How to Find Your Leadership Style: Crash Course Business - Soft Skills #14

Summary

This Crash Course Business video explores the nuances of leadership, debunking the myth of 'born leaders' and emphasizing that leadership skills can be developed by anyone. It outlines various leadership styles, including commanding, visionary, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching, each with its strengths and weaknesses. The video stresses the importance of adapting one's leadership approach to different situations and the value of positive feedback and recognition in boosting team morale and productivity. It also advises new leaders to seek practical advice tailored to their context rather than generic leadership tips.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Leadership is not an innate trait but a skill that can be developed by anyone.
• 🌟 Good managers must possess strong leadership skills to shape company culture and influence productivity.
• 🏆 People often quit their jobs due to poor management, highlighting the importance of effective leadership.
• 🤝 Effective leaders create positive environments, while ineffective ones can lead to tension and negativity.
• 🔑 The seven core skills of a leader include forming strong relationships, making effective decisions, coordinating teamwork, communicating well, being ethical, motivating others, and providing direction.
• 🎭 There are various leadership styles, including commanding, visionary, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
• 🤔 Leadership styles should be adapted to fit different situations and team dynamics.
• 🧩 A blend of leadership styles is often more effective than relying on a single approach.
• 📚 Seeking leadership advice from credible sources and applying it thoughtfully is more beneficial than attending generic seminars.
• 🎉 Celebrating achievements and providing positive feedback can significantly boost team morale and productivity.

Q & A

What is the common misconception about leadership according to the script?

The script suggests that the idea of a natural-born leader is a myth, and that leadership skills can be developed by anyone.

How does the script define the difference between a manager and a leader?

The script indicates that while managers are often seen as demanding and inflexible, leaders are perceived as supportive and visionary. However, it also notes that good managers need to have good leadership skills.

What is the significance of leadership in shaping a company's culture?

Leadership plays a big part in shaping a company’s culture by influencing behavior, productivity, and setting the overall vibe of the organization.

What is the core message about leadership styles in the script?

The script conveys that there are various leadership styles, and it's important to choose the one that works best for you and your team, while also being flexible to switch styles in different situations.

What are the seven core skills of a leader mentioned in the script?

The seven core skills of a leader mentioned are forming strong relationships, making effective decisions, coordinating teamwork, communicating well, being ethical, motivating others, and providing direction.

How does the script describe the Commanding leadership style?

The Commanding style is characterized by a 'do what I tell you' philosophy, being forceful, blunt, and straightforward. It's effective for quick tasks or when someone isn't listening, but overuse can lead to frustration.

What is the Visionary leadership style as described in the script?

Visionary leaders provide general guidelines and set broad goals, allowing people to find their own path. This style is suitable for teams that thrive without much direction.

How does the Affiliative leadership style differ from others?

Affiliative leaders focus more on relationships, aiming to solve conflicts by accommodating and making people happy. They prioritize people over performance.

What is the Democratic leadership style and how does it affect decision-making?

Democratic leaders involve team members in decision-making, seeking consensus. This style ensures fairness but can slow down the decision-making process.

How does the script illustrate the Pacesetting leadership style?

Pacesetting leaders set high goals and expect others to match their own high standards. This style works well with highly motivated teams but can be exhausting for others.

What advice does the script give for becoming a better leader?

The script advises practicing different leadership styles, learning from mistakes, and finding approaches that work best for you. It also emphasizes the importance of treating others as you want to be treated and listening to their preferences.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Leadership Fundamentals

This paragraph introduces the concept of leadership and challenges the notion of natural-born leaders. It emphasizes that leadership skills can be developed by anyone. The script discusses the importance of leadership in shaping company culture, influencing behavior and productivity, and setting the tone within an organization. It also highlights the difference between managers and leaders, noting that a good manager must possess strong leadership skills. The paragraph outlines the core skills of a leader, which include forming strong relationships, making effective decisions, coordinating teamwork, communicating well, being ethical, motivating others, and providing direction. It also introduces various leadership styles, such as commanding, visionary, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching, providing examples of how each style might approach a team task.

05:03

🎓 Developing Leadership Skills

The second paragraph delves into the practical aspects of developing leadership skills. It uses a hypothetical scenario where an individual is promoted to lead a communications team and seeks to improve their leadership abilities by attending a leadership conference. The paragraph critiques the superficiality of such events, suggesting that they often provide generic advice that may not be applicable to all situations. It advises seeking out advice from people with admired leadership styles and reading from academic sources for more nuanced insights. The paragraph concludes with the idea that the best way to become a better leader is through practice, trying different styles, and learning from mistakes. It also touches on the importance of celebrating achievements to boost team spirit and productivity, and it looks forward to discussing the role of fairness in leadership in a future episode.

