What kind of leader are YOU?

What Type of Leader are YOU?

You’ve worked with many leaders and have your favourites and those that got the very best out of you. They may have been very involved in your day-to-day activity, or simply left you alone to get on with the job. They either gave you clear direction, or allowed you to make your own decisions. So what type of leader are you? There are four distinct leadership styles dictated by how much involvement the leader has at the front line and how much they empower their people.

1. The Front Line Autocrat

This leader is a warrior. He is Braveheart. He leads from the front, has rugged good looks and an ego to match. He is the best, he knows it, and to be perfectly honest, so do you. Guys want to be like him, while women want to be with him. He will fight until the end, until victory is gained. And he’ll expect the same from you. Mind you, he wouldn’t expect you to do anything he wouldn’t do. In fact he wouldn’t want you to do anything he wouldn’t do. His is the best way, so why do anything else? If you devotedly follow him, he’ll repay your loyalty by defending you at all costs. If he sees you in trouble, he’ll bravely wade in with his sword, crushing your oppressor. His enemies respect him, his followers love him and the world proclaims him. Well, kind of…
You see, unless you are able to do it his way, you are not welcome in his team. He doesn’t want rebels in his camp. He wants followers. Strange, when you realise he is a maverick himself, a total rebel. He doesn’t follow the rules, he makes them. He doesn’t respect authority, he is it. This makes him, and by association his team, outsiders. They are wild cannons, difficult to control, impossible to manage. Yes they are successful, but at what price? His unwillingness to toe the company line means that eventually he becomes too high risk. They are the ‘A Team’ of business. They get the job done outside of the law. This may sound exciting, but in the long term, they limit themselves because their way isn’t necessarily the best way. And his blind loyalty to his team means that he is prone to making wrong decisions. He lacks professional detachment. He covers up their weaknesses, but also denies them the opportunity of gaining help from anyone else.
Not that this matters if you are one of his followers. You are happy just be mentioned in the same breath. If you ever leave the team, you will still meet up with the guys for a beer, reminisce about the old days and raise your glasses to the greatest team that ever was.

Personal Motto:
Live by the sword, and die by the sword – death or glory.

Key Value:
Commitment

Strengths:
Ability to do his people's job
Team loyalty
Motivation

Weaknesses:
Myopic view as to how it should be done
Unwillingness to follow anything he doesn’t agree with
Professional detachment

Famous People:
William Wallace (as portrayed by Mel Gibson in Braveheart)
Alan Sugar (Founder of Amstrad)
Gordon Ramsey (celebrity chef)

2. The Behind-the-Line Democrat

This leader leads from behind the line. He knows that he doesn’t have to be the best at doing his people’s job. Indeed, his key role is finding people who can do it better than him. His world revolves around empowerment. He believes in harnessing the resources of others. Give them enough rope, and they will build the Fourth Bridge for you. He’ll leave you alone and won’t be constantly on your back, unlike some of the other managers you’ve come across. You almost can’t believe the autonomy he gives you, but then that’s because he trusts you. His is always talking about trust and loyalty. It’s his code. If you show him trust, he’ll trust you. If you give him loyalty, he’ll be loyal to you. You can even under-perform in his team providing you demonstrate the code, up to a point. His belief is that if you follow the code, the results will also follow. If this team were naval, it would be ‘The Love Boat’. Sounds great, doesn’t it. Well, yes, except despite what The Beatles said, love isn’t all you need. You also need strong leadership. You need someone who is still in touch with what is happening at the front line, and can put together strategies based on today’s agenda. This manager is unwilling, almost scared, to get out there and do the job he expects you to do. He is a dinosaur and he knows it. That is why he is happy, almost grateful, if you come up with the strategy. Sure, build it, and they will come. But the builders need a plan.
Strong leadership means taking on difficult situations and understanding that confrontation is healthy. As in parenting, good parents show love, but they also set the boundaries. Too much love without discipline leads to misleading messages, and ultimately a dysfunctional team.

Personal Motto:
Trust and loyalty is everything.

