This excellent video from indeed.com analyses different styles of leadership and alludes at times to the most appropriate types of work that style may work best within, whilst also pointing out some of the drawbacks to those styles. It is a great reference to think about the type of leader you wish to recruit or potentially make some changes to the type of leader you are.
Leadership within an organisation is critical and no matter what the style, the leader absolutely has to create trust with the people in their charge. Most of us have unfortunately experienced terrible leadership. The boss that fully expects you to spend every evening preparing for the following working day. The one that so overloads you with work that you know it is impossible to meet the deadlines and targets. The leader who puts you so in fear of your position, every thought becomes clouded with how you are going to meet the bills when the inevitable happens, even though it may actually not.
On the other hand there are the leaders who are so inspirational that your working day is truly something to look forward to, a really enjoyable, satisfying and positive experience. You will naturally go the extra mile in this environment because it is effortless.
How inspirational is it to discover the board have awarded themselves a 20% pay rise and more share options and the way they did it was to ensure everybody else did not get a raise that year and worked that little bit harder to increase profits?
Has your leader told you how good they are or have they told you how good you are? If it is the former then the chances are they lack the required confidence to do the job well. Leadership from the board to every line manager is absolutely critical to setting the tone for the culture of an organisation. If it is not confident and inclusive, if it fails to motivate and recognise the importance and achievements of the employees then it will fail to create the desired employer brand. The best talent will leave, the best talent will steer clear of the company and the best ideas that often come from the employees will be ignored.
Recruiting the right leaders and improving the ones you currently have will set in chain a sequence of events that can only have a positive effect upon organisational culture. Take the time to get it right.
