The Chameleon Leader: Adapting Styles for Success

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Leadership. The word alone can conjure images of corner offices, power suits, and boardrooms. Leaders create a vision of the future and then align people by communicating it, establishing direction, and inspiring them to overcome obstacles. People often look for the “best” leadership style. However, evidence suggests that leadership styles are not one-size-fits-all. Effective leaders are adaptive – they adapt their leadership style to meet the demands of specific situations while ensuring that their subordinates’ needs are not overlooked.

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What is Leadership?

Leadership isn’t just about having a fancy title or giving orders—true leadership is about inspiring, guiding, and making a real impact. House and Shamir (1993) define leadership as: 

"the ability of an individual to motivate others to forego self-interest in the interest of a collective vision, and to the collective by making significant personal self-sacrifices over and above the call of duty, willingly"

But what does it really mean? Let's break it down:

  • Motivating Others: A good leader has the ability to inspire others. This means making people focus on a shared goal or objective that benefits the entire group, team, or organization, rather than simply oneself.
  • Collective Vision: Leadership revolves around a bigger picture—a vision that unites all stakeholders. Leaders align individual’s efforts toward a common goal, fostering collaboration and cooperation.
  • Personal Sacrifice: Good leaders go beyond what's expected of them. They make personal sacrifices like, they work longer hours, step outside of their comfort zones, or even take on onerous responsibilities, all because they believe in the collective vision.
  • Willingness: A good leader’s true strength lies in how willing they are to make sacrifices. Leaders do not have to be forced to go above and beyond; they do it because they sincerely care about the team’s success and feel a sense of responsibility toward the group.

What are the Different Leadership Styles?

A leader’s two primary functions are to provide direction and socioemotional support in any situation. Therefore, the recognition of tasks and relationships is an important aspect of leadership.

  • Task-oriented leaders tend to prioritize achieving goals. These leaders oversee their subordinates to ensure task completion. Task-oriented leaders should have an understanding and knowledge of their team member’s strengths and weaknesses so that they can delegate tasks appropriately.  
  • Relationship-oriented leaders tend to prioritize the needs of their subordinates or employees. They offer socioemotional support to the subordinates, making them feel appreciated and empowered.  These leaders need to possess a high level of empathy and awareness to comprehend and connect with their subordinates.

One of the oldest and most popular frameworks of leadership style was put forward by Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist, who with his team identified three specific leadership styles, which are: 

1. Authoritarian or Autocratic Leadership Style

Picture a strict, no-nonsense boss who makes all the decisions and expects them to be followed—no questions asked. That’s an autocratic leader. This style involves leaders wielding influence over their subordinates. They do not take advice from the employees, and instead, they make all the decisions. The subordinates are expected to obey the leader’s orders and carry them out. As a result, there is less room for creativity and innovation.

This leadership style should be employed only when dealing with novice personnel, in situations that require quick decision-making, or in crises.

Pros and Cons: This leadership style boosts short-term productivity. However, the lack of input and autonomy can have a deleterious effect in the long run, hampering employee motivation and well-being, increasing fear and dependency among employees, and further creating a toxic work culture.

2. Democratic or Participative Leadership Style

In democratic (or participative) leadership, the leader focuses on the team and includes subordinates in the decision-making process - determining what to do and how to accomplish it. Employees getting to express varied viewpoints can result in creativity and innovation. The leader may still make the final decision, but group members’ involvement is encouraged to reach that decision. It promotes employee engagement, motivation, innovation, and empowerment.

Pros and Cons: Lewin's study states that this style of leadership has a positive impact on the overall group performance, therefore fostering teamwork and cooperation. However, the decision-making process can be sluggish, therefore it may not be ideal in a time-sensitive situation.

3. Laissez-faire or Delegative or Free-reign Leadership Style

This leadership style is often referred to as a ‘hands-off’ approach where leaders transfer the decision-making authority to the subordinates and subordinates are allowed to function independently. Subordinates get complete power over goal-setting, problem-solving, and decision-making. However, the leader remains liable for the decisions that are made.

This style should only be employed with highly motivated and competent employees who can plan, make decisions, solve issues, and complete tasks without management interference.

Pros and Cons: Since this leadership style gives high levels of autonomy to the employees, it can be very motivating for those who are competent and driven but it can be detrimental to performance for others who require strong direction and supervision. It might also create a perception of a disengaged and disinterested leader.

Lewin's study found that the democratic leadership style had a very positive impact on group performance. But leaders, instead of sticking to one particular style of leadership, should tailor their approach to suit a particular situation and/or their team members.

Other Leadership Styles

1. Transactional Leadership Style

Coined by Max Weber, it focuses on certain tangible or intangible exchanges that take place between the leader and subordinates. Subordinates are rewarded or positively reinforced for achieving certain objectives or performance standards. This style has a more practical approach since it focuses on accomplishing specific aims or objectives.

It is a task-oriented leadership style that relies on a reward and punishment system, where extrinsic motivation plays a crucial role. Transactional leaders define the goals and performance standards for employees – good performance gets positively reinforced whereas bad performance gets negatively reinforced or penalized.

2. Transformational Leadership Style

James V. Downton, James MacGregor Burns, and Bernard M. Bass are the pioneers of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is a relationship-oriented style of leadership. These leaders encourage and inspire their employees by creating a vision, which helps them to see the purpose of their work, and assist them in learning and developing. They provide employees with the right direction and help meet employee needs which provides them a sense of purpose, and helps build skills to achieve goals. 

Transformational leadership works best in close supervisory relationships. Transformational leadership is thought to boost intrinsic motivation of the subordinates, by expressing the worth and significance of the leader's aims and vision.

