298. The Five Different Leadership Personalities. Which One Are You?

Not all leaders are the same. Discover the 5 leadership personalities and how each fits different stages of company growth. Which one are you?

Nov 18, 2024

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I have to apologize to you.
Well, I don’t have to, but I want to.

Every week I talk a lot about leadership. You’ve probably figured that out by now.

But I’ve been avoiding one major topic in our conversations. You see, in almost every one of my ramblings, I discuss leadership traits as if there were an ideal leadership personality to strive for.

If you were to read my articles in a vacuum (I don’t know how you got in the vacuum, but that’s a you problem), you may end up thinking that I’m trying to mold you into a particular type of leader.

I’m not.
So consider it safe to climb out of your vacuum.

The reality is that there’s not one type of perfect leader. In fact, there is no such thing as a “perfect leader”.

[Editor’s Note: gasp!]

Different types of leaders work better at different stages of a company’s development.

There are actually five types of leadership personalities, each of which has its pros and cons when it comes to a company’s stage of growth.

But, wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let me tell you about the five different leadership personalities and then we can see where we go from there.

The Five Types of Leadership Personalities

Leadership Personality #1: The Visionary

The Visionary leader is, well, a visionary.

The Visionary leader has the talent to imagine an inspirational future in which birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the company is a money minting machine.

The Visionary thinks about things in strategic ways. They’re often not so focused about the processes it takes to climb the hill as much as how great it will be at the top of the hill.

But because of their passion for building a better world, the talented Visionaries have a unique ability to inspire others with their dreams of greatness.

In my leadership coaching business, I work with many visionary leaders, because the piece these leaders are often missing, is an ability to mentor others.

And that leads us to the Coach.

Leadership Personality #2: The Coach

Coach-centric leaders excel at guiding and mentoring their employees. They focus on helping their team members grow because happy employees make happy companies.

When push comes to shove and a hard decision must be made, the Coach usually prioritizes their team’s personal growth over achieving financial results. That’s not always a bad thing by any means. After all, what is a company if not for the people working there?

That was a rhetorical question.

Leadership Personality #3: The Democratic Leader

The Democratic leader is all about teamwork. They are naturally curious people who are interested in, and open to, different ways of accomplishing a goal.

The Democratic leader gets their jollies by empowering people to take ownership and to collaborate.

If the Democratic leader has a mantra, it’s probably “teamwork makes the dream work.” Yes, that’s cliche, but if you want more creativity, go talk to the Visionary leader.

Leadership Personality #4: The Autocrat

Autocrats are all about control. For whatever reason, they believe they know best and, as a result, they’re the ones who need to make all the decisions.

Autocrats are sometimes stubborn and can sometimes be hard to work with. I know, because I’m usually called in as an executive coach to help Autocrat leaders evolve.

But don’t think Autocrats are bad leaders. In many situations, the Autocrat is the only one that can help an organization stay on track and succeed.

However, they are the diametric opposite of the Servant leader.

Leadership Personality #5: The Servant Leader

Whereas the Autocrats always put themselves first, Servant Leaders always put their employees first.

The Servant Leader’s primary goal is to help others succeed. They do this by teaching others how to be good leaders. If there is a leading strength of the Servant Leader, it’s their ability to selflessly support and empower their team.

When the Servant leader does their job well, they almost seem irrelevant. And that’s their goal.

How A Company Grows

I’m guessing you identified with one, maybe two of those personality types. Which one did you identify with the most?

If you’re anything like me, you probably even got triggered by reading about a couple of the leadership types. Honestly, I think I broke out into hives a few times while writing this - it made me think of some leaders in my past that I really didn’t want to think about again.

That type of response is expected.

What I’m here to tell you today is that each leadership personality has its place in the growth of an organization.

As companies grow, their needs evolve and so do the leadership personalities needed to address the changing organization.

As it turns out, the five phases of an organization’s growth perfectly align with the five types of leadership personalities.

But I’ve talked enough for now.

Stay tuned for next week’s article on the five phases of company growth and which leadership personality is suited for each.

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