Effective communication with your leadership team is essential for success. However, your approach must change depending on who you are talking to, their individual communication and their leadership style. In this article, we will discuss how to identify the 5 different leadership styles, their primary personality traits, and how to adjust your communication approach to each one.

1. The Autocratic Leader

They tend to make decisions without input from others and are often highly driven, expecting quick results. Don’t be vague or unsure with your communication with them. It’s best to avoid generic terms like, ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’ and better to get straight to the point. Use a direct and assertive tone, with facts and figures to support your arguments. Be aware that you might not get much feedback from them as they are process-oriented and not people-oriented.

2. The Transformational Leader 

They focus on inspiring and motivating their teams and are often visionary thinkers that are positive in outlook with skills of persuasion. When you are communicating with a transformational leader, being passionate, enthusiastic, and upbeat will help you to connect with them. Share your ideas and insights, and be open to feedback. However, be mindful that they might challenge you to be more creative and innovative.

3. The Laissez-Faire Leader 

They tend to delegate and let others make decisions while providing minimum guidance and supervision to their teams. When communicating with them it's best to lead with a very clear agenda and goals. Make sure you provide clear updates and ask questions as needed to ensure you have their understanding. They won’t give you as much feedback as other styles of leadership, so prepare to be more self-motivated with them.

4. The Servant Leader 

They focus on empowering and serving others and often take on a mentor role to guide their team members to success through support and encouragement. When you are communicating with them, make sure you are clear, concise, and respectful. Share your goals and accomplishments with them and be willing to provide examples that prove your point. Make sure you are open and willing to hear their feedback and suggestions for improvement.

5. The Democratic Leader 

This type of leader focuses on consensus-building and democratic decision-making by engaging in open dialogue. They will encourage a lot of participation from team members. Make sure you come prepared with a number of ideas and facts that you can share with others for discussion, which they will appreciate. Be willing to participate and provide feedback during meetings and engage in a respectful exchange of ideas.

Being aware of the different leadership styles and adjusting your communication approach to each can help build trust, establish a good working relationship, and ultimately lead to better outcomes. Also, remember that miscommunication and conflict in the workplace can be avoided simply by understanding how different personality styles can interact better together. 

Creating a company culture of effective communication takes work, but it's well worth it. At CCTS, your company culture is our top priority. We help you become a Destination Workplace™ so you can attract and retain top talent in a hyper-competitive marketplace. Contact us to learn about our leadership development and team-building programs!

The CCTS Team

Corporate Culture Training Solutions

About Betsy: Featured on FOX, CBS, NBC, and ABC, Betsy Allen-Manning is a leadership keynote speaker, workplace culture expert, and best-selling author who helps executives and HR leaders strengthen employee engagement, improve retention, and prepare for the future of work. Betsy’s thought leadership and original research in the National Workplace Trends Study and the Destination Workplace™ framework equips organizations with data-driven strategies to build cultures where people apply, engage, contribute, and stay. She is also the founder of an award-winning company known for providing top leadership training in Dallas, and is recognized for advancing leadership excellence and driving workplace culture transformations worldwide.