Not everyone has the same leadership style , but there are ways to discover yours and become the most effective leader possible. Many studies have been done to help determine how people lead and learn according to their personality type .
The first step is to practice self-awareness and ask yourself about your strengths and weaknesses. The more honest you are, the better. What are you passionate about, final results vs progress and deadlines? How do people often describe your work ethic and who you are? How do you know that you handle stress and numerous unforeseen situations? Are you motivated most of the time by determination or drive? Are you known to be a very patient person? Now put yourself in a work environment, supervising a team. How do you see yourself increasing morale and bringing out the best qualities of each team member?
Once you feel like they have a good idea of what type of personality you have, explore your values. These are what your team will be looking at more closely to decide if they follow you and trust you. Maybe you are the type of leader who values loyalty above all else. Perhaps courage, authenticity, and integrity is what you are looking for when you have a team to fulfill your vision.
Knowing your own weaknesses is just as important as knowing your strengths. If there are areas that you need to work on, like empathy, the first step is recognition, then you can start working on self-improvement. This, in turn, shows your human side to your team and shows your authenticity. People won’t follow a leader they don’t respect, so acknowledging mistakes and being able to apologize can take you a long way. Often times, the ability to delegate is a problem for leaders. Some just can’t seem to do it, while others do it so much that they create a culture of resentment.
Speaking of acknowledging others, a great way to learn more about yourself and earn the respect of your team at the same time is to ask for feedback. This can be a great tool that not only gives your team a voice without providing a two-way communication channel in a safe environment where people can feel free to express their opinion.