Ignite Your Leadership Journey

Leadership and Growth – Reflecting on the Impact of Leadership Styles in Leadership and Why it Matters?

Have you ever wondered why Reflecting on the Impact of Leadership Styles in Leadership Matters?

Do you know how your leadership style affects your team and how often you reflect on it? How we interact with our teams influences more than day-to-day exchanges; it creates culture, accelerates performance, and establishes an organizational legacy. Leadership styles change over time with experience, environmental influences, and introspection. Growth in an organization or relationship requires understanding its dynamics. For instance, a tech startup experiencing layoffs and high turnover saw remarkable improvements in satisfaction and innovation within months of appointing a values-driven, transparent, and transformative CEO. This shift highlights the impact of adaptable leadership.

Importance - Leadership styles have never been more crucial in our volatile world and the stark dichotomy between problems and opportunities. There are many ways to lead a team. The way leaders lead—from outdated command-and-control methods to revered servant leadership models—has a profound effect on the success of their organizations and the lives of their teams. According to Gallup, managers can explain at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement. As leaders, these styles directly impact morale, motivation, productivity, and retention. Leaders must assess if their approaches remain effective amidst challenges like remote work, diversity, inclusion, sustainability, and differences across borders, sectors, cultures, and generations.

Impact - Leadership styles influence whole organizations and not just individuals. Transformational leaders create innovations, using vision and empathy to guide followers through change. Authentic leaders build an environment of collaboration and trust where everyone feels they have a stake in the process. Autocratic styles that may be applied in crises stifle creativity when overused. For instance, take a leading healthcare company. As the pandemic took hold and frontline workers started to suffer from burnout, its CEO adopted a new way of leading compassionately by prioritizing mental health initiatives and open communication. The result? People became more resilient and found a new sense of purpose. Leaders can maximize strengths and work on exposure areas when they know their styles. It's not just a personal reflection; it creates an environment where teams thrive.

Challenges - It takes work to reflect on leadership styles. We may shy away from self-assessment because some people may criticize them if they show weaknesses. Organizational inertia can also preserve old bureaucratic leadership norms and prevent the movement to new ones, such as more inclusive or creative styles. One practical way is to create an environment where feedback can be given and received comfortably, and teams can voice their opinions. Coaching or mentoring programs can give leaders greater awareness of their behaviors and effects. Coaching or mentoring offers new perspectives, identifying opportunities for growth and transformation.

Boardroom Relevance - For board members, the leadership style is critical in determining the organization's direction. Both roles help ensure that leadership is aligned with the company’s mission, vision, and values. They also are key to developing a culture that fosters adaptive leadership. Leadership development and reflection can drive long-term success for boards. Investing in promoting emotional intelligence, cultural sensitivity, and tolerance while emphasizing the value of diverse leadership styles and perspectives at the top is crucial.

Global Perspectives - Because leadership is about influence and behavior, it does not happen in a vacuum- it needs context, culture — the very nature of people’s processes. For example, egalitarian leadership models that emphasize trust and employee autonomy are typical in Scandinavian countries. Many organizations across Asia respect authority, which influences their hierarchical structure. Global leaders can only navigate these cultural nuances by adjusting styles familiar to their home countries to connect with local teams but remain aligned around a consistent vision. In particular, this cultural intelligence is essential for organizations working across borders and organizational culture in national subcultures.

Expert Opinions - According to the eminent author on emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman, great leaders demonstrate a "unique ability" to switch between leadership styles based on their team's current situation. As he puts it: "The best leaders aren't monolithic; they're flexible and able to pivot." In his book Start with Why, Simon Sinek says: “True leaders put others before themselves. They ask how to serve their teams to unlock their full potential.” 

Future Outlooks - Organizations stand at a crossroads in this climate of accelerating digital transformation, environmental degradation, and generational shifts. In the coming years, adaptable and inclusive leaders will inevitably be more required than ever. It is the leaders who need to adopt continuous learning, where their style combines empathy, agility, and collaboration. Emerging trends include hybrid leadership blending online and in-person interactions, responding to the challenge of leading multi-generational teams—balancing Gen Z's demand for meaning with Baby Boomers' preference for structure. Well, it is very clear that the future belongs to those who invest in leadership development programs and talents, focusing on emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, and innovative ideas.

Three Takeaways for our Boardrooms:

Takeaway #1: Encourage Leadership Self-Reflection – We must promote tools and programs that enable leaders to assess and evolve their styles. 

Takeaway #2: Foster Diversity in Leadership Styles – We must ensure leadership teams represent various perspectives and approaches to drive innovation and inclusion. 

Takeaway #3: Align Leadership Styles with Organizational Goals – We must regularly evaluate whether current styles align with the company’s mission, values, and challenges. 

Final Reflection - Leadership is a mirror—what do you see when you look into it? Every choice you make, every relationship you nurture, and every principle you uphold shape the lives of those you lead. But in today’s world, leadership is no longer one-size-fits-all. It’s about navigating the complexities of leading across generations, cultures, and contexts.

Think about it: Are you inspiring a Gen Z team member seeking purpose and innovation while respecting the structure and experience that Baby Boomers value? Are you adapting your leadership style to resonate with diverse cultural norms while staying true to your vision? Are you creating an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered regardless of background?

The most impactful leaders are those who pause to reflect and ask themselves the tough questions:

Am I fostering trust or creating barriers?

Am I empowering others to thrive or holding them back with outdated methods?

Am I leading with empathy, heart, and adaptability, or am I stuck in my comfort zone?

Leadership is not static—it’s a dynamic, evolving process that requires bold courage, self-awareness, and a willingness to grow. It’s about embracing the challenges of leading in a world where generational expectations, cultural nuances, and global contexts collide.

So, I challenge you: Take a moment today to reflect on your leadership. What’s working? What’s not? What needs to change? The leaders who embrace this challenge are the ones who create environments where people thrive, ideas flourish, and transformation takes root.

Leadership isn’t just about achieving outcomes—it’s about building bridges across differences and gaps, inspiring collaboration, and leaving a legacy of growth and innovation. The question is: Are you ready to lead in a way that transcends boundaries, generations, and cultures? The journey of leadership is never finished. It’s a series of ever-evolving destinations that challenge us to grow, adapt, and inspire. Are you ready to take the next step? If yes, Ignite Your Leadership Journey!

Join us on a journey into the transformational possibilities of leadership and share your reflections and strategies, too:

What has changed about your leadership style over time?

How can you work towards a style that best serves your team and organization?

Embrace Your Leadership Journey by Reflecting on the Impact of Leadership Styles on Leadership

Ignite your Leadership Journey – Share Your Insights and Challenges in Reflecting on the Impact of Leadership Styles in Leadership

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“Rise Above and Empower Yourself”

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"Rise Above And Empower Yourself" Indira Bunic

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