Dear WW: I need to strengthen my leadership skills. Any suggestions? THE BOSS, BUT NOT BOSSY
Dear BOSS,
Luis Chavarria had just been released from prison when he was arrested again-this time for illegal possession of a firearm. The police were tipped off by doctors at the hospital who were treating Chavarria’s gunshot wound to the foot. Apparently, the shotgun he slept with discharged during the night.
Unfortunately, Mr. Chavarria isn’t the only one shooting himself in the foot. Most bosses do it too-by relying on a single leadership style. A recent survey of 3,871 executives suggests that truly effective bosses VARY their leadership style according to the situation. The survey identified six leadership styles. Read more about them in “Leadership That Gets Results” by Daniel Goleman (Harvard Business Review, March-April, 2000).
Do what I tell you. Goleman calls this the “coercive” style of leadership and it is the least effective of the six. Who wants to be bossed around? But in a short-term crisis it can mobilize people quickly.
Do as I do, now. This the “pacesetting” style and it’s the second least effective. This leader is obsessed with doing things better and faster but doesn’t make her expectations clear. “If I have to tell you, you’re wrong for the job,” she thinks. As a result, responsibility and initiative evaporate because people focus on second guessing her expectations. Pacesetting can be effective with highly motivated, competent teams, however, if used in combo with other styles.
Try this. In this “coaching” style of leadership, leaders help employees identify their strengths and weaknesses, offer lots of feedback, and delegate challenging assignments to help people grow. Interestingly, while the leader’s focus is on long-term results (the employee’s growth), coaching delivers solid short-term payoffs as well because employees tend to rise to the level of their boss’s expectations.
What do you think? This is the “democratic” style of leadership in which leaders build trust and commitment by soliciting people’s ideas and buy-in. Not surprisingly, morale and productivity rise. A drawback can be the extra time required. The downfall can be using consensus to avoid decision-making.
How do you feel? Goleman calls this the “affiliative” style. The leader tends to his employees’ emotional concerns, offers ample praise, and gives workers great freedom in doing their jobs. The result is fierce loyalty. This style is particularly effective for rebuilding teamwork, trust and morale. However it can leave some workers feeling rudderless, so is best used in combination with the authoritative style.
Let’s do this together. This is the “authoritative” (not authoritarian!) style of leadership. Authoritative leaders state a clear vision for their people and motivate them by making clear how their work contributes to that vision. People see why their work matters and are given flexibility in achieving their goals. This is the most positive leadership style and works in most situations-unless the leader is less experienced than his team.
Vary your leadership style to the situation and you shouldn’t have to worry about any self-inflicted wounds.
Working Wounded poll:
Who best represents YOUR leadership style? (1,132 ballots)
- Patton, 29%
- Einstein, 28.5%
- Oprah, 25%
- Regis, 17.5%
Working Wounded strategy:
Our winning strategy for how to be a great leader comes from John C. in Brantford, Canada. “I was promoted to one of two supervisory positions. Half the other employees had applied for it, leaving 14 angry people. One day I was a team player, the next day I was the enemy. For the first year, I ensured that every person that reported to me knew where they stood. On a weekly basis, I would speak with each person about their productivity. Good and bad. If you saw me speaking to someone, there was no way you would know if it were positive or negative. The low producers would be coached asking them how they can obtain the standard. Their buy-in was very important. If you have low morale, don’t look at the majority of workers as the problem, look at the leadership.”
Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. Sherrie Campbell is a relationship and business professional, having applied her counseling background in a variety of challenging organizational settings. They’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, especially if you have better ideas than they do. Also check out their complete column archive at workmash.org, “The Boss’s Survival Guide” and “Gray Matters: The workplace survival guide.” Send your questions or comments to bob@workmash.org.
Filed under: Emotional Intelligence, Essential Skills, Managing & Leadership | Tagged: Approach to leadership, Leadership skills, Leadership style, Management style
