11 Nov The Leadership Repertoire/Styles

With regard to the “Leadership Repertoire” (the Six Leadership Styles) that we find in Primal Leadership, Goleman writes: “Resonance stems not just from leaders’ good moods or ability to say the right thing, but also from whole sets of coordinated activities that comprise particular leadership styles. Typically, the best, most effective leaders act according to one or more of the six distinct approaches to leadership and skillfully switch between the various styles depending on the situation.

Four of these styles — visionary, coaching, affiliative, and the democratic — create the kind of resonance that boosts performance, while two others — pacesetting and commanding — although useful in some very specific situations, should be applied with caution.

Although the styles of leadership have all been identified previously by different names, [He is referring to the changes made to the content contained in the Harvard Business Review articles from the 1990s.], what’s new about our model of leadership [based on new research] is an understanding of the underlying emotional intelligence capabilities that each approach requires, and — most compelling — each style’s causal link with outcomes. The research, in other words, allows us to see how each style actually affects climate, and therefore performance. For executives engaged in the daily battle of getting results, such a connection adds a much-needed dose of science to the critical art of leadership.” (53-54)

Resources for part 2