Navigating Leadership Styles

  Career Development   Communications Management   Governance   Talent Management  

Is the role of a leader and manager mutually exclusive? It depends. For the purpose of this article (and for my research), the role of a leader is synonymous with a manager.

I recently took a business trip and was intrigued with--yes!--another article on the topic of leaders and leadership skills. During the second half of the flight I had a chance to complete some personal reflection on my career experiences to date. I have had the chance to work for, and with, some really good leaders and managers (and yes, a few not-so-good ones as well). Navigating leadership styles can be tricky; well-honed interpersonal skills and influencing a corporate culture is not a topic that can be taught in a 101-level college class. Many individuals have learned over time that they may have the highest degree of education, but in order to get something done on a daily basis, navigating leadership styles is key.

Personally, I believe nothing takes the place of solid work experience. So I decided to reach out to my colleagues and gather their everyday thoughts and insights into what they have learned over the years in working with different leadership styles. One quick disclaimer before we begin: The informal research completed was not designed to be a fully quantitative analysis. (I also welcome anyone reading this to post your thoughts and solutions that have worked for you in your …

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