Cultivating Emotional Intelligence: Unearthing Your Leadership Style

Imagine stepping into the shoes of a leader, navigating the complexities of different leadership styles like a skilled captain sailing through rough seas. This episode takes you on a journey through the landscape of leadership, drawing lessons from our visit to the Friends Experience and the laughably real management wisdom of Michael from The Office. We dissect the good, the bad, and the ugly of Kurt Lewin's leadership styles framework, offering vital insights on when to adopt which style - a must-have knowledge for every aspiring leader.

Ever wondered how your leadership style impacts your team's efficiency and confidence? We shine a light on this, underlining the importance of active listening and understanding your team. We also point you to a free quiz at www.mindtools.com to discover your leadership style. For those keen on sharpening their leadership skills, we have an exclusive offering - personalized coaching sessions with your host, Holly Curby. Remember, leadership is not only about guiding others but also about investing in your personal growth and emotional intelligence. Join us on this journey of becoming a leader who not only inspires but also propels the team forward.

Related episodes on Holly's Highlights podcast:
Season 5 Episode 1: The Critical Role of Emotional Intelligence in Personal Growth and Leadership this New Year
Season 2 Episode 24: What Does Your Body Language Say About You?

Related Resources:
Leadership Style Quiz: https://www.mindtools.com/azr30oh/whats-your-leadership-style
Leadership Coaching: https://www.hollycurby.com/coaching

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

A couple of months ago my sister and I went to the Friends Experience, which has been visiting here in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it was so much fun From seeing their outfits and learning about their fashion styles tailored to their characters that they played stepping into the set of Monica's apartment and Joey and Chandler's apartment to reenacting the pivot scene, you know the one with Ross and Rachel, and even sitting on the couches both in Central Perk Cafe and the opening fountain scene. We just had so much fun exploring the whole set. Now I actually found the Friends Experience through my watchful eye on the office experience. My daughter and I love the office and they have a set, just like the Friends Experience, where you can step into the office. So Pam's desk, michael's office, the conference room, the paper warehouse, and I am just waiting for them to announce their next location. So if you get a chance to visit the Friends Experience, do, and if you hear of the Office Experience opening back up, please let me know. I definitely want to be there Now. If you're an office fan, you're probably drawn to a certain character we all are, but I think all of us can at least get a good laugh from Michael. He is probably every corporate owner's worst nightmare of a leader, and he obviously drove his team crazy too, but he makes us all laugh.

Speaker 1: 1:20

Senior Technology Leader Randy Carson wrote a good piece on LinkedIn about things we can learn from Michael's leadership, or even lack thereof. So if you want to check that out, feel free to do so on LinkedIn. Again, that is under Randy Carson. But then Harvard Business Review dives deeper into poor leadership, as they reveal the top communication issues that basically prevent leaders such as Michael who has been guilty of at least one point or another in his leadership of these from having effective leadership. They are five of them, so one is not recognizing employee achievements. Two is not giving clear directions. Three, not having time to meet with employees. Four, refusing to talk to subordinates. And five, taking credit for others' ideas. However, on the other hand, an article by Dr Kyle Elliott in Forbes reveals four important qualities of a good leader. They include four things One, a clear vision. Two, the ability to empower a team. Three, active listening skills. And four, a healthy dose of humility, which, let's face it, at some point or another. Michael reveals some of those qualities in his leadership too. So it's easy to conclude that different situations call for different types of leadership, the key being applying the right leadership style to the specific circumstance.

Speaker 1: 2:46

Now, there are many different leadership styles, but we're going to focus on what is referred to as Kurt Lewin's leadership styles framework, which is a model that was developed back in 1930s, but it's still very applicable today. The first one is authoritative or autocratic leadership. This is used to envision and empower, such as when it teams lack direction, so the leader sets the goal, but then the team decides how to achieve it. It's a flexible leadership style to involve the team as you listen to the feedback. The second one is coaching. This is used to help develop the team and self-awareness while using empathy and nurturing their individual performance, and this leadership style requires time and expertise from the leader. However, this style shouldn't be used for those immediate result scenarios, but rather ongoing improvements. This style of leadership is also always conducted in a one-on-one setting.

