Common Learning Portal

Overview

Do you know your own personal leadership style? Daniel Golemen, an author who is best known for his writing on emotional intelligence, shares in this Harvard Business Review article the 6 types of leaders and how great leaders leverage multiple styles for maximum effectiveness.

What You’ll Learn

After completing the work on this page, you will be able to:

• Recognize the 6 styles of leadership and the primary traits of each
• Know the links between these 6 leadership styles and emotional intelligence, climate, and performance
• Recall that leaders need many styles to be most effective
• Identify your own personal leadership style and predict that of your supervisor

Read the Article

Dig Deeper

After reading the article, reflect on the following questions. Jot down your thoughts. Consider sharing this video with a colleague or a work group for an insightful discussion.

1. Which of the 6 styles of leadership do you most self-identify with (your primary style) and why? Illustrate this using one specific workplace example.
2. Without asking your supervisor, make an educated guess which of the 6 leadership styles your supervisor most identifies with (their primary style) and why. Illustrate this using one specific workplace example.
3. Why do leaders need many styles to be most effective? Share an example of when you used multiple styles to be most effective.

Still Hungry?

Here’s more to spark your thinking on this topic:

• Which of the 6 leadership styles positively impact team morale, performance, and motivation? Find out in this YouTube video Daniel Goleman: Resonant Leadership Styles.
• Hear more from Daniel Goleman in his TedTalk Why Aren’t We More Compassionate?
• Check out the advantages and disadvantages of the 6 leadership styles along with accompanying infographics in this Secrets to Their Success article Daniel Goleman’s Six Leadership Styles.

NOTE: There is a limit of viewing 4 online articles per month at Harvard Business Review without a paid subscription. If you click on the link to this article, it will count toward your limit.