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Robert Cullen Leadership That Gets Results Daniel Goleman Do you believe that your leadership style is a function of personality or inborn talent or skill? It isn't. Your leadership style is a matter of strategic choice. If hearing that feels liberating, that is because it is, and extremely so. It means you no longer have to be limited to one or two styles in leading. You can learn and adopt any leadership style that you want to. Like the best leaders, you too can master several styles so that you have the flexibility with any leadership situation. You can mix and match leadership styles to suit the situation and the individual or team you are dealing with at any moment. This can certainly make you a more effective leader. Most successful leaders have a range of strengths and emotional intelligence competencies to draw from when they need. These include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill, according to Daniel Goleman. We can also narrow down all the leadership styles to six basic ones, each of which that uses different types of emotional intelligence in varying combinations. A leader’s job and how to do it A leaders job is to get results. Part of the 'how' depends on their leadership style. Research by the consulting firm Hay/McBer, which used a random sample of 3,871 executives from a global database of over 20,000 executives worldwide identified six distinct leadership styles. Each style springs from different competencies of emotional intelligence. According to Goleman, these styles have a unique and direct impact on "the working atmosphere of a company, division, or team, and in turn, on its financial performance". Leaders producing the best results use a range of leadership styles. “Imagine the styles, then, as the array of clubs in a golf pro’s bag,” says Goleman. “Over the course of a game, the pro picks and chooses clubs based on the demands of the shot. Sometimes he has to ponder his selection, but usually it is automatic. The pro senses the challenge ahead, swiftly pulls out the right tool, and elegantly puts it to work. That’s how high-impact leaders operate, too.” Understanding the leadership styles The six styles of leaders and how they work: Coercive leaders - Demand immediate compliance Authoritative leaders - Mobilize people toward a vision Affiliative leaders – Create harmony and builds emotional bonds Democratic leaders – Forge consensus through participation Pacesetting leaders – Set high standards for performance Coaching leaders – Develop people for the future The diagram, Six Leadership Styles at a Glance, shows how each leader goes about achieving results, the underlying emotional intelligence competencies for each style, when each style works best and the overall impact on climate. DIAGRAM: SIX LEADERSHIP STYLES AT A GLANCE Source: Harvard business review - March–April 2000 What is your comfort level with each leadership style? Most executives reading this will realize they have one or two predominant styles and a smattering of skills necessary for the other styles. Some styles may make you feel unnatural. However, if the best leaders are known to draw on multiple leadership styles as and when they need, this means you should try it too, if you are focusing on getting results. You can do two things: Develop new styles or get key team members with the styles you lack. I’d recommend both options to extend your leadership effectiveness. Developing new leadership styles To try expand your repertoire of leadership styles, understand your go-to styles first. Then pick on a couple of styles you need to improve on. Make sure they are ones with a positive impact on organizational climate. Next, keep extending the skills necessary to be comfortable using them. Be on the watch out for opportunities to use these styles in your daily work. People might do a double take at some changes, but does not matter because your goal is to become a more effective leader. If you are going to get better results, who is going to complain anyway? The best way to hone your skills is to try develop the underlying emotional intelligence competencies that support the leadership styles you have chosen. For example, if you want to develop your authoritative leadership style, you will need to work on your self confidence, empathy and how to become a change catalyst. Get a team that complements your styles In some situations, especially where you need quick results, you may feel it is helpful to boost up your leadership style with help from others. Surrounding yourself with a key team and delegating work to people who have the best styles of the task in hand may be a great strategy. Conclusion When deciding which style to use in any situation, you don't run through a checklist and decide, "this will do". The decision should be far more fluid. And for it to come naturally to you, you need practice, and a certain level of comfort in each style. According to Goleman, successful leaders "are exquisitely sensitive to the impact they are having on others and seamlessly adjust their style to get the best results." Do what Come People What do Do as I Try this IN SHORT: I tell you with me come first you think? do, now. - STYLE: Coercive Authoritative Affiliative Democratic Pacesetting Coaching Drive to Self-confidence, Empathy, Collaboration, Conscientious- Developing EQ: achieve, Empathy, Building Team ness, others, Initiative, Change catalyst relationships, leadership, Drive to Empathy, Self-control Communication Communication achieve, Self- Initiative awareness WORKS BEST In a crisis, to When changes To heal rifts in a To build buy-in To get quick To help an WHEN: kick start a require a new team or or consensus, results from employee turnaround, vision, or when to motivate or to get input a highly improve or with a clear direction people during from valuable motivated and performance problem is needed stressful employees competent or develop employees circumstances team long-term strengths CLIMATE IMPACT: Negative Most strongly Positive Positive Negative Positive positive
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