Leadership is essentially one’s ability to influence others in order to get something done and we all have influence whether or not we realize it and that influence can either work for our good and the good of others or do the complete opposite. 

Different Types of Leadership Styles

When it comes to leadership, there is more than one way to do it which is why there are different leadership styles some of which I’ll share briefly from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences’ blog below.

1. Transformational leaders inspire their followers to change and bring about innovation to achieve their vision for example, Co-founder of the Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington.
2. Transactional leaders allow their followers to complete tasks for rewards for example, Co-founder & former CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs.
3. Servant leaders tend to put the needs of others before their own in order to lift them up and accomplish their vision, for example,  former South African President, Nelson Mandela.
4. Autocratic leaders provide clear expectations and they do not consult with or consider the opinion of others when making decisions; they make the decisions alone and expect others to fall in line with them, for example, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk.
5. Democratic leaders participate and offer guidance to their followers and ask for their input where necessary before making decisions unlike autocratic leadership for example, Billionaire Entrepreneur, Bill Gates.
6. Laissez-faire leaders offer little or no guidance to their followers but provide the tools needed to get the job done. This type of leadership if used properly can allow room for creativity and an example of this type of leader is Warren Buffet.
7. Bureaucratic leaders tend to do everything by the book so they follow the rules that have been put in place for example, Winston Churchill.
8. Charismatic leaders motivate their followers by charmingly sharing their vision for the team and the role they’ll play, for example, Founder of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson.
9. Pacesetting leaders lead by example for their team to follow for example, Former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch.
10. Ethical leaders believe in the concept of being fair to others so they use respect and justice to guide them, for example, Oprah Winfrey.
11. Affiliative leaders have the mindset of putting others before themselves and they lead with compassion first for example, parents/guardians.
12. Coaching leaders are able to identify when individual members of their team are not performing as they should and arrange one-to-one meetings to fix the situation to the benefit of the entire team, for example, former Indian Lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi.Situational leadership is also important which is when leaders choose a particular leadership style that’s appropriate for a specific situation.

    Some Qualities that Make A Good Leader

    What separates a good leader from a terrible one, are the qualities they possess in order to deal with others well like integrity, innovation, honesty, active listening, self-confidence, visionary, effective communicator, delegation, decision-making & problem-solving skills, humility, care for others, accountability and flexibility. 

    Lead Well

    Amongst your friends/peers, you have the ability to influence (lead) them to where you want them to go or to get a task done so use your influence well.