4 Leadership Styles template
The 4 Leadership Styles template will help you to future-proof your leadership skills by identifying the different styles you can adopt to get the best out of your team. This template was created by the world-renowned leadership expert and coach, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith.
What are the 4 Leadership Styles?
Each of the four leadership styles are placed on a high to low scale for their task behavior (how leaders respond towards the task at hand) and their relationship behavior (how leaders respond towards their team).
- Leadership Style 1: Directing (high task – low relationship)
The Directing leadership style requires a larger amount of direction from the leader. The priority for a leader following this style is to be focused primarily on the task; therefore, it requires less of a two-way dialogue and communication with their team. These types of leaders will explain to their team exactly what they need to achieve and when it needs to be done. - Leadership Style 2: Coaching (high task – high relationship)
The Coaching leadership style requires a larger amount of direction from the leader, as well as increased communication and dialogue with their team. Leaders following this style will explain to their team how they envisage the task being done, then ask for feedback on what they have suggested. - Leadership Style 3: Supporting (low task – high relationship)
The Supporting leadership style focuses primarily on communication and dialogue with team members, and lower levels of direction from the team leader. While they may offer their own thoughts, leaders following this style will primarily ask for their team’s opinions on how a task should be done. - Leadership Style 4: Delegating (low task – low relationship)
The Delegating leadership style involves the leader handing over the reins of a particular task to their team. This style of leadership requires less direction from the leader, as well as two-way communication. Leaders following this style will be confident passing a task to a team member, leaving them to make their own decisions and do what they think is right.
Why use the 4 Leadership Styles template?
Our working environments have changed dramatically over the years. With advancements in technology continuing to grow and impact our daily lives, businesses need to keep ahead of emerging developments in order to stay in the game. As a result, our workforces have become much more highly-skilled, with industry knowledge acquired by employees that often matches that of their superiors.
With our workforces constantly growing and adapting, it’s no longer possible to simply dictate to people what needs to be done; especially when they may have more insight. Our need to build high-performance teams is greater than ever before and following old-fashioned ways of leading will ultimately hinder the development of a strong team. This can lead to colleagues looking elsewhere for better opportunities to voice their skills.
To understand why using the 4 Leadership Styles template is important, it helps to think about the leader of the past, compared to the leader of the future. The leader of the past often led a uniform workforce; they were seen as the ‘boss’ and were considered to be superior – meaning that differing opinions were often not considered. However, the leader of the future is much more tech-savvy and aims to build teams and alliances. They encourage constructive dialogue with their subordinates, rather than taking on a purely dictatorial role. These leaders aim to provide structure and direction whilst also being involved in discussions.
With changing working styles and conditions, the role of the leader can vary between teams and situations, making it important for them to learn how to adapt their leadership style to fit the unique needs of each situation. This template will help you understand the best leadership style to adopt for your particular situation, so you can future-proof your leadership skills and build a strong and capable workforce.
How to use the 4 Leadership Styles template
My Work-Life Balance template is already divided into the sections you need, so you can easily start assessing how you spend your time. Discover how to use my template below.
To access the template, sign up to Ayoa. Once you've signed up, navigate to the homepage to create a new whiteboard, mind map or task board and choose this template from the library.
You will see that the template is broken down into the four different leadership styles, with their Relationship Behavior and Task Behavior scale indicated. Begin by considering the areas in which leadership plays an important role in your job. Do you manage one team, or are you responsible for multiple areas? Do each of these teams have different needs?
Next, you’ll want to consider the ‘readiness’ of your team. This refers to their individual capabilities, such as their confidence and motivation. Understanding your team’s readiness can help you identify the most appropriate leadership style to use with them.
The four readiness levels are as follows:
- R1 – These people are low in motivation and may also be low in ability or understanding; therefore, they require more direction. Style 1 is most suited to this level.
- R2 – These people are high in motivation, but are low in their ability or understanding. Therefore, they may require coaching or expert involvement. Style 2 is most suited to this level.
- R3 – These people are high in motivation and high in their ability and understanding. However, they are also low in confidence. Therefore, they may require more support or leadership involvement. Style 3 is most suited to this level.
- R4 – These people are high in motivation, ability, understanding and confidence. People at this level can thrive with delegation, therefore, Style 4 is most suitable for them.
Once you have identified what style of leadership you need to adopt, add any details about your team, or any tasks that you will be leading to the template. Use sticky notes to add them into the relevant box for each leadership style.