There are three types of leader. Those that stand in front of their people, those that stand behind their people, and those that stand next to their people. Which type of leader are you?
In the volume of leadership typologies, it is hard to see the forest for the trees. There’s visionary leaders, transformative leaders, servant leaders, transactional leaders, humble leaders, and so on and so forth.
To simplify things I’d like to divide leaders into three broad categories: leaders that lead from the front, leaders that lead from the back, and leaders that lead from the side.
• Leading from the FRONT
Visionary type of leaders that lead by example. Work in front of the troops, directing and paving the way for their people.
+ Key benefits: innovation power, perceived as strong, aligned team
- Key risks: dominance, can feel unsafe, can create weak followers
• Leading from the BACK
Servant type of leaders that support their people. Focus on people’s needs and try to help and facilitate them where they can.
+ Key benefits: people-centric, needs-driven, empowerment
- Key risks: can be seen as weak, pampering, lack of vision
• Leading from the SIDE
Mentoring type of leaders that guide their people. Work in a peer-to-peer, feedback, and equality-based relation
+ Key benefits: openness, hands-on, collaboration-driven
- Key risks: invisible as leader, legitimacy issues, unclear decision-making
As we can see, all three have their pros and cons. This means that there is no single best or worst way. But, we can have preferences. My personal preference is leading from the side: standing (or sitting) next to people rather than in front or behind them.
Which type of leader are you?
Which type of leader do you prefer?
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