Primal Leadership Text Six Types

Primal Leadership Text

Six types of leadership: Precis of Primal Leadership

In their management primer Primal Leadership, the authors Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee identify six different leadership styles that they believe characterize the way authority functions within a variety of organizations, and the appropriate role of management during different stages of an organization's history.

The visionary leader

This leader is most effective when setting a long-term mission and purpose for an organization. A visionary leader inspires respect with his or her great charisma, but is most effective when marshalling the support of individuals who really believe in his or her vision already. An example of a visionary leader might be the executive of Whole Foods, leading an organic, green revolution: many people already believe in the goals of sustainability being put into action when joining such a politically-motivated group. This leader is not focused on solving technical problems, but upon creating something truly new in the organizational landscape and is often the organization's founder during its early years.

The coaching leader

The coaching leader is people-focused, and urges individuals to meet personal goals in the service of the organization. Because of a coach's individualistic focus, a coaching leadership style very one-on-one in its approach, and fairly short-term in focus. Improving specific business areas, such as customer service at Comcast, are well-suited to this style. This style requires a certain amount of 'buy-in' from workers, and is useful in bolstering organizational morale in a cohesive organization that simply needs some fine tuning.

The affiliative leader

The affiliative leader focuses on creating harmony and ties between workers. Affiliative leadership can be a useful approach when an organization has just undergone a dramatic, wrenching change, such as being the focus of a lawsuit or a new merger. Affiliative leaders use trust-building and bridge-building to create a community. This type of style is not conducive to growth and expansion, but affiliative approaches are necessary at times, such as when fostering a more diverse workforce, changing the organizational culture, and building up low morale.

The democratic leader

The democratic leader uses a democratic decision-making style: this is usually acceptable for small changes or day-to-day operations when there is a great deal of cohesion and agreement in the organization. For example, managing a sales force or retail unit where all employees have a personal investment in the organization's success could use such an approach. It increases 'buy-in' and may boost morale for lower-level employees (for example, democratically deciding on a particular promotional campaign for a franchise outlet) but is too unruly to use to create a greater organizational vision.

The pace-setting leader

The pace-setting leader can be ruthless in his or her demands, but is effective in destabilizing ineffective organizational patterns. Recently, the Detroit 'Big Three' needed such a pace-setting approach to stimulate new thinking when approaching car sales and design. This type of leadership style tends to cause friction between management and workers, but it can result in a positive form of change, if done correctly.

The commanding leader

The commanding leader brings a military style of absolute authority to the helm of the organization. He or she assumes total command but also total responsibility for all decisions, usually during times of crisis. An example of this from the business world might be Lee Iacocca during the first bankruptcy of Chrysler during the 1980s.