
You may be familiar with traditional leadership styles such as democratic, laissez-faire, transactional, etc. However, there are also many non-traditional leadership styles.
The traditional leadership styles have stood the test of time and are tried and true, but it’s the 21st century, so let’s take a look at the non-traditional leadership styles people in organizations sometimes face today.
The Screamer Leader: This leader yells and criticizes every time something goes wrong or not their way, does not maintain their composure, and has little to no emotional intelligence.
The One-Way Street Leader: This leader thinks there is only one way—their way—to do things. They only want things to be done the way they say. No method is as effective as theirs, even in the face of indisputable evidence. No one should think outside the box, even if another way is more successful. They are never wrong, just ask them.
The Control Freak Leader: Everything must go through them before anyone does anything. They must know every move that is made. They must always be in charge, and everyone must hear their voice, so everyone knows they are in charge. Call them at any hour before you make a leadership decision; they need to approve it first. They do not share anything with their staff, members, or supervisors. They keep even pertinent information close to the vest because knowledge is their power. They stifle the growth of their subordinate leaders and leave everyone in the dark, spawning the rumor mill.
The Pot Stirrer Leader: They participate in and fan the flames of organizational drama instead of getting to the root of it and shutting it down.
I’ll Get Back to You Later Leader: This leader says they will look into something for you. They say they will schedule time to talk to you about your concerns. They say they will call you back. They say they will speak to someone about your concerns, they will kick it up the chain, but in the end, you are left to listen to the sound of silence.
The Donkey Leader: This is the leader who only surrounds themselves with people who will nod their heads up and down like a donkey and always say yes. They do not want anyone who thinks differently from them. In difference, there is growth, so these leaders do not grow. They only operate from their limited, safe space without a difference of opinion or strategy, despite their methods being ineffective for their organization. This leader causes division within an organization as they tend to only communicate and work with members who they deem are in their circle of trust or like-minded.
The Back Breaker Leader: This is the leader who stepped on others’ shoulders to get to the top, but they really never know what to do, so they just rely on all their other leaders, whose backs are hurting from carrying this individual, to get them through their term as leader. This is the “fake it till you make it” syndrome, which is very dangerous in some jobs.
Sybil Leader: This type of leader has continuous mood swings, and their members or staff never know which leader will show up today. One day they’re happy; the next day they’re angry. Something you did right yesterday is completely wrong today. This leader just causes undue stress and anxiety in their staff or members where there may not have been any before. Everyone starts to feel as though they must walk on eggshells when this leader is around just so the leader doesn’t get upset.
The Broadway Star Leader: This is the leader who wants it to be all about them. We know what they do and did because they constantly remind us. Oh, and just in case we forget, they remind us again in group texts, emails, or messaging apps. If another leader does something good or proposes something else, the Broadway Star Leader will follow up with something they did, because they never want to be upstaged.
Jimmy Two Times Leader: The insecure leader who is very unsure of themselves, so they are constantly asking different people if what they did was right. They second-guess every move they make and are always looking for reassurance.
Dr. Seuss Leader: The leader who does not, will not, or cannot decide.
“I will not decide today, I will drag this out in every way.”
“I do not want to upset you; I’m scared my decision will upset the crew.”
“If I decide to say yes, it might make a mess; if I decide to say no, how will it go?”
“I know a decision needs to be made, but I’m shaky at best, I’m really afraid.”
“I won’t decide at all, I’ll sit on the fence and hope I don’t fall.”
The Politician Leader: The leader who wants to make everyone happy, so they play both sides of the fence. They never want to tell someone no, for fear they might upset them; they want to be liked by everyone. They want your vote, your allegiance, so they make promises to everyone to please them and try to make sure they are always happy and there is never any friction.
The Either/Or Leader: This is the leader that is either all book smart or all street smart but lacks the combination of both. The book smart-only leader does everything by the book but has no practical ability, so they fail to realize that the book is not always the effective method. This can be detrimental to the mission when they fail to let staff operate outside the box when necessary. Everything to them is black and white. The street-smart-only leader has a good working knowledge of how things should be done practically, and the job will always get done, but they may find themselves in some legal trouble or in trouble with the admins because they do not know what the book says to do.
The Inmates Run the Asylum Leader: This leader lets the organization run amok. They let the members run the organization with no parameters, no supervision, no leadership, nor guidance. The leader is either burnt out, insecure, or really doesn’t care what happens. This is where an organization gets divided and falls apart because the other leaders and members are running in different directions. There is no common goal, mission, nor direction, and this will inevitably cause members or staff to quit or transfer, or worse, depending on the line of work, get hurt or killed.
No, obviously these non-traditional leadership titles are not real, but there is no excuse for falling into one of the above non-traditional categories. Leadership is a choice; you choose how you lead. Yes, the environment in which you lead may present short-term and long-term challenges to which you must adapt, but it’s your job to make the best of the environment you’re in and create a culture of positivity, despite the cards you are dealt. For clarity, there are non-traditional successful methods of leadership, but for the purposes of this discussion, we are covering the ones that hurt, not help, leadership.
Thankfully, a majority of leaders are effective, and most of these effective leaders know how important it is to continuously self-reflect and grow. Let’s help dispose of these non-traditional titles by leading with integrity, developing our skills long before the promotion, putting the work in, making the easy and tough decisions, helping develop our subordinates, educating ourselves in every aspect of the job and beyond, exercising good emotional intelligence, being receptive, open-minded, communicating well, and most of all leading for our people.
If you see someone who is leading in one of the non-traditional categories above, pull them aside in private and help redirect them. Never shortchange your efforts to help a leader as well; after all, they might not even see how they are leading. Leaders, if someone comes to you and wants to talk about the impact you’re having on your organization, at the very least, hear them out.
Rarely is one thrust into a leadership position. Leadership is a choice; please choose to be an effective leader for your people.
“Be The Reason They Stay.”