10 Common Leadership Styles (Plus

How To Find Your Own)

July 26, 2021
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By: Indeed Editorial Team

At some point in your career, you may take on a leadership role. Whether you’re leading
a meeting, a project, a team or an entire department, you might consider identifying with
or adopting a defined leadership style.

Most professionals develop their own style of leadership based on factors like
experience and personality, as well as the unique needs of their company and its
organizational culture. While every leader is different, there are 10 leadership styles
commonly used in the workplace.

In this article, we will cover the 10 most common leadership styles and provide
examples and common characteristics of each to help you determine which leadership
style you most identify with.

Show Transcript

The importance of developing a leadership style

In an Indeed survey, 55% of employers cited asking about leadership skills in an
interview as the most accurate evaluation of a candidate’s ability to succeed in a role.¹
As you develop leadership skills, you’ll likely use different processes and methods to
achieve your employer’s objectives and meet the needs of the employees who report to
you. To be effective as a manager, you might use several different leadership styles at
any given time.

By taking the time to familiarize yourself with each of these types of leadership, you
might recognize certain areas to improve upon or expand your own leadership style.
You can also identify other ways to lead that might better serve your current goals and
understand how to work with managers who follow a different style than your own.
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Types of leadership styles

Here are 10 of the most common leadership styles:
1. Coaching style
2. Visionary style
3. Servant style
4. Autocratic style
5. Laissez-faire style
6. Democratic style
7. Pacesetter style
8. Transformational style
9. Transactional style
10. Bureaucratic style

In the next section, we'll look at each leadership style in detail in including benefits,
challenges and examples of each.

1. Coaching leadership style

A coaching leader is someone who can quickly recognize their team members’
strengths, weaknesses and motivations to help each individual improve. This type of
leader often assists team members in setting smart goals and then provides regular
feedback with challenging projects to promote growth. They’re skilled in setting clear
expectations and creating a positive, motivating environment.

The coach leadership style is one of the most advantageous for employers as well as
the employees they manage. Unfortunately, it’s often also one of the most underused
styles—largely because it can be more time-intensive than other types of leadership.

You may be a coaching leader if you:

 Are supportive
 Offer guidance instead of giving commands
 Value learning as a way of growing
 Ask guided questions
 Balance relaying knowledge and helping others find it themselves
 Are self-aware

Benefits: Coaching leadership is positive in nature and it promotes the development of

new skills, free-thinking, empowerment, revisits company objectives and fosters a
confident company culture. Leaders who coach are often seen as valuable mentors.
Challenges: While this style has many advantages, it can be more time consuming as it
requires one-on-one time with employees which can be difficult to obtain in a deadline-
driven environment.

Example: A sales manager gathers their team of account executives for a meeting to
discuss learnings from the previous quarter. They start the meeting by completing an
assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats regarding the team’s
performance.

The manager then recognizes specific team members for exceptional performance and
goes over the goals achieved by the team. Finally, the manager closes the meeting by
announcing a contest to start the next quarter, motivating the salespeople to reach their
goals.

Read more: Coaching Leadership: How To Become a Coaching Leader and When

To Use This Style

2. Visionary leadership style

Visionary leaders have a powerful ability to drive progress and usher in periods of
change by inspiring employees and earning trust for new ideas. A visionary leader is
also able to establish a strong organizational bond. They strive to foster confidence
among direct reports and colleagues alike.

Visionary style is especially helpful for small, fast-growing organizations, or larger

organizations experiencing transformations or corporate restructuring.

You may be a visionary leader if you are:

 Persistent and bold

 Strategic
 Risk-taking
 Inspirational
 Optimistic
 Innovative
 Magnetic

Benefits: Visionary leadership can help companies grow, unite teams and the overall
company and improve outdated technologies or practices.

Challenges: Visionary leaders may miss important details or other opportunities

because they’re so focused on the big picture. They may also sacrifice the resolution of
present-day issues because they are more future-oriented, which could leave their team
feeling unheard.
Example: A teacher starts a group at work for colleagues who want to help resolve
anxieties and issues students are having outside of school. The goal is to help students
have better focus and succeed in school. He has developed testing methods so they
can find meaningful ways to help students in a quick, efficient way.

