgrounds and generations. While this diversity can be advantageous, handling it can sometimes be challenging. This is why it is essential to understand and use the different leadership styles to ensure a harmonious balance between vision and execution. 

Many leadership development consulting companies share the three fundamental leadership styles: democratic, autocratic, and participative. Each of these approaches will affect the team’s dynamics differently.  

• Democratic refers to the kind of leadership involving its members in decision-making. While leaders will still have the final say, people adopting this style often ask for feedback from their team members before deciding. 

One of the advantages of democratic leadership is that it helps establish that you give importance to your members’ opinions. Hence, this style is most recommended for diverse workplaces. 

However, collecting feedback from all team members takes a lot of time and can negatively impact timelines. 

• Autocratic leadership is where only the leader makes decisions for the whole team. This approach is best when the management must execute time-constraint decisions or short-term performance goals. 

However, this can discourage your members from being innovative and collaborative when used in the long run. This can be an issue, particularly in diverse work settings. 

• Participative pertains to the leadership style that delegates the decision-making to a few key members and then provides guidance and feedback as you go along. Leaders who adopt this style are typically open-minded and believe that contributions from members are of equal importance. 

A participative leadership style hinges on solid communication skills. This ensures that ideas will flow effortlessly without or with only minimal conflict. 

But while participative leadership fosters trust and respect for your team’s opinion and is best for the long-term, it may not work for decisions that need a quick turnaround, like the democratic style. 

While these three styles are considered standard approaches to leadership, it is important to note that they are not the only options available. Other leadership styles may or may not work for your team. Hence, understanding your members and their needs is vital for every leader.

To help you navigate your journey of guiding your team, you can rely on Seed People Consulting. 

We are a reliable leadership development consulting agency that can help you learn more about your strengths and weaknesses and how to use them to understand your team better. 

For more information, contact us at (+61) 2 4967 6695 or visit our website here.