The most effective leaders are aware of their leadership style. They are understand their strengths and weaknesses. They are constantly working to enhance their leadership with the intent to maximize their positive impact on team members. They work to create devotion and engagement in their team members. This helps to sustainably achieve the mission of the organization and produce desired results. More importantly, they understand how weaknesses and limitations of their leadership style impact everyone.
According to one study by the Hay/McBer consulting firm, the impact of your effective leadership is immense. Most effective leaders adapt their leadership style to create a positive impact on the team. They identified six leadership styles. Coercive, Authoritative, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting, Coaching. Each of these styles are useful in different situations. However, if one or two are relied on too much, they will have a negative impact on the team.
Taking an accurate leadership and behavioral assessment will help identify which leadership styles are most natural to you. Most likely you are good at two or three, and you probably struggle with the rest. Enhancing your leadership means you learn how to identify which leadership style is appropriate for different situations. It is also important to understand the impact stress will have on your leadership style. How you behave when you are tired, anxious, stressed, and under pressure can quickly undo all your hard work if you are not careful. If you have ever regretted anything you have said or done under stress, congratulations, you are only human. These behaviors are called your “backup style.” The good news is, you can improve! Click here if you would like to discover your “backup style” as well as your natural leadership styles.
Pick one of the following six traits you feel is your weakest: Coercive, Authoritative, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting, Coaching. It will be the one trait that if you improve even a little will have a positive impact on your team members. Work with a coach to begin strengthening this trait today. Be patient with yourself. It will take some time to improve. Working on our weaknesses a little at a time will yield big results. Olympic gold medal skater, Scott Hamilton was not able to win gold until he acknowledged the elements of his skating that were his weakest. When he worked on those and learned to love and appreciate those elements, he broke through what was holding him back.
Your ability to increase collaboration and teamwork as a leader is critical to your success. This means work on your human skills. If your team is remote or hybrid, it is important to leverage technology. Virtual meetings are helpful to keep you connected if you have no other options. Yet creating trust and engagement is most effectively done in person. Look for ways to increase your in-person interaction. Use technology to connect only if you must.
Finally, you will enhance your leadership style by adding a few simple words to your vocabulary. These words and phrases are: Please, thank you, I appreciate you, I am sorry, I made a mistake, you are welcome, how may I support you, what am I doing well as a leader? What do you think I can improve on? Using these will go a long way to helping you make a positive impact.
The Author Spencer Horn is the President of Altium Leadership For additional information consider the following topics: “People Not Performing? Look in the Mirror”, “The One Skill Executives Struggle With the Most”, “The Power of Accountability;”, “Love What You Do”, “The Truth About Authentic Leadership”, “How To Solve More Problems As A Leader”, “How to Prepare Your Next Generation of Leaders”, “Why Employees Don’t Do What You Hired Them To Do”