When we talk about women and leadership it’s almost tempting to turn up the volume and play Beyonce’s Run The World (Girls). In the business world, we’re moving out of a period in which we embraced that behind every successful man is a great woman, there’s no more hiding in the background. As a result, we’re seeing transformations taking place in the workplace and a variety of leadership styles that we know well, redone with a feminine touch.
Here are the top 4 that are worth knowing.
Transformational Leadership Style
Transformational leadership focuses on a be better, do better, feel better concept. You can think of it as the “work-hard-play-hard” leadership style. These leaders focus on building strong team morale, creating a happy space in the workplace, and they set high goals for themselves and for the team. Integrity is a key element. Women exceed in this leadership style because of their strong communal attributes, they’re able to bring people of different backgrounds together and unite them under one common goal and create a team that feels safe, supported, and gain prestige thanks to the value placed on achieving goals and outcomes.
Servant Leadership Style
The idea behind servant leadership focuses on the leader working to create the space, provide guidance, and supply the tools for the team to be their most productive selves. Therefore, it relies on feedback travelling upwards from the team members, enabling the leaders to find new ways to make it easier to work faster and better. Women have managed to shine in this role, it mimics the role of motherhood within the family dynamic but also calls for tremendous accountability, humility, and a genuine desire to grow the business through positive reinforcements.
Task Orientated Leadership Style
This leadership style focuses on completing goals, planning, defining goals, prioritising outcomes and sticking to schedules. Women are as capable in this leadership style as men, but what gives women the advantage is the female capacity for interpersonal engagement and democratic thinking. Men tend to take an autocratic style when it comes to this practice. Women introduce a certain level of interpersonal warmth that makes task-orientated leadership more cohesive, boosting morale at the same time.
Collaborative Leadership Style
A collaborative leadership style seeks to run democratically, allowing everyone within the company an equal say in the way they work within the business is managed. Women have displayed an apt capability of being more inclusive, more diverse, and more open to sharing their floor space. The collaborative leadership style holds the belief that it is possible to achieve more when everyone works together.
Stepping into your leadership style
Finding the style that best suits your personality, your business type, and your team can take some time. Trial and error can show you where you can improve, remembering that your team’s success is a reflection of your ability to lead them. Leadership isn’t about being in control, it’s really about encouraging others to step into their own power and be the best version of themselves. The by-product of this is a motivated team that is productive.
