Your style of leadership doesn’t matter: your behaviours do

Leadership studies have long revolved around identifying and categorising leadership styles. Terms like transformational, servant, or task-oriented leadership have become cornerstones of how we think about effective leadership. However, emerging research suggests that these styles, while conceptually valuable, may not be as useful in practice as understanding the underlying behaviours that drive leadership effectiveness.

The problem with leadership styles

The landscape of leadership styles is marked by a proliferation of overlapping concepts. Someone with a lot of time on their hands could make a Venn diagram of leadership styles looking like an overgrown Petri dish. As Professor Peter Sun (2024) highlights, this has led to redundancy and confusion. Many leadership models share similar traits - like empathy, empowerment, or vision - but package them under different names, making it harder for practitioners to distinguish meaningful differences.

Furthermore, leadership styles are often treated as fixed categories. This rigidity fails to capture the dynamic nature of leadership, where different situations require different approaches. By focusing on styles, leaders risk becoming pigeonholed, unable to adapt their approach to the unique demands of their context.

A shift toward leadership behaviours

Rather than emphasising styles, Anderson and Sun advocate for a focus on the root behaviours that underpin leadership effectiveness. These behaviours can be grouped into clusters that aggregate into higher-order dimensions, forming a hierarchical model akin to the "Big Five" in personality psychology. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of leadership that transcends rigid style classifications.

For example, behaviours like clear communication, empathy, and decisiveness might form a cluster related to relational leadership. These clusters provide flexibility, enabling leaders to adopt specific practices as needed without being confined to a single style. Such a framework offers a practical and adaptive toolkit for leaders, grounded in actionable behaviours rather than abstract categories.

Why behaviours matter more

Focusing on behaviours addresses several limitations of style-based leadership models:

• Contextual flexibility: Behaviours are inherently situational. Leaders can prioritise behaviours that align with the immediate needs of their team or organisation, whether that means being directive in a crisis or collaborative during periods of growth.
• Practical development: Behaviours are more tangible and teachable than styles. Leaders can work on developing specific behaviours, such as active listening or strategic thinking, rather than trying to embody an entire style.
• Reduced redundancy: By clustering behaviours into coherent groups, leadership research avoids the conceptual overlap that plagues style-based models. This clarity fosters a more cumulative and actionable understanding of leadership.

Toward a behavioural future

The shift from styles to behaviours represents a paradigm change in leadership thinking. It encourages leaders to focus on what they do, rather than how they are labelled. By cultivating clusters of effective behaviours and applying them dynamically, leaders can better navigate the complexities of modern organisations.

In the words of Anderson and Sun, the future of leadership research lies in building a coherent hierarchy of behaviours. This approach not only simplifies the field but also empowers leaders to adapt, grow, and thrive in an ever-changing world. For practitioners, the message is clear: forget the label, focus on the actions.

Reference:

Sun, P. (2024) ‘Leadership Styles at a Cross Road: Where to from here?’, Seminar presented at Griffith University Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing.

See also Anderson, M.H. and Sun, P.Y.T. (2017), Reviewing Leadership Styles: Overlaps and the Need for a New ‘Full-Range’ Theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19: 76-96.