Your dominant leadership style is the way you naturally lead when you’re not thinking about it, especially under pressure. Most of us pick it up from the leaders we grew up around, like a parent or an early manager we looked up to. It’s not good or bad on its own. The problem comes when your default style doesn’t fit the people, team or stage of business you’re leading now.
Key takeaways
- Daniel Goleman’s research describes six leadership styles. Good leaders use several, not one.
- Your dominant style is your default. It works in some situations and backfires in others.
- What a growing business needs from its leader changes as it grows, so your style has to change too.
- You can adjust your own style, or build a leadership team whose styles cover your gaps.
The six leadership styles
In his 2000 Harvard Business Review article “Leadership That Gets Results”, Daniel Goleman described six leadership styles based on research with thousands of executives. He found the most effective leaders move between styles depending on the situation.
Visionary (Goleman also calls this Authoritative)
Sets out where the group is going and lets people work out how to get there.
Works when: the business needs a new direction or a clear picture of the future.
Backfires when: the leader is working with experts who know more than they do.
Coaching
Focuses on developing people for the long term, rather than getting today’s task done.
Works when: people want to grow and you have time to invest in them.
Backfires when: people don’t want to be coached, or there’s a crisis.
Affiliative
Builds harmony and a sense of belonging.
Works when: healing a team after a tough period, or building trust.
Backfires when: used alone, because poor performance can go unaddressed.
Democratic
Builds agreement by asking for input.
Works when: you’re unsure of the direction and need ideas from capable people.
Backfires when: a quick decision is needed, or meetings drag on with no call made.
Pacesetting
Sets high standards and leads by example.
Works when: used in short bursts with a highly capable, motivated team.
Backfires when: used a lot. Goleman found it often wears people down and hurts team climate.
Commanding (Goleman also calls this Coercive)
Demands immediate compliance.
Works when: there’s a real crisis and someone needs to take charge.
Backfires when: used day to day. People stop speaking up and sharing ideas.
How your dominant style shapes your business
In a small or medium business, the owner’s style tends to set the culture for everyone. An owner who defaults to Commanding may get the business through a crisis quickly, but people stop offering ideas. An owner who defaults to Affiliative may build a place everyone enjoys working, while client work slips because nobody is held to account.
Which leadership style fits each stage of growth
The style a business needs from its leader changes as it grows. In my coaching, I see a common pattern:
- Start-up: a Visionary style, because the business needs a clear direction.
- Building a management team: a Coaching style, because the business needs to move from owner-centric to enterprise-centric, and new managers need to be developed.
- Growing the management team’s ownership: a Democratic style, so leaders buy in to decisions rather than just carrying them out.
- Building a leadership team: a mix of Coaching for each leader, with high, clear standards for the team as a whole.
- Leadership team running the day to day: back to Visionary, with the owner focused on direction while the team runs the business.
What to do if your leadership style isn’t working
Approach 1: Build awareness of your own style blend
Start with an assessment, then reflect on the results, ideally with a coach. Once you know your blend, map the situations you lead in and which style each one needs. For example:
- one-on-one with a leader: Coaching
- presenting next year’s vision to the company: Visionary
- a genuine crisis: Commanding, briefly
Approach 2: Take a leadership team approach
You don’t have to be good at every style. A leadership team with a mix of dominant styles can reach different people in different situations. Run the assessment across your whole leadership team, build a team profile, and compare it with what the business needs at its current stage. Then close the gaps, either by coaching leaders to adjust or by bringing in someone with the missing style.
Both approaches start in the same place: knowing your style, then comparing it with what your business needs now.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dominant leadership style?
It’s the style you fall back on by default, especially under pressure. Most leaders have one dominant style and one or two secondary styles.
What are Goleman’s six leadership styles?
Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting and Commanding.
What is the best leadership style?
There isn’t one best style. Goleman found the leaders with the best results used several styles and switched based on the situation. Visionary had the most positive effect on team climate overall.
What leadership style should a business owner or CEO use?
It depends on the stage of the business. Owners of growing businesses usually need to shift from directing the work themselves to coaching the leaders who run it.
How do I find out my leadership style?
Use a structured assessment and talk the results through with a coach or trusted peer. Our Leadership Readiness Check is a good place to start.
Is your style holding the business back?
Take the Leadership Readiness Check, or talk to me about leadership coaching for you and your leadership team. Book a time with Charlie.