3. Bureaucratic Leadership Style

It was also found by Max Weber and follows a hierarchical structure. Decisions are made in a clear line of command based on set norms, tight restrictions, and conformity by subordinates. This leadership style is appropriate for highly regulated organizations, and government entities that operate according to strict standards. The leadership style might also benefit businesses that need personnel to follow established procedures.

This leadership styles promote order and stability, decisions and actions remain consistent, ensures consistency in choices and activities, reduces ambiguity, and defines roles and duties clearly.   However, following strict rules the way it has always been can lead to an organization lagging behind and ultimately becoming stagnant. It can also cause communication delays between different teams.


Although leadership styles give an idea to leaders for directing their teams or the organization, no single style of leadership works in all situations. Effective leaders understand how to change their approach depending on the situation—whether it's handling a crisis, encouraging creativity, or driving performance. However, regardless of the leadership style, the core leadership skills that one possesses remain the foundation of their success. It’s not just about adopting the right style; it’s also about having the right skills to lead effectively in any situation.


What Makes a Great Leader?

Leadership styles can be changed in accordance with the situation— leaders may need to be decisive at times, but more collaborative at other times. While styles may change, what truly defines great leadership are the underlying traits that leaders bring to the table:

  • Integrity: A leader with integrity maintains consistency in their principles and behaviours, always doing the right thing even when no one is watching. This establishes a strong foundation of trust within their team.
  • Inspiration: This trait helps leaders motivate others by inspiring them with their passion and vision, making them believe in their potential for success and encouraging them to strive harder. They boost team spirit and drive individuals to work toward common goals.
  • Courage: Courageous leaders confront difficulties, make difficult decisions, and are prepared to take risks even in the face of uncertainty. This helps the team navigate hurdles and encourages innovation.
  • Honesty: Being honest means communicating openly and transparently. Honest leaders create an environment of trust in which team members feel appreciated and valued. Leaders who are honest with their teams foster an environment in which problems can be freely discussed and resolved.
  • Empathy: Leaders with empathy recognise and consider the feelings and viewpoints of others, which fosters strong relationships and creates a supportive and positive work environment. This enhances collaboration and loyalty while minimizing conflict.
  • Optimism: Optimistic leaders find opportunities in all challenges. Their upbeat approach contributes to team morale, especially during tough times, and keeps the team focused on solutions rather than problems.
  • Loyalty: This trait is all about being committed to the team and organization, supporting them in both good and difficult times, resulting in the subordinates establishing a strong sense of trust and mutual respect for the leader. It promotes trust, long-term collaboration, and a commitment to the organization’s goals and vision.

In 2023, U.S. News and The Harris Poll conducted a joint research in which 4,151 Americans were asked to rate a set of 30 leadership traits as "most important" and "least important" to being a successful leader.

Being "vulnerable" was regarded as the least important trait, while being "trustworthy" was regarded as the most important trait.

Data from a survey by U.S. News and The Harris Poll on top 10 leadership traits regarded as "most important"

What are some key skills every leader needs?

Leadership is not just about how you lead, but it is also about how well you can lead. Every successful leader possesses a set of key skills that allow them to effectively lead. Skills are the backbone of good leadership, therefore, possessing these core leadership skills is what sets great leaders apart from the rest.

  • Communication Skills: Good communication is required to deliver ideas, vision, tasks and feedback with clarity. It ensures that all team members are on the same page, and informed, which allows better collaboration and understanding.
  • Political Skills: Political skills help leaders direct organizational dynamics and form coalitions. It is essential for influencing others, identifying important stakeholders, understanding their interests and motivations, and applying this information to further organizational goals.
  • Negotiating Skills: Strong negotiating skills enable leaders to negotiate mutually beneficial agreements and successfully resolve conflicts. This skill is essential for securing deals, managing resources, and cultivating strong relationships. In high-stakes situations like resource allocation or conflict resolution, strong negotiation skills can prevent escalation, promote trust, and create win-win scenarios, all of which are important for long-term organizational success.
  • Conflict Resolution Skills: Possessing conflict resolution skills is all about the ability to resolve problems promptly and fairly, which maintains productivity and cohesion among team members. Leaders who succeed in this area avoid conflicts from growing and develop solutions that benefit all parties involved.
  • Decision-Making Skills: Leaders often need to have strong decision-making skills which help them navigate through difficult situations and make decisions that drive progress. Good leaders evaluate options, weigh risks and select the best course of action to achieve goals.
  • Critical Thinking Skills: Critical thinking enables leaders to evaluate situations objectively from various perspectives. This skill is essential for addressing difficult issues and making strategic decisions to solve the issue, based on careful analysis.
  • Problem Solving Skills: Strong problem-solving skills enable leaders to navigate through challenging situations or impediments, and solve them efficiently. Leaders who are skilled at solving problems can quickly adjust to changes and devise novel solutions.
  • Active Listening Skills: This entails attentively listening to others and comprehending their perspective. It enables leaders to understand issues, offer appropriate feedback, and develop stronger, more responsive relationships with their subordinates. It also helps provide greater level of understanding and empathy between leaders and their subordinates.
  • Interpersonal Skills: Leaders with this skill can successfully manage dynamics within the team, motivate individuals, build trust, create an open space for discussion and foster a collaborative work culture. Interpersonal skills are crucial for building and sustaining good relationships with subordinates or stakeholders.

Mastering different leadership styles and developing key skills is what separates good leaders from great ones. Whether you’re leading a startup, managing a corporate team, or heading a nonprofit, knowing when to be decisive, when to collaborate, and when to step back can make all the difference. Embracing these can help you to direct and strengthen your teams, create positive work culture and achieve success, all of which ultimately defines outstanding leadership.


Also Read: How can Managers Improve Employee Engagement

Giving Feedback the Right Way: Balancing Empathy and Accountability

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