Master Communicating With the 5 Essential Leadership Styles for Success
Effective communication with your leadership team is essential for success. However, your approach must change depending on who you are talking to, their individual communication, and their leadership style. In this article, we will discuss how to identify the 5 different leadership styles, their primary personality traits, and how to adjust your communication approach to each one.
1. The Autocratic Leader
They tend to make decisions without input from others and are often highly driven, expecting quick results. Don’t be vague or unsure with your communication with them. It’s best to avoid generic terms like, ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’ and better to get straight to the point. Use a direct and assertive tone, with facts and figures to support your arguments. Be aware that you might not get much feedback from them as they are process-oriented and not people-oriented.
2. The Transformational Leader
They focus on inspiring and motivating their teams and are often visionary thinkers that are positive in outlook with skills of persuasion. When you are communicating with a transformational leader, being passionate, enthusiastic and upbeat will help you to connect with them. Share your ideas and insights, and be open to feedback. However, be mindful that they might challenge you to be more creative and innovative.
3. The Laissez-Faire Leader
They tend to delegate and let others make decisions while providing minimum guidance and supervision to their teams. When communicating with them it's best to lead with a very clear agenda and goals. Make sure you provide clear updates and ask questions as needed to ensure you have their understanding. They won’t give you as much feedback as other styles of leadership, so prepare to be more self-motivated with them.
4. The Servant Leader
They focus on empowering and serving others and often take on a mentor role to guide their team members to success through support and encouragement. When you are communicating with them, make sure you are clear, concise, and respectful. Share your goals and accomplishments with them and be willing to provide examples that prove your point. Make sure you are open and willing to hear their feedback and suggestions for improvement.
5. The Democratic Leader
This type of leader focuses on consensus-building and democratic decision-making by engaging in open dialogue. They will encourage a lot of participation from team members. Make sure you come prepared with a number of ideas and facts that you can share with others for discussion, which they will appreciate. Be willing to participate and provide feedback during meetings and engage in a respectful exchange of ideas.
Being aware of the different leadership styles and adjusting your communication approach to each can help build trust, establish a good working relationship, and ultimately lead to better outcomes. Also, remember that miscommunication and conflict in the workplace can be avoided simply by understanding how
different personality styles can interact better together.
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The CCTS Team
Corporate Culture Training Solutions
About Betsy:
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FOX, CBS, NBC, and ABC, Betsy Allen Manning is a high-energy leadership keynote speaker and workplace culture strategist who equips organizations across corporate, franchise, association, non-profit, and government sectors to develop high-achievers, high-impact leaders and high-purpose cultures. Through her
national workplace research and
DNA Activation Framework, she delivers data-backed, high-interaction keynote presentations and workshops that strengthen performance, leadership, and retention. Betsy is also the founder of Destination Workplace™, an award-winning leadership training company in Dallas, trusted by some of the world's most elite brands nationwide.
