There was an interesting article in PR Week last week, on the subject of leadership communication. Entitled ‘Get the best out of your boss’, it outlines six of the most common leadership styles and suggests how communicators can best harness the personalities of their leaders. It’s a good reminder of the variety of styles we have to work with and provides some helpful advice on how to play to your boss’s particular strengths.
The six leadership styles and supporting descriptions (I have paraphrased) are:
1. Visionary Leader: The classic rock star CEO who sets the big picture and excels at leading people toward a shared vision. These leaders make excellent public speakers and enjoy life in the spotlight. Barack Obama is a good example.
2. Affiliative Leader: This type of leader wants to be your friend. A collaborative figure, the affiliative leader focuses on emotional needs and is more likely to ask “how are you?” Angela Merkel is presented as an example.
3. Coaching Leader: You have long conversations that often extend beyond the workplace. Good for helping employees identify their strengths and weaknesses and linking them to career goals. One step forward, Dr. Who.
4. Democratic Leader: These are the great leaders who listen, although sometimes this is done at the expense of decisive action. Favorite catchphrases include ‘what do you think?’ They like to lead the way without pushing people in a particular direction. Lord Sebastian Coe is a good example.
5. Pace-setting leader: Most likely to say ‘copy me’, these hard-working leaders never shirk a challenge and lead by example. One drawback is that they often expect employees to automatically understand the image. Step forward Margaret Thatcher…
6. Leader in Charge: An old-school foreman who brings the dynamic from the playground to the boardroom. With a command and control style, they adhere to a clear direction and refuse to consider alternative routes or messages. Montgomery Burns is a good example.
The communicators cited in the article, including David Ferrabee and James Harkness, provide plenty of helpful advice on how to work with these guys, including:
o Provide visionary leaders with the right platform and enough time to explain their vision to others and gather feedback. High-profile tactics like webcasts and regular posting profiles work well with these guys, but they can sometimes lack attention to detail and require specific IC support in this area.
o Identify opportunities for affiliate leaders to show their steel. Tactics like getting back on the floor are helpful here, as are structured team meetings that focus on sharing constructive feedback. A classic problem with these guys is their desire to communicate only positive messages.
o Build on the strengths of coaching leaders by encouraging them to keep sessions small and intimate and focus on helping people turn strategy into action. These guys aren’t good at the big picture, but they excel at one on one.
o Create high engagement forums for democratic leaders: Workshops, online forums, and blogs are particularly powerful. Clearly, decision communications help overcome this leader’s tendency to indecision. Arm them with knowledge and intelligence about the workforce and they should respond well.
o Encourage the leader who sets the tone to be more inclusive, more considerate of the feelings of others, and create plenty of opportunities to listen. Inclusion is key here and tactics like recognition programs and the use of social media channels can be helpful.
o Context is critical for the leader in command. Instead of just explaining what to people, they should focus on building understanding of why. Overall strategy is important here, and tactics like learning maps and visuals and strategy tools can be very helpful. Listening channels are also important, and employees may require anonymity, as commanding leaders can breed mistrust and fear. Body language coaching is also helpful.