Over the weekend I had the opportunity to read an awesome article about different styles of leadership. I was very intrigued by this idea as it is something that I haven't put a lot of thought into so far in my career. While I’ve had numerous leadership positions and opportunities in my life, I’ve never really taken the time to self-reflect and contemplate the type of leadership style I possess. This was a large part of why I found this to be such an interesting read – I found myself drawing connections between my own experiences (both as a leader and team member) and the seven leadership styles. The more I read, the clearer it became that each style has its own pros and cons, with the effectiveness largely dependent on variables such as the environment/situation as well as the personality of the leader. The notion that there is no “one size fits all” approach to leadership was intriguing and had me questioning which style of leadership I currently possess, which ones I would like to try out, and which ones I knew wouldn’t work for me. In our initial forum post, I had I written about how I viewed my leadership style as that of a servant leader/coach. However, upon further reading, I believe my style is more complex than I initially envisioned, and the foundation of which lies in my personality. As a teacher I’ve always felt that my two biggest strengths were my ability to connect with my students, as well as building meaningful relationships with them. While reading the article I immediately saw a connection between these strengths and the fifth Principle of Leadership Approach, “Know your people and look out for their well-being. Be well versed in basic human nature and recognize the importance of sincerely caring for your workers”. I now whole-hardheartedly believe that the basis for my leadership style is rooted in my love for interacting with others. In my relatively short time as an educator I’ve had the privilege of working with some pretty amazing administrators. While each of them had their own unique strengths and leadership styles, there was one thing that they all had in common – team mentality. Each of these admins worked hard to build a sense of community in their buildings, and made sure that staff never felt that they were working for them, but rather working with them to achieve something greater. It may sound corny, but being a part of a staff like this really felt like you were a part of something special each day you walked through the doors. This charismatic approach to leadership is an idea that I’ve worked hard to replicate within my own classroom and I something now view as a key component of my personal leadership style. Leadership StylesWhile reading about the seven different leadership styles, there were three that really stuck out to me: Charismatic Leadership Style: When I first saw the title for this style, my initial reaction was that is was a "Michael Scott" leadership style that depended on the leader being liked by his/her team. However, the more I read, I realized it was actually much deeper than this and really seemed to suit my personality. As mentioned earlier, making connections and building relationships are two of my biggest strengths and I believe they would be great assets when motivating and inspiring others (which is a major part of this style). Another aspect of this style that I found beneficial was how it lends itself naturally to creating a team mentality among workers. A team-environment where all members are excited and motivated to achieve a common goal should always yield positive results. While overall I was impressed with this style, there was one aspect that concerned me - the notion that everything could fall apart in the leader's absence. I believe with this style a leader would have to find a delicate balance between motivating their team, without having them fully reliant on them. Laissez-Faire Leadership Style:
I was initially intrigued with this style because of the amount of trust a leader must have in their team in order to accomplish goals. While the shared trust between leader and team members would definitely be a strength, I found myself continually fixating on the lack of control as a major downfall. The more I read about it, the more uncomfortable I became, as it forced me to see the flaws in my current leadership style. I am definitely a person who likes to be in control and can have a hard time letting go. This made me a little concerned about my own leadership style as I feel that I have the capability to become the very thing I detest in a leader, a “micro-manager”. Creative Leadership Style: Out of the seven styles mentioned in the article, I knew immediately that was the one I wanted to adopt into my own leadership style. While I initially saw myself gravitating towards the Charismatic Style, the minute I saw this, I knew it was an even better approach to leadership. Not only does this style combine the “Inspiration and Motivation” from the Charismatic Style with the Trust/Relationship from the Laissez-Faire Model, but it appears to borrow many of the best parts of the other styles as well. I was also intrigued with how this model embraces failure rather than fearing it. Failure is a powerful tool and can be a great asset in building long-term success. Overall, this was a reading that I think will have a major impact on my leadership going forward as each the styles listed above helped me learn more about myself and the type of leader that I want to be. Were there specific leadership styles that stuck out to you? Also, a shout out to Adam Scott Williams for The Office inspiration from his blog!
2 Comments
Michael Wolf
1/23/2019 10:22:09 am
Let's keep the Office gifs going.
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stephen wihak
1/29/2019 01:55:42 pm
Hey Matt,
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Matt BrescianiI'm a middle years teacher in Regina, Saskatchewan, working towards a Masters Degree in Education. Archives
April 2019
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