What Kind of Leader Are You?

As many readers may know, I have been serving as a Chief Financial Officer these last 18 months. I was therefore very interested to come across an article by Martin Hill in the ‘IMA CFO Connect’ magazine of November 2015 entitled ‘What kind of CFO are you?’ Having read the article I found that a lot of the comments and insights were equally applicable to leaders in general. Further, the author makes the general point that ‘there is a link between the leadership style of business leaders to business growth, profit and change…’

Here are the different kinds of leader you might be, along with further considerations (“et alors”):

What Kind of Leader Are You?

Citing research performed by Epicor Software together with Redshift Research who studied over 1,500 key decision-makers at larger companies in 11 countries, Hill suggests there are six different types of leader:

1.       The ‘traditionalist’

The traditionalist tends to be ‘stereotypically strict’ and prefers ‘to work within existing systems’ and is ‘usually not influenced by reputation, politics or personality when making decisions.’

Whilst objective, they may not be very strong on building relationships. With a tendency to be bureaucratic, they might not be very open to change; but they can be efficient administrators.

2.       The ‘revolutionary’

The opposite of traditionalists, the revolutionary tends to be charismatic and will ‘think outside the box.’ Operating outside formal systems and processes they can change the corporate culture.

Being risk takers, they can be bold which means things will get done, but some mistakes might happen. More intuitive than analytical, they may miss out important details.

3.       The ‘politician’

Politicians are cautious leaders who are ‘inclined to delay a decision rather than risk making a mistake.’ With a methodical team-based approach, the preferred decision making style is ‘consultative.’

Delaying decisions can lead to missed opportunities and reduces a business’s ability to change quickly. Prioritizing data accuracy, they can make convincing arguments to get people ‘on board.’

4.       The ‘carer’

Carers are ‘open to change but only when it is well planned, implemented methodically and not rushed.’ Each decision is treated as a ‘one-off’ and can take time. Like politicians, they like to build consensus.

Happiest in a ‘low-risk’ environment, carers can be left to ‘get on with it’ without the risk of incurring unexpected costs to the business.

5.       The ‘conductor’

Conductors like to ‘set tough challenging goals for themselves and their staff.’ Living in an ‘ethos of team work’, they provide direction, coaching, support, and encouragement to their staff.

Focusing on efficiency improvements they can be decisive where necessary; however ‘they are often reluctant to consider radical change’ and ‘tend to be strong defenders of corporate culture.’

6.       The ‘visionary’

Visionaries are ‘creative, high on flexibility, often take decisions based on experience and intuition, and are oriented more towards action than caution.’

Whilst embracing change, their ‘big picture’ perspective and eloquent articulation of the future can convince others; however visionaries often underestimate politics and personal agendas.

Et alors

Many readers might conclude that they exhibit some of each ‘type’ – and that is arguably the path to effective leadership: being able to adapt according to circumstance and followers. I’m also reminded of Goleman’s leadership styles and commentary therein: ‘it is like a golf pro reaching to his bag’ – in this case the different ‘clubs’ are different leadership styles which should be selected by the leader as and when appropriate. Meanwhile those with a tendency to be ‘revolutionaries’ and ‘visionaries’ might want to extend the analysis of individual styles to collective styles – in other words, what is the corporate culture where you work? If your corporate culture is like that of a ‘politician’ you might have to become one yourself if you want to change that culture!

PS

This is the last blog of this series.

After 4 years, 44,000 hits (and still growing at 30 per day), it is time to close this project…

… Meanwhile whether you are returning or a first time visitor please enjoy the other 129 articles besides this one; and don’t forget to check out my book Developing Your Leadership Skills