Keywords

💡Leadership

Leadership refers to the ability to guide and direct a group towards achieving a common goal. In the video, it is discussed as a skill that can be developed rather than an innate trait, emphasizing that anyone can become a leader. The script mentions various leadership styles and the importance of adapting one's leadership approach to different situations.

💡Manager

A manager is typically seen as someone who oversees a group or team, often with a focus on administrative tasks and maintaining operations. The video script contrasts the negative stereotype of a manager with the more positive image of a leader, highlighting that good managers also need strong leadership skills to shape company culture and influence productivity.

💡Stereotype

A stereotype is a widely held but oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. The script uses the term to describe common perceptions of managers and leaders, suggesting that these simplified views do not capture the full range of behaviors and skills that individuals in these roles can exhibit.

💡Visionary Leader

A visionary leader is someone who provides a clear and inspiring direction for a group, often setting broad goals and allowing team members to find their own path to achieve them. The video gives an example of a visionary leader as one who would inspire a team to solve a puzzle by sharing examples of successful teams and setting a positive tone.

💡Affiliative Leader

An affiliative leader focuses on building and maintaining positive relationships within a team. They aim to create a supportive environment and resolve conflicts by prioritizing people's feelings and needs. The script suggests that while this style can foster a sense of community, it might also lead to a lack of focus on performance if not balanced correctly.

💡Democratic Leader

A democratic leader involves team members in decision-making processes, seeking consensus and input from all parties. The video script illustrates this style with the example of a leader who surveys the team to determine the best approach to solving a puzzle, ensuring that everyone's opinion is considered.

💡Pacesetting Leader

A pacesetting leader sets high standards and expects team members to meet or exceed these standards. This style is characterized by ambitious goals and a focus on performance. The script warns that while this can be effective with highly motivated teams, it can also be exhausting and lead to a 'perfect is the enemy of good' mindset.

💡Coaching Leader

A coaching leader provides guidance, support, and advice to help team members grow and improve. This style is exemplified in the script by a leader who would help individuals with puzzle-solving techniques and offer resources for further learning, focusing on development and empowerment.

💡Core Skills

The script outlines seven core skills essential for effective leadership: forming strong relationships, making effective decisions, coordinating teamwork, communicating well, being ethical, motivating others, and providing direction. These skills are crucial for creating a positive and productive work environment and are the foundation for any leader's success.

💡Celebration of Achievements

The video emphasizes the importance of recognizing and celebrating team achievements to boost morale and productivity. It suggests that while celebrations are a common part of many aspects of life, they should also be incorporated into the workplace to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts and successes of team members.

💡Golden Rule

The golden rule, as mentioned in the script, is a principle of treating others as one would like to be treated. The video adds a twist to this rule by also listening to how others want to be treated, acknowledging that individual preferences may vary. This principle is fundamental to building positive relationships and effective leadership.

Highlights

Leadership is a learnable skill, not just for 'natural-born leaders'.

Managers play a crucial role in shaping a company's culture and influencing productivity.

Leadership styles can vary, and it's important to choose the one that best fits different situations.

Effective leaders create positive environments, while ineffective leaders can create tension and negativity.

Seven core skills of leadership include forming strong relationships, making effective decisions, coordinating teamwork, communicating well, being ethical, motivating others, and providing direction.

Commanding leaders are forceful and straightforward, useful for urgent tasks but can cause frustration.

Visionary leaders provide broad goals and let team members find their own path, ideal for self-motivated teams.

Affiliative leaders prioritize relationships and aim to resolve conflicts by making people happy.

Democratic leaders involve team members in decision-making processes, promoting fairness but potentially slowing down decisions.

Pacesetting leaders set high standards and expect team members to follow suit, suitable for highly motivated teams.

Coaching leaders focus on support, advice, and helping team members grow, beneficial unless the team prefers minimal input.

Leadership styles can be blended, and successful leaders like Michelle Obama may combine visionary and affiliative styles.

Leadership advice should be tailored to the individual and their specific context, rather than following generic advice.

Practical leadership development comes from practice and learning from mistakes rather than attending seminars.

