Fitting the Shoes of a Leader: Different Types of Leadership Skills

Joshua B. Wijangco

Leadership is like fitting a pair of shoe; sometimes it fits, sometimes it does not. There is neither perfect leadership nor a perfect leader. Leadership is not a tailor-fit skill. Being a leader is not a one-night skill. It takes many years of experience in managing, planning, delegating, and organizing to become one.

Like pairs of shoes, there are different styles of leadership. If there are shoes with different designs, colors, comfort, price and durability, in leadership, there are leaders who inspire, lead, motivate, and demotivate as well.

But what are the traits of a good leader? Is a leader different from a boss, from a superior? A leader is different from a boss and a superior. Some bosses are leaders, and some are not. The word boss is someone who holds a higher position specifically a person with higher rank in the administrative department; he/she can be a supervisor, a CEO, or even a President. But the word leadership is a set of skills possessed by qualified people who know how to lead and inspire others with proper attitude and proper work ethics that must be observed in any workplace.

Leadership skills can be categorized into different types based on its application on the workplace. Below are some examples of leadership styles.

First is autocratic leadership. This type of leadership is authority-centered which means the boss is the one who decides everything and delegate the implementations of work to subordinates. At first, this type of leadership may not be appropriate, but there are certain circumstances that this type of leadership is fitting. Autocratic leadership is needed when decisions must be made at a soonest date possible. Notable leaders with this kind of skills are Steve Jobs from Apple Company and Donald Trump.

Second is democratic leadership. This leadership style is the opposite of the first one. Decision-making is delegated to the majority of the subordinates. The main fruit of this skill is the spirit of collaboration, fairness, competence, creativity, courage, honesty, and intelligence.

Transformational leadership is the third one. Transformational leadership is all about initiating change in organizations, groups, oneself, and others (Raza, 2018). The main goal of this leadership style is to develop commitment among subordinates.

The fourth one is team-leadership. From the word “team”, there is encouragement of teamwork and collaboration. As they say there is no “I” in the word “team” and everyone is motivated to participate in a project or work.

Fifth is cross-cultural leadership. It is important for a leader to consider the diversity of the work force. By respecting the belief and cultural differences of everyone in the workforce, a leader creates a comfortable environment for everyone.

Sixth, we have Laissez-faire Leadership. This type of leadership style is the least favorable style in my opinion since it is a type of leadership that delegates important task to everyone and leaving the majority of the work to the subordinate as well as decision making with minimal or no interference from the boss.

Next one is transactional leadership. This type of leadership motivates workers by giving external motivating factors if the project or work is successfully implemented. Not that it is good or bad in such a way but if not regulated in a correct way this could lead to unhealthy competition among workers.

Eighth one is charismatic leadership. A leader possesses a natural charisma or traits that makes people to naturally follow him/her. He/she is followed by workers because of this charisma backed up by values and beliefs.

Lastly, we have visionary leadership. This kind of leader is goal-oriented; he/she is directed by the vision, mission, and core values of an organization. It is a rare skill to transform these vision and mission into realities.

The abovementioned types of leadership skills are not one-size fits all. Sometimes, these skills can be present individually or a leader possesses some or most of them. It is not easy to be a leader. It is acquired by hard work, reliance, accountability, integrity, and wisdom.

A leader should not strive to please everyone. The goal of leadership is to facilitate the organization’s vision, mission, and core values as well as to bring the best possible results from the workforce and not to please a single or a group of person.

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The author is Master Teacher at Pampanga High School, Division of City of San Fernando,

Pampanga