Leadership Styles:

One Size Does Not Fit All

Stop trying to figure out what kind of

leader you should be, and focus on
what kind of leader your people need.

60 Chief Learning Officer • June 2019 • ChiefLearningOfficer.com

BY SAR AH FISTER GALE
W
hen high performers move
into leadership roles, one of
the first choices they need
to make is what kind of
leader they want to be —
and there are a lot of options to choose from.
Some imagine themselves visionary leaders, ready
to guide their teams through rough waters, or
democratic leaders who want to encourage collab-
oration and team decision-making. Others will
lean toward transactional leadership, where deliv-
ering results is the measure of success.
The truth is all leadership styles can be good
choices — in the right situation. Conversely, none
of them work all the time. “Trying to label your-
self with a single leadership style feels like ’60s-era
thinking,” said Greg Githens, a strategic thinking
coach with Catalyst and Cadre LLC in Lakewood
Ranch, Florida. “Leadership is much more com-
plicated than that.”
“The most successful leaders are able to adapt
their leadership style to the situation,” agreed
Robyn Benincasa, CEO of World Class Teams
and a seasoned firefighter in San Diego. “They be-
come the person their team needs them to be in
that moment.”
Situational Leadership
While an inspirational and collaborative leader
might be exactly what the team needs if a project
calls for creativity and group effort, it can be de-
structive in situations where decisions need to be
made quickly. “If I pull up to a building on fire,
the last thing I want to hear from my captain is
‘let’s collaborate on how we should approach this
fire as a team,’ ” Benincasa said. In cases of crisis,
teams need decisive leaders who can make deci-
sions for the group and inspire their people to fol-
low them.
Leaders who are fluid in their approach are also
better able to meet the needs of individuals on the
team and their ability to address the tasks at hand,
said Ken Blanchard, a columnist for Chief Learning
Officer, best-selling author and founder of The Ken
Blanchard Cos. “You can’t use one leadership style
with every person and expect positive results.”
Imagine, for example, that a leader needs
someone to manage the budget for a large project.
An “enthusiastic beginner” may require a direct
leadership style from a manager who tells them
exactly what they need to do to succeed, where-
as a “disillusioned learner” may need a support-
ive leader who is willing to coach them and give
them the confidence to make decisions. And a
“self-directed achiever” who already has financial
experience will benefit from a leader who dele-
gates and trusts them to deliver results.
The lesson, said Blanchard, is that when lead-
ers understand the needs and development levels
of their people, they can adapt their leadership
style to give them what they need.
Which Way Do You Lean?
This doesn’t mean leaders shouldn’t aspire to a
certain style or adopt it as their core strategy. “Ev-
ery person has a natural leadership style that they
Chief Learning Officer • June 2019 • ChiefLearningOfficer.com 61
 grew up with,” Blanchard said. That style — wheth-
er it is commanding and assertive or inclusive and
affirming — lays the groundwork for the type of
leader they are likely to become.
He noted that the DISC personal assessment
tool, which assesses users based on personality traits
(dominance, influence, steadiness and conscien-
tiousness), can be a good indicator of a person’s in-
herent leadership style. A company’s mission state-
ment, values and the leader’s own personal point of
view can also provide clues, he said.
Although it’s not enough to simply pick a style or
to wait and see what emerges naturally. Most leaders
benefit from training or mentoring to help them
transform their raw leadership skills into a more de-
liberate approach. Unfortunately, most high per-
formers get little formal training until they are well
into their management careers, Blanchard said.
“MBA programs don’t
teach much about how
to be a leader.”
All leadership styles
That means many
leaders go it alone,
can be good choices
adapting their style
through a combination
— in the right situation.
of instinct, experience Conversely, none of
and casual research on
the leadership styles that them work all the time.
promise the best results.
That’s where some leaders can be drawn astray.
While we all have an underlying urge to lead one
way or the other, the latest business trends can sway
the way you lead — or at least how you think you
do. Most leaders today will tell you that their ap-
proach is democratic or transformational, and that
their primary focus is on collaboration, empower-
ment and giving their people the space to thrive.
It’s a noble description that melds well with cur-
rent data suggesting employees — especially millen-
nials — seek out collaborative and supportive lead-
ers, and that they aspire to embrace these qualities
in their own careers. According to “The Millenni-
al Leadership Survey” conducted by Virtuali and
WorkplaceTrends.com, nearly 50 percent of millen-
nials define leadership as “empowering others to suc-
ceed” and 63 percent define their own leadership style
as “transformational,” which is defined as “wanting to
motivate teams to achieve their full potential.”
However, it’s likely their perception is aspirational.
“People want to imagine that they are great diplomatic
leaders who aim to serve,” said Karlyn Borysenko, an
organizational psychologist and chief science officer at
RallyBright, a performance management software
company. But in reality she estimates that this descrip-
tion only represents about 25 percent of leaders.
62 Chief Learning Officer • June 2019 • ChiefLearningOfficer.com
Borysenko also noted that people who display
diplomatic or service leadership traits on the DISC
assessment — which she refers to as “freakishly accu-
rate” — are less likely to be promoted to leadership
roles. “It is ironic because they make great leaders,”
she said. However, in conventional business settings,
people who demonstrate commanding leadership
styles are more often viewed as successful.
Be the Leader Your People Need
Instead of trying to become something you are
not, our experts suggest leaders find the leadership
style that they are most comfortable with — then
look for opportunities to stretch their style when the
situation calls for it. This can feel uncomfortable,
but it’s the best way to see how different styles deliv-
er different results.
When leaders see the business value of trying
new leadership styles
they are more likely to
adopt them where ap-
propriate, Borysenko