Positive feedback and genuine praise are powerful tools for building up team members and showing appreciation.

Celebrating achievements, even with simple gestures, can boost team spirit and productivity.

The golden rule with a twist: Treat others as you want to be treated, and listen to how they want to be treated.

Leadership is dynamic and may require switching styles based on the situation and team needs.

Transcripts

Being a good leader seems tough.

And as we’ve seen throughout history with exiled kings and mutinied ship captains, it’s

no easy task to inspire others.

It’s easy to get down on yourself and doubt that you have what it takes.

But, like everything in this course, we’re here to tell you that you can do it!

The idea of a natural-born leader is a bit of a myth, and it’s possible for anyone

to become a leader... or at least more leader-like.

So today, we’ll show you how leadership styles can be different, which skills are

most effective, and how to make sure your team stays in sync.

I’m Evelyn from the Internets.

And this is Crash Course Business: Soft Skills

[Intro Music Plays]

Nowadays, the word manager has a bad rep and reminds people of a demanding, inflexible,

or out-of-touch boss.

On the other hand, a leader is seen as a supportive, visionary, or proactive boss.

But those are just stereotypes.

A good manager has to have good leadership skills.

Managers play a big part in shaping a company’s culture.

They influence behavior and productivity, and set the vibe, which is why organizations

are so different.

It’s like how Amazon has 14 codified leadership rules that lead to high productivity, but

a lot of burnout and competition.

Or how Walt Disney focused on creating a magical experience by calling park visitors “guests”

and employees “cast members.”

People usually don’t quit companies.

They quit managers.

We all have at least one story of a boss we couldn’t stand.

So that’s part of why leadership skills are so valuable.

Here’s the thing, though: a leader isn’t just a manager or a larger-than-life historical

icon.

Sure, there are standout activists like Marsha P. Johnson or supreme court justices like

Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

A leader can be anyone who works well with others and inspires them to achieve their

goals.

Like a sports team where some players help out just as much as the captains or coaches,

in business you can show leadership in small ways too.

An effective leader creates a positive and productive environment.

An ineffective leader creates a negative environment with a lot of tension.

Leaders have 7 core skills: forming strong relationships, making effective decisions,

coordinating teamwork, communicating well, being ethical, motivating others, and providing

direction.

Basically, they help bring people together to accomplish things that nobody can do alone!

And there are lots of different leadership styles, so you can pick what works best for

you and switch it up in different situations.

Like, you wouldn’t deal with a difficult customer the same way you’d pitch a new

client.

Commanding leaders live by a “do what I tell you” philosophy.

They’re forceful, blunt, and straightforward, like a military commander shouting at their

troops.

This style is good for getting things done fast or when someone really isn’t listening,

but using commands too much can make people frustrated.

When it’s warranted, some commanding leaders are effective.

But it can be associated with bad leadership.

Visionary leaders give general guidelines and set broad goals, but they basically let

people find their own path.

They’re the “come with me” leader.

This style is great if your team thrives without much direction.

But if you’re less experienced than the rest of your team, you could be perceived

as too idealistic and it could rub people the wrong way.

Affiliative leaders focus more on relationships.

They’re the “people come first” leaders, who try to solve conflicts by accommodating

and making people happy.

This style can help us feel supported and motivated… but it can also come at a price.

If people are placed too highly above performance, some people may start slacking off.

Democratic leaders are most likely to ask, “what do you think?”

They want to build an environment where people are involved in making decisions and most

everyone agrees with each decision.

This style can make sure decisions are fair, but it can also make them slow.

If a meeting is already taking an hour, we do not need a sharing stick.

We need a fast decision!

You know the phrase “do as I say not as I do?”

Well, pacesetting leaders want you to “do as I do, now.”

They’re more likely to set a highly ambitious goal and adhere to their own high standards.

This style can work well for a team of highly motivated people or overachievers, but perfect

is the enemy of good.

And it can be exhausting to keep up with a pacesetting leader.

But coaching leaders, like every pee-wee football coach, are all about providing support, offering

advice, and helping people change and grow.

They’re likely to say, “try this.”

This style of guidance is usually helpful, unless the team is super experienced and just

wants to get work done without a lot of input.

To visualize all of these leaders, imagine telling a team to solve a puzzle in the office

break room.

A visionary leader would give an inspirational speech about how everyone has the power to

put together a great puzzle, then show examples of teams who solved puzzles as a benchmark.

An affiliative leader would use the puzzle as a tool to build a sense of community and

get people excited to work on other projects with each other again.

