CHARACTERISTICS OF A

LEADER
  PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE
The exceptional leader is always thinking three steps
ahead. Working to master his/her own environment with
the goal of avoiding problems before they arise.
  FLEXIBLE/ADAPTABLE
How do you handle yourself in unexpected or uncomfortable
situations?

An effective leader will adapt to new surroundings and

situations,
doing his/her best to adjust.
  A GOOD COMMUNICATOR
As a leader, one must listen… a lot! You must be willing to work to
understand the needs and desires of other.
A good leader asks many questions, considers all options, and
leads in the right direction.
  RESPECTFUL
Treating others with respect will ultimately earn respect.
  QUIET CONFIDENCE
Be sure of yourself with humble intentions.
  ENTHUSIASTIC
Excitement is contagious. When a leader is motivated
and excited about the cause people will be more inclined
to follow.
  OPEN-MINDED
Work to consider all options when making decisions.
A strong leader will evaluate the input from all interested
parties and work for the betterment of the whole.
  RESOURCEFUL
Utilize the resources available to you. If you don’t know the answer
to something find out by asking questions.
A leader must create access to information.
  REWARDING
An exceptional leader will recognize the efforts of others and
reinforce those action. We all enjoy being recognize for our
actions!
  WELL EDUCATED
Knowledge is power, work to be well educated on community
policies, procedures, organizational norms, etc.
Further, your knowledge of issues and information will only
increase your success in leading others.
  OPEN TO CHANGE
A leader will take into account all points of view and will be
willing to change a policy, program, cultural tradition that is
outdated or no longer beneficial to the group as a whole.
  INTERESTED IN FEEDBACK
How do people feel about your leadership skill set? How can you
improve?
This are important questions that a leader needs to constantly ask
the chapter. View feedback as a gift to improve.
  EVALUATIVE
Evaluation of events and programs is essential for an
organization/group to improve and progress.
An exceptional leader will constantly evaluate and change
programs and policies that are not working.
  ORGANIZED
Are you prepared for meetings, presentations, events, and confident
that people around you are prepared and organized as well?
  CONSISTENT
Confidence and respect cannot be attained without your
leadership being consistent. People must have confidence that
their opinions and thoughts will be heard and taken into
consideration.
  DELEGATOR
An exceptional leader realizes that he/she cannot accomplish
everything on his own. A leader will know the talents and
interests of people around him/her, thus delegating tasks
accordingly.
  INITIATIVE
A leader should work to be the motivator, an initiator. He/she
must be a key element in the planning and implementing of
new ideas, programs, policies, events, etc…
LEADERSHIP STYLES
• From Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill, to Martin
Luther King and Steve Jobs, there can be as many ways to lead
people as there leaders.
• Business people and psychologists have developed useful
frameworks that describe the main ways that people lead. When
you understand these frameworks you can develop your own
approach to leadership and become a more effective leader
as a result.
• In this article, we’ll highlight some of the common approaches to leadership that
you can use. We’ll also look at some specific leadership styles, and we’ll explore
the advantages and disadvantages of each type.
USEFUL LEADERSHIP
STYLE FRAMEWORK
 LEWIN’S LEADERSHIP STYLES
• Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed his leadership styles framework in the
1930s, and it provided the foundation of many of the approaches that
followed afterwards. He argued that there are three major leadership
styles:

1. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their team

members even if their input would be useful. This can be appropriate when
you need to make decisions quickly, when there’s no need for team input,
and when team agreement isn’t necessary for a successful outcome.
However, this style can be demoralizing, and it can lead to high levels of
absenteeism and staff turnover.
2. Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team
members in the decision-making process. They encourage creativity,
and people are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. As a result,
team members tend to have high job satisfaction and high productivity.
This is not always an effective styles to use, though, when you need to
make a quick decision.
3. Laissez-faire leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in
how they do their work, and how they set their deadlines.
Lewin’s framework is popular and useful, because it encourages managers
to be less autocratic than they might instinctively be.
 THE BLAKE-MOUTON
MANAGERIAL GRID
• The Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid was published in 1964, and it
highlights the best leadership style to use, based on your
concern for your people and your concern for production/task.
• With a people-oriented leadership style, you focus on
organizing, supporting, and developing your team members.
This participatory style encourages good teamwork and
.
• With task-oriented leadership, you focus on getting the job
done. You define the work and the roles required, put
structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work.
• According to this model, the best leadership style to use is one that
has both a high concern for people and a high concern for the
task- it argues that you should aim for both, rather than trying to
offset one against the other. This is an important ideal.
 HERSEY-BLANCHARD
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
THEORY
• First published in 1969, the Hersey-Blanchard Situational
Leadership Theory argues that you need to use different
leadership styles depending on the maturity of your team
members. The model argues that with relatively immature
individuals, you need a more directing approach, while with
higher maturity people; you need participative or delegating
leadership style.
• You can use this model in most business situations, regardless of
whether you want to build a new team or develop an existing one.
 PATH-GOAL THEORY
• You may also have to think about what your team members
want and need. Published in 1971- is useful.
• With Path-Goal Theory, you can identify the best leadership
approach to use, based on your people’s needs, the task that
they’re doing, and the environment that they’re working in.
SIX EMOTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLES

Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee detailed their

Six Emotional Leadership styles theory in their 2002 book, “Primal
Leadership”
This theory highlights the strengths and weaknesses of six leadership
style that you can use- Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative, Democratic,
Pacesetting, and Commanding.
It also shows how the style can affect the emotions of your team.
 FLAMHOLTZ AND RANDLE’S
LEADERSHIP STYLE MATRIX
• First published in 2007, Flamholtz and Randle’s Leadership style
matrix shows you the best leadership style to used based on how
capable people are of working autonomously and how creative or
“programmable” the task is.
• The matrix is divided into four quadrants- each quadrant identifies
two possible leadership styles that will be effective for given
situation, ranging from “autocratic/benevolent autocratic” to
“consensus/laissez-faire”.