Key Value:
Empowerment

Strengths:
Belief in people
Ability to delegate

Weaknesses:
Out of touch with current marketplace
Fear of confrontatio

Famous People:
Sven Goran-Eriksson (ex England soccer manager)
Richard Branson (Founder of Virgin)
John Major (ex British Prime Minister)

3. The Behind-the-Line Autocrat

You know where you stand with this leader. They clearly set direction, boundaries and consequences. If you are successful, you’ll be rewarded. If you are unsuccessful, you’ll be punished. Enough said.
This manager is almost a dictator. He leads by control & command. He doesn’t have to do the job himself, that’s what you’re there for. He has a very clear view on how things should be done. And as one of his direct reports you appreciate the clear, simple direction. There are no grey areas like you’ve experienced at some of the companies you’ve been employed. You are given clear direction, with measurable objectives. Sure he is tough when you miss target, but do a good job and he’ll look after you.
His guidance and strategy is based on what worked for him in the old days. His approach is limited in a changing world, however. Things have moved on, but they haven’t. Try to point this out and the response will be less than appreciative. In his world he is paid to know everything, not you. Knowledge is power, and power is the only currency worth owning. To be a Behind-the-Line Autocrat you need ultimate authority. It is all over the minute he shows weakness, concedes that he doesn’t know something, or worse still admits that he is wrong. This is a large step down a very slippery slope and the only outcome is a coup. This constant paranoia about a future mutiny makes him incredibly insecure. The conce
over his lack of competence is covered up by shouting even louder at his reports. His failures are taken out on those that work for him. “You are to blame, not me. In my day that would never have happened.” This manager gets results, and delivers best when his back is against the wall. In the long term, however, he often finds it difficult to breed loyalty within his team, and constantly needs to reinforce his authority.

Personal Motto:
My way or the highway

Key Value:
Control

Strengths:
Clarity of directio

No misunderstandings
Short-term successes

Weaknesses:
Motivation is through fear
Needs constant reinforcement

Famous People:
Margaret Thatcher (Ex British Prime Minister)
Alex Fergusson (soccer manager of Manchester United FC)
Theo Paphitis (Business entrepreneur)

4. The Front Line Democrat

This leader is very active at the front line, quietly and competently leading by example. His theory on management is that you shouldn’t ask anyone to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself, but unlike the Front Line Autocrat it is up to you whether you choose his way. All he expects from you is that you look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and ask ‘did I give it my best shot?’ This passive style gives you an ideal opportunity to be mentored, whilst allowing you the freedom to proceed as you wish. His dedication to the cause is unquestionable. He will be the first one in, and the last one to leave. If there is an ugly job to do, He’ll volunteer himself to do it. He happily carries the bag and he is still one of the best in the business at performing your role. This all works well when everything is going to target. You operate in a highly motivated team where everyone, including the manager, is equal. In tough times however, the manager gets frustrated that not everyone shares his high standards. He finds it difficult to enforce set disciplines and tends to become insular and inward focussed. Instead of driving activity and performance in the team, he just works even harder at doing your job, hoping that his increased work rate will rub off on you. In fact, all that happens is that you become ostracised and crave clearer direction and support. You still admire his work ethic and ability to do your job, but you come to the conclusion that maybe this role isn’t for you as you could never do it as well as he does. He is unfortunately unable to attend your leaving do, as he couldn’t find time to get away from the office, particularly as he now has an extra workload to carry on his back. He is a martyr who will struggle to get his just rewards unless he learns how to delegate across the team, and realise that he can’t do everything.

Personal Motto:
Don’t ask anyone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.

Key Value:
Personal standards

Strengths:
Activity levels
Autonomy
Ability to perform role

Weaknesses:
Lack of discipline and implementation of standards
Delegation skills

Famous People:
Anita Roddick (founder of Body Shop)
David Beckham (ex captain of England soccer team)
Ghandi (leader of Indian nationalist movement)
Summaryr
So which type makes the best leader?
Each style has its benefits, but equally there are pitfalls to avoid. The key is using each style appropriately depending on the situation. By utilising all four styles the successful leader empowers their people (democrat), ensures they clear direction and boundaries (autocrat), stays in touch with their people’s role (front-line) whilst allowing them the freedom and autonomy to make their own decisions (back-line).