LEADERSHIP STYLES AND SKILLS

Much has been written about leadership skills and leadership style. We have chosen the work of Goleman because we find it illuminating and useful when working with leaders at any stage in a change process. His work on leadership styles identifies a set of six styles for the leader to choose from in any situation and at any point in a change process. Leaders we have worked with find this very useful (see boxed examples).

This set of six styles is underpinned by Goleman’s work on emotional intelligence, which sets out the underlying competencies associated with successful leadership. This acts as a convenient checklist for those assessing their skills.