What's Your Leadership Style? Dentists are Leaders in their Practices and their Communities

WHAT’S YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE?

DENTISTS ARE LEADERS IN THEIR PRACTICES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES

While a certain leadership style may be impactful in a specific job, the best leadership is using a blend of these styles. Knowing what style to enforce in workplace situations comes with time, practice and emotional intelligence. Most leaders borrow from a variety of styles to achieve various goals at different times in their careers. By understanding each of these leadership styles and the outcomes they’re designed to achieve, you can select the right leadership style for any given situation.

Coach – Described as: motivational

You may be a coaching leader if you:

• are supportive • offer guidance instead of giving commands • value learning as a way of growing • ask guiding questions • balance relaying knowledge and helping others find it themselves • are self-aware Benefits: Coaching leadership is positive nature. It promotes the development of new skills, free-thinking and empowerment; it revisits company objectives and fosters a confident company culture. Leaders who coach often are seen as valuable mentors.

Challenges: While this style has many advantages, it is more time consuming as it requires one-on-one time with employees. This may be difficult to obtain in a fast-paced environment with time-sensitive priorities.

Visionary – Described as: progress-focused and inspirational You may be a visionary leader if you are: • persistent and bold • strategic • willing to take risks • inspirational • optimistic • innovative • magnetic Benefits: Visionary leadership can help companies grow, unite teams and the overall company, and improve outdated technologies or practices.

Challenges: Visionary leaders may miss important details or other opportunities because they’re so focused on the big picture. They also may sacrifice the resolution of present-day issues because they are so future-oriented, which could leave their teams feeling unheard.

Servant – Described as: humble and protective

You may be a servant leader if you:

• motivate your team • have excellent communication skills • personally care about your team • encourage collaboration and engagement • commit to growing your team professionally Benefits: Servant leaders have the capacity to boost employee loyalty and productivity, improve employee development and decision-making, cultivate trust and create future leaders.

Challenges: Servant leaders can become burnt out as they may put the needs of their team above their own. They may have a hard time being authoritative when they need to be and the organization’s goals may be at risk if the servant leader is only focused on the needs of his or her immediate team.

Autocratic – Described as: authoritarian and results-focused

You may be autocratic leader if you:

• have self confidence • are self-motivated • communicate clearly and consistently • follow the rules • are dependable • value highly structured environments • believe in supervised work environments Benefits: Autocratic leaders can promote productivity through delegation, provide clear and direct communication, and reduce employee stress by making decisions quickly on their own.

Challenges: This style of leadership can cause stress to the leader by bearing all the weight of the decision-making. The lack of flexibility and rigidness, as well as lack of interest in hearing the ideas from others, can cause resentment on the team.

Laissez-faire – Described as: autocratic and delegatory You may be a laissez-faire leader if you: • delegate effectively • believe in freedom of choice • provide sufficient resources and tools • take control if needed • offer constructive criticism • foster leadership qualities in your team • promote an autonomous work environment Benefits: This style encourages accountability, creativity and a relaxed work environment. Because of this, it also can increase employee retention. as they need guidance and hands-on support in their early days. This method also can lead to a lack of structure, leadership confusion and employees feeling a lack of support.

Democratic – Described as: supportive and innovative

You may be a democratic leader if you:

• value group discussions • provide all information to your team when making decisions • promote a work environment where everyone shares their ideas • are rational • are flexible • are good at mediation Benefits: Under this leadership style, employees can feel empowered, valued and unified. It has the power to boost retention and morale. It also requires less managerial oversight, as employees are typically part of decision-making processes and know what they need to do.

Challenges: This leadership style has the potential to be inefficient and costly as it takes a long time to organize big group discussions, obtain ideas and feedback, discuss possible outcomes and communicate a decision. It also can add social pressure to members of the team who don’t like sharing ideas in group settings.

Pacesetter – Described as: helpful and motivational

You may be a pacesetter leader if you:

• set a high bar • focus on goals • are slow to praise • will jump in to hit goals if needed • are highly competent • value performance over soft skills Benefits: Pacesetting leadership pushes employees to hit goals and accomplish business objectives. It promotes high-energy and dynamic work environments.

Challenges: Pacesetting leadership also can lead to stressed-out employees as they are always pursing toward a goal or deadline. The fast-paced work environment fostered under this style can create miscommunications or a lack of clear instructions. Transformational – Described as: challenging and communicative

You may be a transformational leader if you:

• have mutual respect with your team • provide encouragement • inspire others to achieve their goals • think of the big picture • place value on intellectually challenging your team • are creative • have a good understanding of organizational needs Benefits: Transformational leadership values personal (continued on next page)