What kind of leader are you?

What is your leadership style? Are you autocratic? Are you a supportive type leader? It depends. Great leaders don't have just one leadership style. They learn to effectively use all styles and are able to apply them as needed. This is referred to as Situational Leadership and a lot of material on this matter has been proposed by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey.

There are basically four main leadership styles that are combinations of supportive and directive behavior.

• Telling
• Selling/Coaching
• Participating
• Delegating

Each of these leadership styles coincides with a particular follower, based on the situation they are in. For instance, someone just starting to learn a new job assignment would be what is called an "Enthusiastic Beginner". They wouldn't be very competent, but they would be very willing to perform. This type of follower would need more "Telling" than anything else. They would need to be shown the actual steps to accomplish the work. Contrast this with the highest follower type of "Peak Performer or Independent Learner". This type of follower is a person who has proven themselves in a particular area and can be trusted to figure out how to accomplish the work given to them and they will find their own resources or answers to questions and problems they may face. They have high competence and confidence or willingness to achieve. The four follower types are:

• Enthusiastic Beginner
• Disillusioned Learner
• Reluctant Performer
• Peak Performer/Independent Learner

The goal for leaders is to identify the type of follower situation that is occurring and provide the appropriate leadership style to continually move the follower up the cycle, until they become a "Peak Performer or Independent Learner".

Referring to the model above, you can see that when you start in quadrant 1, which is the Enthusiastic Beginner, the leader is going to be providing more directive or "Telling" type leadership and not so much supportive or relationship type leadership. By relationship type leadership, I am referring to two-way communication, soliciting ideas or opinions, and inviting the follower to participate in or make decisions. Once the follower begins to attempt the job he/she was directed to do, they may become frustrated or lose some of their initial enthusiasm. Hence, that would put them in quadrant 2 or in the "Disillusioned Learner" category. Now, the leaders needs to provide a more supportive style. They will probably open up more of a two-way conversation and encourage the follower. They will engage in explaining how the task they are doing is important. That is why this leadership style is referred to as "Selling/Coaching". Once the follower is back engaged, they will gain competence, but like all of us, the excitement may wane and they may need some encouragement, but they know how to do their job, so they don't need much directive leadership. This stage is in quadrant 3 and is called the "Reluctant Performer. The associated leadership style for this situation is "Participating". The leader may come along side and relate more to the follower, while encouraging and discussing their issues. The final stage for the follower is when they are not only competent, but they recognize how they are contributing. They are a "Peak Performer or Independent Learner". They need very little interaction with the leader and they function well on their own, solving their own problems, and coming up with their own ideas. At this final stage the leader can go to a "Delegating" style and be less supportive and directive. These stages are on a continuum and followers tend to flow back and forth through the stages, depending on different situations. It is up to the leader to recognize where he or she is at with the follower and provide the appropriate leadership style to maximize results.