As Lakeside is celebrating our 65 years of working with youth and families, we have been reflecting on some of the legacies of our organization that have kept us focused on our mission and values. I was recently asked to speak to some of our most important leadership principles.
One of those principles is the leadership styles identified by Daniel Goleman that are designed to create resonance and harmony within any organization.
As I look at some of the leadership publications, there exists a lot of information about finding your own leadership style and developing it. However, if we are focused on the impact of a leader, we recognize that leaders face many different situations each day. It is important to recognize that leaders have significant influence in the lives of those they mentor. If we as leaders are going to be sensitive to those we supervise as they encounter a variety of situations, we need to be willing to be contextual in how we lead them.
Daniel Goleman featured the idea of emotional intelligence for leaders. His book Primal Leadership describes different leadership styles. Here are the styles he identified:
Visionary. For situations that require a new vision or a clear direction, the visionary style of leadership moves people towards shared dreams which is a powerful way to create resonance.
Coaching. For situations where someone needs to improve their performance by building new capabilities, the coaching style connects what a person wants with the organization’s goals.
Affiliative. For situations where there is a rift in a team or there needs to be a strengthening of connections, the affiliative leadership style connects people to each other which helps the unity and harmony of a team.
Democratic. When a situation requires buy-in or consensus or if there is a need to get input from the team, the democratic leadership style values people’s input and gets commitment through participation.
Pacesetting. When you need a team to achieve high quality results and they are already motivated, the pacesetting leadership style can help them to meet challenging and exciting goals. There is a caution that pacesetting can become negative if overused.
Commanding. If there are fears or emergencies that need to be quelled, the commanding leadership style can kick start a turnaround. Once again, misused commanding can also have a negative impact.
Rather than looking for our own leadership styles, it may be more important that leaders who are concerned about their impact should be shifting in the styles they use in various situations to meet the need of the moment. People need different skills at different times.
Emotionally intelligent leaders are in tune with those situations and emotions and have the capability to flex to use contextual leadership styles in order to create a resonant environment among those they lead. I have found this concept to be personally helpful as I navigate so many different situations that I encounter each day. These contextual leadership styles, if used properly, can help us become the leaders that are relevant and healthy for those that we mentor.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
