Are leadership styles fit for purpose?

Leadership styles are an established way for leaders to think about how to behave in different organisational situations and to reflect on the type of leader they want to be. We asked Dr Joanne James, Dr Amy Stabler, Dr Nicola Patterson and Prof. Sharon Mavin of Newcastle University Business School for their insights on whether leadership styles are fit for purpose and how to think about leadership differently.

Contents:

1. What are leadership styles?

2. What is unhelpful about a leadership styles approach?

3. What is collective leadership?

4. A new language for leadership development: relationships and reflexivity

5. What leadership courses would you recommend?

What are leadership styles?

If you have ever typed the words leadership styles into a search engine, you will likely find you yield over 1.8 million hits with an abundance of articles reviewing the pros and cons of each approach. Styles vary in the degree to which the leader may exercise their authority and control as in autocratic leadership, or the degree to which they empower or delegate to others.

In the past 40 years, transformational leadership has become a predominant style recommended in many sectors due to the focus on creating a compelling vision for change and igniting passion and commitment in followers. Often transformational leadership is accompanied by inspiring stories of charismatic leaders and their organisations' achievements during a finite phase of activity.

What is unhelpful about a leadership styles approach?

What all leadership style frameworks have in common is a simplistic view of the context and prescribed formula for how the leader engages with their teams to achieve desired results. Whilst this approach may offer some useful ideas on how leadership is traditionally conceptualised, we question the assumptions built into the style’s paradigm.

Leadership styles focus on the leader as the individual with power responsible for delivering results and making choices about their approach to working with their teams. This heroic view of leaders may be less relevant and helpful in our volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. Increasingly we are working in interconnected ways with a wide range of stakeholders across complex systems.

As we engage with an unprecedented pace of digital innovation, our unstable economic and geopolitical contexts, and the need to rethink our approach to climate and the planet, leadership no longer happens in neat hierarchical structures. As Raelin identified, "the practice of leadership is not dependent on any one person to mobilize action on behalf of everybody else. The effort is intrinsically collective"^[1].

What is collective leadership?

The collective view of leadership moves us away from the outdated paradigm of leaders and followers and encourages us to look at leadership differently. Drath et al suggested we turn our attention to leadership outcomes^[2]. In this perspective what we retain from traditional leadership theory is an acceptance that it is helpful to have clear direction, alignment, and commitment for leadership to be impactful. What we move away from is the notion that one person owns the responsibility and power for managing the interplay between people, tasks and decision-making.

In other words, collective leadership is about creating environments where leadership can happen flexibly and spontaneously because there is strength in relationships, and trust between colleagues who feel safe to have an open dialogue about challenges and possibilities.

A new language for leadership development: relationships and reflexivity

Of course, we acknowledge this may sound somewhat idealistic. Individuals are concerned for their own career progression and hierarchical leadership positions are still the norm. However, by changing our perspective to create environments for leadership to thrive rather than focusing on our individual leadership styles, we can begin to shift the conversation.

If you are considering the next steps on your own leadership journey, we would recommend learning a new language of leadership, one that focuses on relationships and reflexivity. Leadership happens between people choosing to act together in the service of a shared mission and this requires a great deal of trust, safety and mutual respect. Focusing on relationships allows us to build connections with others, to explore where there are shared values and goals. Reflexivity challenges us to question the assumptions and beliefs driving our own behaviours and to question the assumptions, systems of power and cultural norms built into our everyday contexts. Greater reflexivity allows us to be open to new perspectives and new ways of seeing the world and to work in collaboration with others.

What leadership courses would you recommend?

• Strategic Leadership MSc is a part-time, work-based programme. It's delivered using a blended learning model, and you'll have monthly one-day study blocks on campus during teaching time. This will still allow you to study flexibly around your commitments. The MSc is designed for established organisational leaders and for those aspiring to become one.

• The Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship is a qualification aimed at individuals who are in - or moving into - strategic roles. It will support organisations that want to build leadership capacity within their team. We work closely with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). The apprenticeship is a vocational part-time programme, which allows learners to study alongside work. It combines personal and professional development with a focus on workplace performance allowing employees to utilise learning in the workplace throughout the programme.

• Coaching and Mentoring for Leaders is a new 10-week programme that is mainly studied online with three individual campus days to facilitate networking and skills building. The programme is aimed at leaders who want to focus on building relationships within their practice, creating enabling environments for leadership to flourish.

• Level 5 Operations or Departmental Manager Higher Apprenticeship is an 18-month course designed to help aspiring or early-stage managers upskill and improve their techniques.

• Level 5 Coaching Professional Apprenticeship combines online delivery with in-person training days to teach essential coaching skills. Students will learn about factors that influence their coaching techniques, such as organisational culture, diversity and inclusion, and unconscious bias. 

Find out more:

• Dr Joanne James is Reader in Leadership Development at Newcastle University Business School, and Post Experience Learning Lead for Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring continuing professional development courses.

• Dr Amy Stabler is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership Development. Amy teaches the Strategic Leadership MSc programme and Newcastle University Business School. and leadership, coaching and mentoring continuing professional development courses.

• Dr Nicola Patterson is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership Development at Newcastle University Business School, Co-founder and Co-Chair for Gender and Entrepreneurship North East (GENE), and Degree Programme Director for the MSc Strategic Leadership & Strategic Leadership Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship.

• Professor Sharon Mavin is the Professor of Leadership and Organisation Studies at Newcastle University Business School. Her research focuses on leadership, women leaders’ experiences, gender, and identity.

References

[1] Raelin, J. A. (2016). Introduction to leadership-as-practice: Theory and application. In Leadership-as-practice (pp. 1-17). Routledge.

[2] Drath, W. H., McCauley, C. D., Palus, C. J., Van Velsor, E., O'Connor, P. M., & McGuire, J. B. (2008). Direction, alignment, commitment: Toward a more integrative ontology of leadership. The leadership quarterly, 19(6), 635-653.