Leadership Style Should Match the Situation

For those who strive to be inspirational leaders, reading books and articles can be helpful but one can get too bogged down trying to follow lists of leadership qualities. The best leaders are those who are able to match their style and approach to the situation; those who are able to adjust HOW they lead to fit the temperament and values of those being led.

Some leaders are created and others just seem to stumble into their posts accidentally. Still others have a strong desire to "be in charge." The important thing to realize is that different situations require different styles and types of leaders; different groups and individuals respond to different leaders as well. If you really want to be influential, you must learn how to adjust your style to various situations.

For example, a committee of grassroots environmentalists who are trying to save a local park from development will likely need a different sort of leader than a small group of business people who are trying to obtain funding for a merger. A work team of brand new employees who are fresh out of college will probably need a different leadership style from their supervisor than a small team of mature and experienced workers who have been working without a leader for a while. These various situations will demand various things from the leaders who step in to take charge. Where a more authoritarian autocrat might be needed in one, someone who is better at collaboration and consensus will be needed in another.

While different individual leaders just seem to have different inherent ways of going about handling situations and inspiring people, it is not always possible to search out the perfect "match." This means that if you are called upon to supervise or lead, you may need to take the responsibility for adjusting your style or approach to suit the situation. In order to work with different people and help inspire others to success, it is necessary to determine what sort of leadership the situation demands and adjust your choices in behavior, style and approach to match-or to find another leader who can fill the bill.