Plan your leadership path with these 10 management styles

Growing up, I was only exposed to one type of leadership style. My baseball coaches were some of the most ruthless and demanding people I have ever met, pushing our team to our physical and emotional limits.

When I started interning in college, I expected my managers to be like my coaches. Since there is more at stake in a business, I was afraid of messing up.

But to my surprise, my managers in the work world were the complete opposite of my trainers. For the first time I learned about different leadership styles.

Your leadership style impacts the team you oversee and sets the tone for your work environment.

Check out this overview of the top management styles to learn the pros and cons of each and how each style impacts your team’s performance.

1. Visionary leadership style

A visionary manager creates a vision of purpose and direction that his employees can believe in. He inspires his team to work hard to realize this vision.

I think a visionary leadership style works best when the leader has excellent communication skills and charisma to communicate their long-term vision.

When they succeed, employees support and intrinsically motivate them.

If they don’t, they risk withdrawing and performing worse.

Visionary leadership Works best when managers give something to their employees autonomy and freedom in implementing the vision.

If you want to adopt this style, I recommend empowering your team to take risks and make decisions to work toward your common goal.

2. Autocratic leadership style

Autocratic management is the top-down management approach – employees at the top of the hierarchy have the power to make decisions.

Once a decision is made, autocratic leaders expect their team to accept and follow through.

I think the benefits of an autocratic leadership style are quick decision making and clear direction, both of which are useful in a crisis or when training an inexperienced team. With clear instructions and strict supervision, an autocratic style can quickly increase productivity.

The risk of an autocratic leadership style is that employee morale will drop if they don’t understand the vision or have a chance to contribute to it.

Turnover is likely when employees do not feel engaged and empowered. If poorly implemented, autocratic management can limit innovation and creativity.

Example of the autocratic leadership style in practice: Satya Nadella, Microsoft

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is known as clear and decisive leader who took Microsoft from a struggling technology company to a market leader.

Nadella explains the benefit of clear, direct leadership as follows:

“The most important quality every leader must have – and it is often underestimated – is the need to provide clarity when none exists. If everything is clearly defined, you don’t need a leader, and that’s easy.”

Being an autocratic leader does not mean that Nadella does not take employees’ viewpoints into account. He is also known for his empathy and adopting a growth mindset at Microsoft. But when it comes to that tough decisionsI respect that he takes full responsibility and leads transparently.

3. Democratic leadership style

In democratic management, the majority rules. Managers allow their employees to participate in the decision-making process because they value the diversity of ideas in their team and understand that people are the key to a team’s success.

Democratic managers ultimately approve decisions but allow employees to shape and influence their decision-making.

I have found that many employees prefer a democratic leadership style because they have greater influence and influence over their work.

But if implemented poorly, a democratic leadership style can be ineffective.

Consulting an entire team on a decision can slow progress. Favoring one employee’s ideas over another can also cause division and frustration.

If you want your employees to feel like leaders on your team, I recommend making sure you truly take feedback into account and justify your decisions.

Example of the democratic leadership style in practice: Reed Hastings, Netflix

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An example of a democratic leadership style is Reed Hastings, CEO and co-founder of Netflix.

During his 25 years as CEO, Hastings enabled Netflix employees to share innovative ideas from all departments and levels, even encouraging employees to go above their boss’s head when necessary.

In his book No rules rulesHe shares how he built a culture of freedom and responsibility through continuous improvement and transparent communication.

Hastings also incorporates some elements of a visionary leadership style.

Before streaming, he had to convince employees and investors that streaming would replace DVD rentals and led the company through this transformation.

4. Transformational leadership style

Transformational management is one of the most popular leadership styles adopted by Alphabet business leaders Sundar Pichai to Procter & Gamble’s Jon Moeller.

Transformation managers believe that change and growth are the only way to stay ahead of the competition. That’s why they constantly challenge their employees to perform better. They motivate employees to keep raising the bar, resulting in improved team performance.

The best transformation leaders Continue to challenge your employees while equipping them with the support and resources they need.

These teams are innovative and therefore able to adapt to drastic changes in the industry. But there is also a risk that they move too quickly and spread too much.

As a human resources manager, I believe it’s important to understand the limits of how far you can push your employees before they burn out.

Example of the transformational management style in action: Pam Bump, HubSpot

Pam Bump is the head of content innovation, research and growth at HubSpot. She leads HubSpot Media’s content innovation and research team and sees herself as a transformation manager.

“Before I became a manager, I always leveraged big problem-solving opportunities, asked ambiguous demands from leaders, and identified big opportunities for my companies. Now, as a manager, I encourage my team to do the same,” explains Bump.

Bump’s approach follows a long tradition of transformation management at HubSpot through founding leaders like Dharmesh Shah.

A challenge of transformation management is balancing individual and team goals, but a successful manager can achieve both.

“To strike a balance between ambitious overall goals, transformative team-wide goals, and the individual needs of teammates, I check in with my direct reports about their growth, what they’re working on, and any work that can help them improve their skills or visibility at the same time to support the team’s goals,” shares Bump.

Beyond weekly 1:1s, Bump also hosts semi-annual career chats to discuss their personal long-term goals and the tactics they can use to get there.

5. Transaction management style

Transaction managers use incentives and rewards – such as bonuses, stock options or promotions – to motivate their employees to perform well. Her motto is: “If you do this for me, I will do this for you.”

A transactional leadership style is based on extrinsic motivation, where employees are motivated to achieve a goal through the promise of an external reward.

Research shows that extrinsic motivation can increase productivity and help employees achieve short-term goals. However, studies show that a balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation works best to motivate employees.