A democratic leader would survey everyone to figure out the best way to put the puzzle

together, and then divvy up the pieces each person needs to handle.

A pacesetting leader would set a timer and then dive straight in, while expecting everyone

to put together as many pieces as they are.

And a coaching leader would show people how to fix the pieces they tried to jam together

in a frenzy, and provide a good book on puzzle-solving for everyone to read.

Now, this is super simplified.

People are complicated and can’t be separated into neat little boxes, so we blend leadership

styles together.

Someone like Michelle Obama is usually described as a charismatic leader.

She may blend visionary and affiliative styles together and use diplomacy and charisma to

smooth things along.

And the leadership style that works best for your company or team may not work in everyone’s.

Oprah may be great at leading those book clubs, but she probably wouldn’t be a great hockey

team coach.

So while leadership seminars and retreats may seem flashy or help you network a little,

they’re not going to magically change you into a great leader overnight.

That’s not how anything works.

To see how to judge who you should take leadership advice from, let’s go to the Thought Bubble.

You’ve been working at a popular ethical clothing brand for about five years, and you’ve

just been promoted to lead the communications team.

Together, you’ll write press releases and develop multimedia campaigns for all your

new products.

You’re understandably nervous.

You’ve never led a team before, and you really want to do well.

So before you start, you book a ticket to a 2-day leadership conference in Brooklyn.

There are hundreds of attendees, a charismatic keynote speaker, and panels of entrepreneurs.

You hear about people’s successes and failures, and by the end of the weekend you’re feeling

inspired.

But when you get home and review your notes, they’re mostly a list of meaningless buzzwords.

You realize you felt super empowered because of the environment, not because of the information.

Most of the advice was pretty superficial, like “be the mentor you wish you’d had”

and “be free to be yourself.”

And those hyper-specific leadership tips from that venture capital tech firm CEO don’t

really apply to your job.

Every organization is different, so seek out advice from people with leadership styles

you admire.

That’s way better than listening to blanket statements from people that just seem like

influential leaders.

Instead of going to generic conferences, read articles from academic sources like The Harvard

Business Review.

Or find advice from experts who study and teach business and organizational management.

You’ll still need to think critically about anything you read or hear, since everyone

has their own biases.

And even the best articles won’t lead to instant success, even though they can give

you new ideas to try.

The absolute best way to become a better leader is to practice.

Try different styles and learn from mistakes to find the approaches that work best for

you.

Thanks, Thought Bubble!

Just in case you’re wondering, Crash Course Business isn’t a leadership seminar.

We’ve got some pretty awesome academics putting together research-based advice.

Good leadership essentially boils down to the golden rule, with a twist.

Treat others as you want to be treated -- and listen to how they want to be treated, because

you’re different people!

One of the best ways to build people up is to provide positive feedback and genuine praise.

We all like to know that we’re appreciated.

We tend to underestimate how much recognition can really mean to people.

So, awards like employee of the month or a handwritten thank you note can go a long way

to show we’re invested.

Just don’t go handing people plastic keychains as a thank you for 40 years of service.

We celebrate achievements all the time with retirement parties, birthday parties, graduation

parties, and baby showers.

So we can do it for business achievements, too.

Plan an event like a nice dinner to celebrate the end of a big project and reflect on good

things that happened.

And if your budget is tight or your team is small, you could put together something informal,

like going out for drinks to welcome a new coworker.

Nothing brings people together in an office like free cake.

Also, it feels good to see positive feedback empower others, but we don’t need to celebrate

everything.

If your coworker’s best friend’s dog just had puppies, put cute pics on the fridge and

leave it at that.

No matter what your company’s celebration style is, your achievements always matter.

And you can definitely develop the skills to lead and help other people feel appreciated.

So if you take away nothing else from today, remember:

Anyone can focus on building leadership skills.

Life and work can change a lot.

Pick a leadership style that works for you, but you may need to switch it up.

Follow the golden rule, and celebrate achievements to boost team spirit and productivity.

No matter how good a leader is, office politics can get complex.

So next time, we’ll talk about fairness -- one of the most important things in keeping

a workplace productive.

Without it, leadership falls flat.

Thanks for watching Crash Course Business, which is sponsored by Google.

If you want to help keep all Crash Course free for everybody, forever, you can join

our community on Patreon.

And if you want to learn about some non-business leadership structures, check out our this

Crash Course Government video about congressional leadership