These 5 Styles of Leadership Don't Work. Do Any of Them Describe You?Are you always reactive? Unreasonably optimistic? Controlling? Time to rethink and reboot your style as a leader.

Shutterstock

As an entrepreneurial leader, you're responsible for motivating your team, making important decisions and setting an example that the rest of your employees can follow. But how should a leader be?

Related:11 Modern Leadership Lessons from History's Masters

History portrays the "ideal" leader as someone who's somewhat stoic, decisive and charismatic. But the truth is, there aremany different styles of leadership that can be effective, depending on how and where they're used. For example, some companies may benefit from a bold, outspoken and energetic leader, while others will benefit from a quieter, focused, calm leader.

This affords you some degree of flexibility while you're growing into your new leadership position. There are, however, several styles of leadership that almostneverwork:

1. Reactive

Every decision or action in the professional world falls somewhere on the spectrum of proactive and reactive. Proactive measures are those taken in advance of some expected result, such as warning a client that his or her shipment may be delayed.

Reactive measures are those taken as a reaction to something else that has occurred, such as apologizing to a client for a late shipment with a discount. Generally, however,proactive measures are better than reactive measures, because they prevent bad things from happening rather than simply trying to mitigate damage that's already occurred.

Accordingly, the reactive style of leadership -- characterized by a "let's-wait-and-see" attitude and delayed decision-making -- is rarely effective. Instead, try to be as forward-thinking and as preparatory as possible.

2. Unreasonably optimistic

Healthy optimism can be an asset for a company. Optimism is usually associated with higher morale, and can influence lower employee turnover (andpossibly higher productivity). However, as a leader, you need to control your optimism and not let it affect your decision-making.

The reason: An optimist might view favorably an option with a 45 percent chance of success. Such an individual might expect the best out of people, even if history has proven otherwise. An optimist might also trust gut instinct over raw data.

Clearly, all of these positions may lead to poorer decision-making overall. In short, optimism that subverts pragmatism and reason can be dangerous for your company.

Related:9 Ways to Recognize a Real Leader

3. Controlling

Leaders should remain in firm control of their respective enterprises at all times; they need to be respected, and their orders need to be followed. But at the same time, they shouldn't control every aspect of the business.

Too often, in a bid to achieve higher productivity (or some other goal), leadersbegin micromanaging employees, introducing new rules and regulations, and overseeing even small assignments that employees perform. This obsessive, controlling approach to leadership may get some results in the short term, but if you practice it, you'll end up tiring yourself out and pushing your employees away, often leading them to pursue other opportunities.

You hired your team members for a reason; you need to trust them to handle the directives you give them. If you can't trust them, fire them and find ones you can trust.

4. Distant

A distant boss isn't bad some of the time: As already noted, a hovering, controlling boss is bad, too. However, there comes a point when that distance starts to interfere with morale, direction and productivity. Employees should be able to handle many responsibilities on their own, but there will always be times when they need to request new tools, assistance or even advice to accomplish their directives.

If a boss isn't there to field these requests, or even worse, provide initial direction, employees will burn out fast. It's also a good idea, if you're the boss, to communicate with your team on a regular basis, even if that amounts to little more than small talk; personal interactions facilitate stronger team bonds and more collaboration.

5. Narcissistic

You can tell this one's bad from the name alone. The narcissistic style of leadership is focused on the self, and it tends to develop in people in love with the idea of being a leader.

他们想成为可见的傀儡,实现glory by making themselves more prominent and more respected. Oftentimes, they do this by taking credit for other team members' accomplishments, or by undermining team members in an effort to make themselves feel bigger. They may be able to win more press and close more deals, thanks to their charisma. But, ultimately, this style leaves employees and colleagues feeling neglected, underappreciated and unrecognized, which decreases morale and productivity.

So, those are the five extreme styles of leadership. Beyond these, you can (mostly) forge your own path. Your leadership style should come from within you naturally, blending elements of your inherent personality withtraits that you suppress or enhance to fit your new surroundings.

The best way to move forward is to find models of leadership that have been successful -- such as widely known business or political leaders, or bosses who have made an impression on you. Study up on and learn from their approach.

Related:5 Different Leadership Styles Every Good Boss Needs to Have

You won't find a perfect blend right away, but you can start with an ideal foundation, and slowly adjust until leadership comes naturally to you, more or less.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

'Truly Unprecedented': If You Are Hoping to Score a Lionel Messi Soccer Jersey, You Are Going to Wait a Very Long Time

The soccer superstar's authentic Inter Miami jersey is sold out through October.

Business News

Netflix is Hiring an AI-Focused Role—and the Starting Salary is up to $900,000

The streaming giant is looking for a leader in its machine learning department.

Business News

Kevin O'Leary Slams Anheuser-Busch CEO's Listening Tour, Says It Won't Stop Bud Light Backlash for One Huge Reason

Anheuser-Busch U.S. CEO Brendan Whitworth announced plans to hear consumers out this summer.

Money & Finance

Want to Become a Millionaire? Follow Warren Buffett's 4 Rules.

企业家是不能过度指狗万官方望太多a company exit for their eventual 'win.' Do this instead.