LEADERS CREATE RESONANCE
In the view of Goleman, good leaders are effective because they create resonance.
Resonance comes from the Latin word resonare. Again creating sound. Effective leaders are attuned to other people's feelings and move them in a positive emotional direction. They speak authentically about their own values, direction and priorities and resonate with the emotions of surrounding people. Under the guidance of an effective leader, people feel a mutual comfort level. Resonance comes naturally to people with a high degree of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management) but involves also intellectual aspects.
Creation of resonance can be done in six ways, leading to Six Leadership Styles. Typically, the most effective leaders can act according to and they can even skillfully switch between the various styles, depending on the situation.
Visionary Leadership | Coaching Style | Affiliative Leadership | Democratic Leadership | Pacesetting Leadership | Commanding Leadership | |
Leader characteristics | Inspires. Believes in own vision. Empathetic. Explains how and why people's efforts contribute to the 'dream'. | Listens. Helps people identifying their own strengths and weaknesses. Counselor. Encourages. Delegates. | Promotes harmony. Friendly. Empathetic. He boosts moral. Solves conflicts. | Superb listener. Team worker. Collaborator. Influencer. | Strong urge to achieve. High own standards. Initiative. Low on empathy and collaboration. Impatience. Micromanaging. Numbers-driven. | Commanding. "Do it because I say so". Threatening. Tight control. Monitoring studiously. Creating dissonance. Contaminates everyone's mood. Drives away talent. |
How style builds resonance | He moves people towards shared dreams. | Connects what a person wants; with the organization's goals. | Creates harmony by connecting people to each other. | Appreciates people's input and gets commitment through participation. | Realizes challenging and exciting goals. | He decreases fear by giving clear direction in an emergency. |
The impact of the style on the (business) climate | + + + | + + | + | + | Often ― ― when used too exclusively or poorly | Often ― ― |
When style is appropriate | When changes require a new vision. Or when a clear direction is needed. Radical change. | To help competent, motivated employees to improve performance by building long-term capabilities. | To heal rifts in a team. To motivate during stressful times. Or to strengthen connections. | To build support or consensus. Or to get valuable input from employees. | To get high-quality results from a motivated and competent team. Sales. | In a grave crisis. Or with problem employees. To start an urgent organizational turnaround. Traditional military. |
Other factors affecting the choice for a leadership style include: [ a good understanding of these factors and situations trains leaders to change their style, like a driver changes a gear in a car]
- Level of leader, higher level leaders should be mostly visionary
- Role – complex roles require democratic style
- Number of persons led – if the numbers is large then it tends to be towards visionary
- Time frame – short time frame may require pace – setting or commanding styles
- Domain knowledge – leaders with very good domain knowledge may prefer commanding style
- Subject of decision – if the subject affects person led then democratic style is most suited
A true leader is visible to employees, open to contact and advice, shares the glory, recognizes employee contribution, shoulder the blame, etc
Leadership styles: paternalistic leadership, creative leadership, task oriented leadership, laissez-faire leadership, leading by example. Creating a picture for the desire future.
Transformational leadership integrates leadership positives such as empathy, respect, trustworthiness while adding differentiated attributes [cross cultural competences, business savvy, organizational competences]
The democratic or cooperative leadership is the best leadership style
The objective of leadership is to lead the team to a common goal, e.g. if you lead a group of experienced fighter, you set them free but coach them into patterns; if you lead agroup of know-nothing amateurs, you will need to tell them exactly what to do & make sure they do it
Basic leadership processes: envisioning, enabling, empowering and energizing – and related skills
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