Leadership Styles in Entrepreneurs

With the start of the New Year, many entrepreneurs want to work on themselves and their businesses even more than the previous year.  One way they do this is by learning their value to ensure future success in their company.  Some business owners define themselves as a certain type of leader.  But, when they take a leadership assessment, they often realize they are a different type of leader altogether.  Knowing your leadership style can make a huge different in your company’s success.

Here are a few leadership styles for your review:

1. Directive – an approach that relies on “orders” rather than providing direction. This is not the best approach when managing people.
2. Visionary – an approach that relies on context to convey a bigger picture to project the future.  This is great if the leader can clearly explain the vision of the company and demonstrate actions to align with that vision.
3. Affiliative – an approach that focuses on people and relationships, creating trust and harmony within the business.  This style gives attention to individual needs, not making their results a priority.
4. Participative – an approach that generates new ideas and solutions from a team. This style believes that teams make better decisions than individuals do.
5. Pacesetting – an approach of leading by example.  This style has high performance standards and are reluctant to delegate due to possible unsatisfactory results from others.
6. Coaching – an approach that identifies strengths and weaknesses, with the end goal of helping individuals meet their professional goals.  This is usually the more effective leadership style in the long term.

Remember, leadership is a process.  It requires feedback from all involved, which helps the leader learn more about themselves and move forward toward success.