Leadership Style

So you are not a leader – rubbish!

Every person on earth is a leader in some way, to our children, neighbours, workmates, sports friends or even passer’s by. I know I have seen some one walking down the street and gone, wow that person is a leader. Just last week I met a business woman and within 10 seconds I knew she was a leader.

So what’s your leadership style?

In the 1980’s Hersey & Blanchard created a leadership matrix. It’s pretty simple yet effective for most of us, but then I want to overlay it with something else to give it context.

The model is based on two axis – support and direction. You as a leader are either supportive or directive and this gives us 4 permutations as follows:

1. HIgh Support/ Low Direction – Participative/Supportive – Someone who leads but does and is involved. This is the most effective style for modern leadership

2. High Support/ High Direction – Selling/Coaching – This style is the person who constantly motivates to get people to do things

3. Low Support/ Low Direction – Delegating – This style is where the job holder is motivated and can be left alone to get things done

4. Low Support/ High Direction – Telling – generally the most ineffective method of leadership. This is the old boss – employee method still used a lot in factories and the third world.

The whole model is about effective leadership and each style can be effective at times, yet when we overlay this onto the Wealth Dynamics chart and look at each of the eight profiles we see that there are in fact 32 permeations of leaders.

For instance – many Creators (ideas people) are not brilliant communicators and have a telling style of leadership. This means that staff or believers only believe for a while and then they become disillusioned. A creator who is participative, will tend to build teams of people who can really generate their wealth, because everyone is involved and engaged. The creator is simply a cog in the wheel. Bill Gates has done this brilliantly.

On the other hand a Trader profile (grounded and people orientated) often becomes a great leader when they are able to employ a delegating strategy. Surrounding themselves with experts in different fields, and co ordinating timing on tasks but leaving people free to make decisions in their fields and bring the result to the team.

Importantly for you is to consider what style of leader you are – telling, selling, delegating or participative most of the time and then study your profile and decide whether that style has been working for or against you. What may work for me as a star profile doesn’t always work for you as a star as well.

Research and find out more. You can never know too much about you as a leader. Fine tuning will help you become an even better leader.

Visit http://www.mikehandcock.net to find out more on leadership