said. For example, a
transactional leader
who is always focused
on outcomes may have
trouble empathizing
with a team member
who isn’t meeting their
goals. Telling them to be more supportive and nur-
turing isn’t going to change their behavior, she said.
“They need to see how paying attention to that
person’s emotional needs generates quicker results
and greater buy-in.”
For leaders who aren’t sure what kind of leader
their team needs, Blanchard made the bold sug-
gestion to just ask them. “A lot of leaders learn a
leadership approach but they don’t tell their peo-
ple what they are doing,” he said. He sees this as
counterproductive.
When teams learn leadership styles together and
discuss the pros and cons of different approaches, it
creates a leadership culture for the team that benefits
everyone. Blanchard recalled working with a compa-
ny that was struggling with extremely high turnover
rates. When they started interviewing leaders in the
company they found every manager was losing team
members but one. When they asked that manager
what he was doing differently, he said he spent 15-
30 minutes every week talking to every member of
the team about the challenges they faced and their
goals for the month. It made a huge difference for
employee engagement, he said. “Employees just
want you to talk to them.”
They also want to know that you have their
back — in good times and in bad, said Sean Sandona, CEO of
Doorage, a storage company in Chicago. Sandona considers himself
a “push leader.” It is his own description for what many leadership
consultants would call a visionary or transformational leader — he
sets big organizational objectives and then works side-by-side with
his people to achieve them. “I don’t tell my people what to do; I get
into the trenches and show them,” he said.
While Sandona has a general description for his leadership
style, his approach shifts depending on the needs of the client, the
task and the team. In the day-to-day workplace he is encouraging
and supportive, offering advice and celebrating individual and
group success. But when crises hit, he expects his people to follow
his lead, even if it means working extra hours or doing unpleasant
tasks. For example, Sandona, who also runs a property manage-
ment company, recently had a condo association client with a bro-
ken sewage pipe. “There was two feet of sewage in the basement of
the building,” he said. At first his team balked at the idea of clean-
ing it up, but when Sandona was the first person to walk down
those basement stairs, they followed him. “Your people need to
know that you will never put them in a situation that you aren’t
willing to tackle yourself,” he said.
Similarly, last summer his team wanted to start posting video
content to the company website, but nobody knew how to do it. So
he and the team stayed late three nights in a row watching every
video editing tutorial they could find on YouTube until they figured
it out. “It’s a lot easier to say ‘do this’ when I’m doing it too,” he said.
Regardless of the type of leader you are — or aspire to be — the
lesson is that there is no single style that will work for everyone and
every scenario. “Stop trying to figure out what kind of leader you
should be, and focus on what kind of leader your people need,”
Blanchard said.
Our experts offered these tips on how to do it.
• Show your team respect and loyalty. If they feel like they can
trust you to do the right thing, they will follow your lead, San-
dona said.
• Pay attention to what your people need now — not what they
needed in the past. “Leaders often confuse experience with ex-
pertise,” Githens said. Just because you’ve done something the
same way over and over doesn’t mean it will work again or in ev-
ery situation. “If you are sharp-eyed enough to notice what’s go-
ing on, you will recognize what the situation requires.”
• When times are good, get out of the way. “You don’t always
need to be out in front to prove you are a leader,” Benincasa
said. On good days, she urges leaders to focus on coaching,
mentoring and enabling the team to develop their own leader-
ship skills. But on bad days, she noted, you need to take back
the reins.
• Leadership is about actions, not titles. “Effective leadership is
a journey,” Blanchard said. Regardless of what you call yourself,
it is how you respond in different situations that defines who
you are as a leader. Being self-aware of your behavior and the
effect it has is an important part of that evolution. CLO
Sarah Fister Gale is a writer based in Chicago. She can be reached at
editor@CLOmedia.com.
Leadership Styles:
A Primer
Every leader leans naturally toward a specific leadership
type, though each of these styles can be beneficial in
the right situations.
Democratic leadership: These leaders are collabora-
tive, respect the contributions of team members and
encourage participatory decision-making. This
leadership style is especially popular with younger
employees who want to be a part of the
decision-making process. It is an ideal approach in
creative environments and when problem-solving or
innovation is the goal.
Servant leadership: These leaders are big on
communication, coaching, encouragement and
inspiration. They strive to effect positive change in
individuals and for the benefit of the organization. One of
the primary characteristics of a transformational leader
is their desire to help the people on their teams achieve
personal and professional success.
Transactional leadership: These leaders tend to focus
on goals rather than the needs of individuals. They rely
on the promise of reward (or risk of punishment) to
motivate teams and closely monitor performance as a
measure of success. This is not always a popular
leadership style, though it can be effective in a crisis
and is often deployed successfully on teams where
results lead to bonuses.
Strategic leadership: These future-focused leaders set
strategic goals for the team and use those goals to
motivate, encourage and coach their people. They are
highly involved with the team, though they don’t
micromanage. They are keen to delegate tasks,
especially when it allows team members to stretch their
skills. When done right, these leaders inspire loyalty and
deliver great results.
Autocratic leadership: Autocratic leaders are the
caricatures of every cartoon boss. They make decisions
without asking for input, demand total subordination
and punish those who don’t comply. This style may
work well in the military, but it rarely goes over well in a
business environment.
— Sarah Fister Gale
Chief Learning Officer • June 2019 • ChiefLearningOfficer.com 63
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