Speaker 1: 3:41

The third one Democratic or Participative Leadership, which is used to collaborate and consult, such as ensuring that each voice is heard. Although team members often feel valued under such leadership, as they are encouraged to participate and share responsibility and be empowered, it can lead to too many meetings without enough action. Number four Affilitative. It's used to praise and create harmony, such as creating a positive work environment, or to repair relationships or help bring teams together. However, this leadership style can accidentally create confusion as it lacks correction and accountability. Number five is Paste-Setting Leaders. This is used to highly motivate teams with ambitious goals to produce quick wins, and these leaders set good examples for the team of not just do what I say, but actually do what I do. However, sometimes, because of the high standards, some team members may feel very overwhelmed or, even worse, feeling burnt out. And then number six is Coercive. This is used in crisis situations, such as with toxic employee behaviors. Otherwise, if you try this leadership style in another scenario, it's going to kill the team's motivation. It's more of a directive or commanding leadership style to really dive in and fix the issues. Now the first four, so authoritative coaching, democratic and affiliative all of those are said to be those of indicative of a positive culture, while the latter two, so Paste-Setting, coercive have more of a negative culture.

Speaker 1: 5:15

So how do you know what style to use and when? Well, active listening goes a long way, and this includes watching for body language. You can check out season two, episode 24 on Holly's Highlights, where we impact all things about what our body language says about us and, therefore, how to understand others' body language too. Also, get to know your team, their strengths, their weaknesses, the why behind each timber, so that you also know more or how to invest in their development to meet those goals, their why, and then ask your team what it's like being on the other side of you, or even asking them what is something you don't want to hear, but you need to hear, all in order to help you grow as a leader and in your personal development.

Speaker 1: 6:01

Why is learning your leadership style so important? Well, as a leader, you have a lot of responsibility. We know that You're the mentor, the one to create the vision, but also help your team align with the vision. You foster a teamwork culture. You help set goals and provide the support in doing so and how and where you may. You ensure clarity of communication, not to mention manage the overall business aspects too. However, it will take a moment to learn the different types of leadership, which ones are our tendencies that we use, how we can use such styles in certain situations. Well, when we can be more effective leaders, resulting in high productivity, that helps us also motivate and inspire our teams, help boost confidence in those that we lead and increase efficiency and, overall, be positive examples for those that we lead, while also earning their respect. So, to find your leadership style, I suggest visiting wwwmindtoolscom that's M-I-N-D-T-O-O-L-Scom and I'll put that direct link in the show notes and they have a free 12-question quiz which will help reveal your natural tendency of leadership styles, but it'll also help you dive into exactly what each of them are and, again, how to apply them.

Speaker 1: 7:19

Now, if you're wanting more resources and tools in developing your leadership role, whether that be as a parent, a team lead, a ministry within the church, an executive or even as an entrepreneur, I'd welcome you to connect with me for one-on-one leadership coaching, where we simply meet virtually for one hour a month and help develop and fine-tune your leadership and opportunities, whether it be needing an outsider as a sounding board or constructive feedback, developing stronger communication skills or even helping with conflict resolution. Together we can help enhance your leadership while also combating executive isolation. Don't get stuck in the rut. With my marketing, ministry, education, customer service, business and leadership experience paired with my heart of just wanting to show care and help others, your sure-to-experience our one hour together each month will have a solid return on your investment Now. If you schedule your first coaching call today, you'll receive $50 discount off your first appointment. So you can simply go over to hollycurbycom that's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Y dot com and select with work with me and then coaching, and that will link us together.

Speaker 1: 8:29

As Canadian writer Robin Sharma says, investing in yourself is the best investment you'll ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all of those around you. So here's to growing in your emotional intelligence by learning your leadership style. My friend, may you live out first Peter 5'2" in taking good care of the flock that has been trusted to you as a leader.