Potential pitfalls of transactional management include lower creativity and employee over-reliance on extrinsic rewards. I think it can also lead to short-term results being more important than long-term success and loyalty.

6. Coaching management style

Just like a sports coach, a coaching manager strives to improve the long-term professional development of his employees. I love the passion with which they teach their employees and watch them grow.

They remain positive and patient despite short-term failures as long as the team learns and improves. The best coaching managers may adapt their approach to an employee’s communication style and needs.

Coaching-style leaders have two main focuses: overseeing employees’ individual development and bringing a team together into a collaborative force.

The best teams are the most united and an employee experiences the greatest professional growth when both their coach and teammates invest in their development.

Example of the coaching management style in practice: Jamie Juviler, HubSpot

Jamie Juviler is the Marketing Manager for HubSpot’s Website Blog team and wants to help his team do their best work while pursuing their personal goals.

“I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can help my reports develop their areas of interest and align their strengths with the needs of the team,” says Juviler.

“I want to mentor individuals who are satisfied with their professional development because they are more invested in their work and willing to achieve more than those who feel limited by their daily tasks.”

You can learn more about Juviler’s management path and approach here.

7. Servant leadership style

Serious managers put people first and performance second. They prioritize the well-being of their customers and employees over the team’s results.

A key element of servant management is leading by example: servant leaders show humility and are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and collaborate with their teams.

I think the benefits of a servant leadership style are a high level of trust and respect for the leader. Teams with a servant leadership style often win over customers with a “people over profits” mentality.

A potential danger of servant leadership is that a focus on service can undermine results. This could lead to employees becoming complacent, resulting in average or even subpar work.

Example of the servant management style in practice: Joaquín Duato, Johnson & Johnson

Have Better Conversations | Servant Leadership and the Builder Mindset | A conversation with Joaquín Duato

Joaquín Duato, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, describes himself as a servant leader.

“It is very important to realize that you are leading on behalf of others. Servant leadership is not about you; it’s about others,” he shares. “This is a principle that we want to convey to every single executive at Johnson & Johnson.”

To successfully implement a servant leadership style, Duato advises that all managers must listen carefully and make an effort to connect with employees.

8. Courageous leadership style

A courageous leadership style, defined by author Brené Brown, is characterized by empathy, vulnerability and trust.

The idea is that courageous managers can build trust and lead boldly by vulnerably sharing their own struggles and failures in the midst of uncertainty.

“The most important consequence of a lack of bold leadership and bold culture is that we get out of the tough conversations we need.” says Brown.

“When people are afraid of being belittled or ridiculed for trying something and failing, or even putting forward a radical new idea, the best they can hope for is a kind of status quo.”

In her book Dare to take the leadBrown describes courageous management with this acronym:

• Boundaries. Do I respect my own boundaries and those of others?
• Reliability. Am I following what I said?
• accountability. Do I take responsibility?
• Vault. Do I share information that isn’t mine or keep it in a vault?
• integrity. Am I acting according to a personal code of integrity?
• Non-judgment. Am I impartial when someone asks for help?
• generosity. Am I generous to myself and others?

I am confident that by following these principles, courageous managers can build trust within their team and work toward common goals based on shared values.

9. Laissez-Faire leadership style

Laissez faire is French and means “leave alone”. Laissez-faire manager They monitor their team’s activities but remain agnostic. They expect their team to carry out their work largely autonomously and only seek advice when they need help.

Laissez-faire management is the opposite of micromanagement. Some employees thrive on autonomy and are happier and more motivated.

However, the downside of laissez-faire management is that employees can suffer from a lack of leadership and vision. In turn, their work performance suffers, and underperforming employees could get away with doing the bare minimum.

The upside is that autonomy makes some employees happier and more motivated to succeed. In my opinion it is a double-edged sword and must be implemented in the right environment with the right team to be successful.

Example of the laissez-faire management style in practice: Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway

Legendary manager and investor Warren Buffet is one of the best examples of laissez-faire management in recent history.

In his Letter to shareholders 2022He wrote: “Our goal as owners is to make meaningful investments in companies with long-term favorable economic characteristics and trustworthy managers. When running large companies, both trust and rules are essential. Berkshire emphasizes the former to an unusual – some would say extreme – extent.”

10. Situational leadership style

Finally, I learned that many managers feel like they don’t exactly fit a leadership style. They may combine multiple styles, tailoring their approach to each employee and their current needs.

Because every team member has different communication styles and needs, an individualized, situational approach can be incredibly effective in getting each person exactly what they need.

Example of the situational management style in action: Kaitlin Milliken, HubSpot

Kaitlin MillikenSenior Program Manager at HubSpot, has found that situational management is best for leading her team.

“Over the course of my career, I have found that I have changed the way I lead depending on who I work with. Some people want hands-on management. Others work best with a lot of autonomy,” she explains.

Milliken says she likes situational leadership because she gets to work with people with different levels of experience.

“Someone new to the field may need more mentoring. An expert may simply want to know about our organizational idiosyncrasies. Because I naturally adapt to other people’s needs, this type of leadership fits my style,” she says.

Effective leadership styles for a successful team

Management is one of the hardest jobs in the working world.

But I think my insights from writing this article can provide some comfort:

The leadership style is not a one-size-fits-all model. Different people lead their teams differently and different teams want different leadership styles.

It’s about finding the style that feels authentic to you and helps your team succeed. The examples above show how different types of leadership styles can lead to successful teams.

After introducing you to the most popular leadership styles and their pros and cons, I hope you feel better equipped to lead your team through both challenging and successful times.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been updated for completeness.