The 8 Most Common Leadership Styles

Transformational, Transactional, Democratic, Autocratic, Strategic, Laissez-Faire, Bureaucratic and Charismatic. One type is not necessarily better or worse than another but simply different although some types are better suited to particular industries, situations and employee personality types.  You can be a mix of types but generally you will have a dominant favour. 

The Transformational Leader is a big picture leader motivated by bringing about change for good.  They promote creativity and innovation, cultivating progressive teams.  Players are empowered and driven but not everyone shares an enthusiasm for change and without empathy this leader can alienate some players. 

The Transactional Leader incentivises performance and penalises non-performance.  They ensure the team understands the expectations of the business and their role in it.  There is no need for creativity because workflows are usually precise and repetitive so creative players can feel hamstrung. 

The Democratic Leader likes to team and roundtable ideas and strategies and everyone is heard before decisions are made and responsibilities delegated.  The team has a sense of inclusivity and engagement, but this can be a relatively slow and inefficient leadership approach. 

The Autocratic Leader leads from the top, unilaterally making decisions on the what and the how.  They are decisive, and outcomes are achieved quickly but some players need a less dictatorial approach and can feel mistreated.

The Strategic or Servant Leader will serve the team so the team will in turn serve them.  They ensure everyone has everything they need to perform.  Many players love this type of leadership and feel supported and a strong sense of comradery, but these leaders can burnout more quickly than others.

The Laissez-Faire Leader is sometimes known as the Zero Leader because they delegate responsibilities and then leave everyone to their own devices.  This French term is “the policy of leaving things to take their own course, without interfering”.  They create open pathways for autonomy and innovation, but some players may feel directionless and view the team as unorganised. 

The Bureaucratic Leader achieves outcomes by adhering to policies and procedures always and they expect their players to do the same.  They create clear organised pathways for their players, but innovation can be stifled, and some find this style too rigid.

The Charismatic Leader is charming, inspirational, and motivational.  They are the communication experts laying out vision blueprints and plans and then releasing their team to go to work.  Their teams are fully invested in their roles, but this leader’s big picture perspective can cause them to miss detail and potential issues.    

What is your leadership style and if you are employing managers and leaders, do you ask the questions that will reveal their leadership style?  This is critical because hiring the ‘wrong’ style for your business can critically disrupt any functioning team, supply chain and customer base.