Read more: 14 Traits of Visionary Leaders

3. Servant leadership style

Servant leaders live by a people-first mindset and believe that when team members feel
personally and professionally fulfilled, they’re more effective and more likely to regularly
produce great work. Because of their emphasis on employee satisfaction and
collaboration, they tend to achieve higher levels of respect.

Servant style is an excellent leadership style for organizations of any industry and size
but is especially prevalent within nonprofits. These types of leaders are exceptionally
skilled in building employee morale and helping people re-engage with their work.

You may be a servant leader if you:

 Motivate your team

 Have excellent communication skills
 Personally care about your team
 Encourage collaboration and engagement
 Commit to growing your team professionally

Benefits: Servant leaders have the capacity to boost employee loyalty and productivity,
improve employee development and decision-making, cultivate trust and create future
leaders.

Challenges: Servant leaders can become burnt-out as they often put the needs of their
team above their own They may have a hard time being authoritative when they need to
be.

Example: A product manager hosts monthly one-on-one coffee meetings with everyone
that has concerns, questions or thoughts about improving or using the product. This
time is meant for her to address the needs of and help those who are using the product
in any capacity.

Read more: Servant Leadership: Definition, Tips and Examples

4. Autocratic leadership style

Also called the “authoritarian style of leadership,” this type of leader is someone who is
focused primarily on results and efficiency. They often make decisions alone or with a
small, trusted group and expect employees to do exactly what they’re asked. It can be
helpful to think of these types of leaders as military commanders.

Autocratic style can be useful in organizations with strict guidelines or compliance-

heavy industries. It can also be beneficial when used with employees who need a great
deal of supervision—such as those with little to no experience. However, this leadership
style can stifle creativity and make employees feel confined.

You may be an autocratic leader if you:

 Have self-confidence
 Are self-motivated
 Communicate clearly and consistently
 Follow the rules
 Are dependable
 Value highly structured environments
 Believe in supervised work environments

Benefits: Autocratic leaders can promote productivity through delegation, provide clear

and direct communication, reduce employee stress by making decisions quickly on their
own.

Challenges: Autocratic leaders are often prone to high levels of stress because they
feel responsible for everything. Since they lack flexibility and often do not want to hear
others’ ideas, these leaders are often resented by the team.

Example: Before an operation, the surgeon carefully recounts the rules and processes
of the operation room with every team member who will be helping during the surgery.
She wants to ensure everyone is clear on the expectations and follows each procedure
carefully and exactly so the surgery goes as smoothly as possible.

Read more: What Is Autocratic Leadership?

5. Laissez-faire or hands-off leadership style

Laissez-faire style is the opposite of the autocratic leadership type, focusing mostly on
delegating many tasks to team members and providing little to no supervision. Because
a laissez-faire leader does not spend their time intensely managing employees, they
often have more time to dedicate to other projects.

Managers may adopt this leadership style when all team members are highly
experienced, well-trained and require little oversight. However, it can also cause a dip in
productivity if employees are confused about their leader’s expectations, or if some
team members need consistent motivation and boundaries to work well.

You may be a laissez-faire leader if you:

  Effectively delegate
 Believe in freedom of choice
 Provide sufficient resources and tools
 Will take control if needed
 Offer constructive criticism
 Foster leadership qualities in your team
 Promote an autonomous work environment

Benefits: This style encourages accountability, creativity and a relaxed work

environment which often leads to higher employee retention rates.

Challenges: Laissez-faire leadership style does not work well for new employees, as
they need guidance and hands-on support in the beginning. This method can also lead
to a lack of structure, leadership confusion and employees not feeling properly
supported.

Example: When welcoming new employees, Keisha explains that her engineers can
set and maintain their own work schedules as long as they are tracking and hitting
goals they set together as a team. They are also free to learn about and participate in
projects outside of their team.

Read more: Laissez-Faire Leadership: Definition, Tips and Examples

6. Democratic or participative leadership style

The democratic style (also called the “participative style”) is a combination of the

autocratic and laissez-faire types of leaders. A democratic leader is someone who asks
for input and considers feedback from their team before making a decision. Because
team members feel their voice is heard and their contributions matter, a democratic
leadership style is often credited with fostering higher levels of employee engagement
and workplace satisfaction.

Because this type of leadership drives discussion and participation, it’s an excellent
style for organizations focused on creativity and innovation—such as the technology
industry.

You may be a democratic/participative leader if you: