Leadership Styles: Which Is Yours? | by Rachael Kelly
Establishing your presence as a leader can be tricky. What do you want your legacy to be? Do you want to be known for your foresight? Your empathy? For making hard choices and taking decisive action? There is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership and it can be hard to pin down the most effective leadership style for you. So let’s take a pause and explore three of these leadership theories together.
The Blake Mouton Grid:
The Blake Mouton Grid is a great place to start when evaluating your leadership style. It focuses on two opposing behaviours: concern for people vs. concern for results. Depending on where you rate your concern for these factors, you’ll be identified as aligning with 1 of 5 leadership styles:
- Country Club Management: You’re a people person - the Michael Scott of managers! You prioritise your team’s needs and feelings which creates a great working atmosphere. However, productivity can slip under your laid-back leadership, so keep an eye out for that.
- Team Management: You’ve hit the sweet spot! You have high regard for both your people and results, meaning the people below you are motivated and the people above you are satisfied you’re delivering. Keep up the good work.
- Middle-of-the-Road Management: Mediocrity is your bag. Your attempts to balance concern for people with concern for results means you’re constantly compromising. Don’t expect any great engagement or results with such uninspiring leadership.
- Impoverished Management: You’re as effective as a chocolate teapot. With low regard for your people and little interest in getting the job done, you’re making no impact as a leader. It’s time to rethink your leadership style.
- Produce-or-Perish Management: Your leadership style is closer to a dictatorship. Your team’s needs are secondary to results, with your success being at the detriment of your employees. Don’t be surprised if your subordinates burn out.
Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model:
Hersey and Blanchard were also fans of a grid. They believed a leader should be flexible and able to adapt their leadership style to suit the situation at hand. To this end, they narrowed down leadership styles to 4 styles, depending on their level of supportive or directive behaviours.
1. Directing: You’re a bossy boots! You tell people what to do, when to do it and how to do it. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; this leadership style can be useful when…
- Your subordinates are unclear on what to do
- They’re unmotivated to work
- Decisive action is needed
2. Coaching: A coaching leader is the best of both worlds - both highly supportive and directive. This is most effective when your team is…
- Enthusiastic but unclear on what to do
- Lacking in confidence and in need of additional support so they can work independently next time
3. Supporting: Supportive leaders focus on their employee’s development and can trust their employees to work independently. This style works well when…
- Subordinates are diligent workers but would benefit from recognition and feedback to stay engaged and motivated
4. Delegating: These leaders take a ‘hands-off’ approach, with low levels of supportive and directive behaviour. This leadership style is only useful when…
- Subordinates are able and willing to perform the work autonomously
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y:
For McGregor, there were two schools of thought a leader could prescribe to. Theory X leaders assume their subordinates are lazy, unmotivated and unengaged. This being the case, they require autocratic leadership and micromanagement.
Theory Y leaders assume the opposite - they perceive employees as productive, motivated and engaged in their work. These leaders work democratically and may delegate more responsibility to their employees, stretching their personal development.
To see the theory in practice, look no further than Rold Dahl’s Matilda. With a terrifying demeanour and penchant for barking orders, Miss Trunchbull is very much a theory X leader. In contrast, with her nurturing attitude and endless patience, Miss Honey is the epitome of a theory Y leader. I know which one I’d rather be!
Final Thoughts:
Blake Mouton’s leadership styles really brought to life how tricky it can be to strike the balance right. After all, we can’t all be ‘team management’ leaders, can we? We’ve all come across some theory X leaders in our time too; there’s nothing quite so grating as a micromanager. However, for me, the Situational Leadership model seems most applicable to the workplace. Pivoting between leadership styles is often required as priorities change. As warm and fuzzy as a coaching style is, a directive approach may be more effective if you’re up against a tight deadline! So, time to reflect.
Which theory resonated with you? Share in the comments!
Rachael Kelly is a Multiverse alumnus and former Project Management apprentice, and is writing for the Apprentice Lens as part of the Blogging Team. Here’s more about her:
Rachael has enjoyed writing from a young age and dabbles in everything from children’s fiction to topical articles. As a former Multiverse apprentice and mentor, she hopes to champion on-the-job study and support current and future apprentices through the creation of useful blog content.
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