Which type of leadership style do you practice?

SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 13:47:56 -0400

Leadership is employed in many varied circumstances coupled with attributes of who we are. Which type of style do you practice and why? Weigh in RP family.

Response by CSM Carl Cunningham made Jul 10 at 2016 2:15 PM

CSM Carl Cunningham — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 14:15:03 -0400

I have used all of those. You must have the ability to use multiple styles. The hard part though is knowing the right time to use them.

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Jul 10 at 2016 2:15 PM

SMSgt Thor Merich — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 14:15:27 -0400

I use multiple styles depending on the mission and who I am leading. But mostly I use Coaching and Pacesetting. As a leader one of my jobs is to train my folks and ultimately train my replacement. I also have to foster a good working environment for my folks. I am true believer of happy employees put out a better product and what's good for the employee is (generally) good for the organization.
I believe that great leaders have the ability adapt to the situation and change their leadership styles depending on the situation.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2016 2:18 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 14:18:34 -0400

I'd say democratic, our MLS is required to be highly technically proficient and that method helps me in training my soldiers.

Response by MCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2016 2:27 PM

MCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 14:27:00 -0400

What day is it? What time is it?

A good leader uses ALL of those - or at least SHOULD use all of those techniques to lead. There are times when the democratic style is warranted - and times when the commanding style is demanded. A good leader will know what style to use and when to use them.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2016 3:00 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 15:00:52 -0400

Excellent post, SSG! I might add that some of the Org Theory and Leadership Gurus would argue that the situation dictates the leadership style that is used. The leader adapts to the changing environment.

Response by CW5 Andrew J. Foreman made Jul 10 at 2016 3:21 PM

CW5 Andrew J. Foreman — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 15:21:46 -0400

A good leader will use them all.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 10 at 2016 3:26 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 15:26:36 -0400

SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM I try to practice servant-leadership which is not listed.
Christ is my model for leadership. He taught us to have a mindset that as leaders we should be focused on serving those we lead with wisdom, courage, knowledge and respect.
The relationship of leaders to led is best reflected in the military salute which when done properly signifies mutual respect. COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Christopher Mueller Capt Seid Waddell CW5 Private RallyPoint Member SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt Private RallyPoint Member SGT Private RallyPoint Member SSG Leo Bell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert Hawks SGT Robert George SrA Christopher Wright

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made Jul 10 at 2016 4:26 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 16:26:31 -0400

What do I want to be lol

Response by SGT Robert George made Jul 10 at 2016 4:44 PM

SGT Robert George — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 16:44:41 -0400

depending the situation you might have to cycle your people through all those styles from time to time .. you might have to make some unpopular decisions concerning the people your leading but too bad your the leader so step to it... you dont necessarily have to tell them that , just give them a blank stare a shake your head like a bobble head figurine !!!

Response by LTC Greg Henning made Jul 10 at 2016 5:37 PM

LTC Greg Henning — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 17:37:18 -0400

Leadership is the ability to incorporate all these styles as the situation dictates. An outstanding leader can evaluate the mission and select the most effective means to accomplish the goals set.

Response by SGT Dana Williams made Jul 10 at 2016 6:37 PM

SGT Dana Williams — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 18:37:25 -0400

I always used the old "Follow Me!". A leader has to be in front to lead.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 10 at 2016 8:46 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 20:46:59 -0400

Every situation is different. Every group is different.

Leadership is about Relationships, and about developing the right tools to enhance those relationships. Some people, in specific times, will respond best to one technique or tool, while at others need a completely different approach.

Take your BN Commander for instance, he acts as a Visionary, while the Company Commander uses a commanding approach, but the Team leader uses Transformational and Coaching techniques. Your Staff officers during a planning phase may approach things Democratically ("What's everyone think?" before bringing their ideas to the CO), and so forth.

Each of the tools above are just that, tools. You want as many as possible, and to be as proficient as possible with each... because if all you have is a hammer... everything looks like nails... and although it might work, it's not always the most efficient way.

Response by Capt Chris McVeigh made Jul 10 at 2016 10:14 PM

Capt Chris McVeigh — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 22:14:01 -0400

All of the above depending on the situation, no single leadership style is comprehensive across all situations. If you utilize only one of these methods I guarantee you are not being as effective as you could be.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2016 10:42 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 22:42:59 -0400

This is a nice cheat cheat!

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2016 2:30 AM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 02:30:36 -0400

I think I mostly use a combination of affiliative, democratic, and coaching. It depends on the situation and also on the Soldier. Some Soldiers are more mature and can handle tasks themselves. Others need more guidance and coaching. I rarely use commanding but sometimes its needed.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2016 7:41 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 07:41:11 -0400

I'm sure we utilize every style during different circumstances but overall I'm definitely a pace setting leader. I might disagree a bit on the negative impact on climate.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jul 11 at 2016 9:26 AM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 09:26:10 -0400

I've used all of them at various times depending on the given situation. Most interesting to me is that the worst leaders I've worked with (both in military and civilian world) fell into the Commanding or Pacesetting styles and never varied. Even more telling is that they were all graduates of one of the service academies. Perhaps there is a need to emphasize leadership styles and how/when to use them more in the academies.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Jul 11 at 2016 6:49 PM

SrA Matthew Knight — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 18:49:35 -0400

I go along with Democratic Leadership the most based on this table. I tend to open things up for discussion to see what kind of input each person has. I think I gained that from my time as an FFA Officer running our Chapter Meetings.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Jul 12 at 2016 10:12 AM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 10:12:25 -0400

I use a little of most. More often than not I'll work with the Visionary/Coaching approach because I am trying to build up Marines to be competent enough to perform their jobs at an adequate level. Occasionally I'll have to use Pacesetting because I can't allow fellow NCOs to give sub-par performance at their jobs when the lives of pilots are on the line. Commanding I've only had to use a few times, primarily on the younger generation who like to fight back against being criticized.

I can't think of a time I'd use Democratic because my job doesn't rely on people's opinions to make decisions. Everything is per the reference. Same thing with Affiliative. I try to maintain a friendly, relaxed working atmosphere, but the job always comes first. Lives depend on it and I can't afford mistakes.

Response by Col Dona Marie Iversen made Jul 12 at 2016 10:05 PM

Col Dona Marie Iversen — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 22:05:52 -0400

Leaders must be flexible depending on the situation, we also must be consistent, fair, firm and objective. Certain the leaders on this site practiced all 6 styles.

Sometimes a 'hug' is required too...

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 13 at 2016 9:57 AM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 09:57:54 -0400

SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM Great post and discussion! I personally have used all of the above in different situations. Each one has a place when you are in a Leadership position. I would never just practice one of them, but a combination of each based on the situation and the desired End State of what I needed to accomplish or what I wanted the Organization to accomplish, or the individual. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Response by MSG John Duchesneau made Feb 15 at 2018 10:12 PM

MSG John Duchesneau — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 22:12:38 -0500

I prefer visionary and coaching.