It's so clichéd’ and so much written about, but then in my limited understanding, I learnt that each leader I observed closely had her/his own style perhaps a little dominant over their own understanding and consciousness. It was a little easier hence, to observe patterns & put labels to some of these. Some of us may or may not fall in these divisions. It’s been sometime, a little over 10 years of observation on these defining leadership styles.
“Bull’s eye” type
This is the type who sets aggressive vision & objectives , enables the team with the right tool kit , helps the team to get the initially needed rhythm internally or externally & then monitors and reviews on key milestones & time lines. This species never struggles on clarity of goal or strategy, is hardly seen interfering in day to day business & is more skewed towards building the future growth engine/s for an organization. Ratan Tata, Rajeev Bajaj, Deepak Parekh typically fit the bill. These are the ones who become Iconic not only for their own organization but for the industry as well. They are typically able to attract the best talent & get the best out of them. Was privileged to work with this type right in the beginning of my career. The words this Bull’s eye type use the most are, “great, achieve timeline, result orientation, reward the achiever, focus on the results, and work backwards from the end”. Working with him, Not only did I over achieve my own ambitions, I also realized that process is the ladder to reach the rooftop, doesn’t matter whether it’s inclined or straight & who holds the ladder and who climbs, in the end what matters the most is reaching that rooftop in the given time without stepping on someone’s head or feet. Also it gave me a framework to think very basic & challenge the established, e.g. What if the quickest route was not that ladder! Being fresh out of campus I had my own notions about process, I was enlightened on the right balance to draw between results & processes.
A couple of quick ones just in case you are working with a bull’s eye type,
+s : Strategic mindset prepares the organization ahead in time, Non interfering and hence looked up to by the team for guidance on future, Are able to get the best out of people from various functions/teams
-s :Can be found wanting on patience with repeated failures, non achievement of goals, Impatient with results
”step by step” type
These are the types, who will go out of the way to achieve through a technically sound process, no matter what it takes. They swear by operational efficiency. They will never compromise on the quality in the process. Typically, you will find them driving TQM, best practices, organization-wide semantics on right from the dress code to the supply chain manual. They have been found most befitting in manufacturing organizations with a matrix structure. Tata steel's Muthuraman is a typical example. Have never worked for a “step by step” type directly but observed a senior R&D Head from a close proximity. What surprised me was the fact that I never saw this lady in her early 40’s being more upset then a time when a pre-defined step was compromised. She seemed alright & UN-flinched even if her team missed the results. Then, I realized, that Process adherence was the result to her, independent of the changing results targeted by the organization or related departments. Frequently used jargon, “six sigma, variance, accuracy, analytics, and continuous improvement”. Finance leaders or dept. heads are also this type in small or mid size organization. I sometimes find them to be the glorified account Auditors.
Are you working with this type? Do write in your own observations for my learning.
+s : Smooth operations even in a matrix structure, good cross functional teams' are able to co-exist, optimum expenses
-s : Lack of aggressive/explosive growth, Loss in market share in wake of delayed decision making
The classic HERO type
These are the types who would not only be seen formulating the strategy but would also be found leading by example. Sports embodies some of these kinds with the most recent being the young Dhoni. They have the ability to motivate the team & demand exceptional results. They are found approachable and accessible by one and sundry, someone who everyone looks towards while looking at his/her own career path. They inspire the best out of people. Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela would be the pure HERO type examples. Perhaps, it’s too early to predict, but then, I have interacted for quite some time with an entrepreneur who’s recently started an automotive outfit & is this classic HERO types. He is someone who is never shy to ask for help from much younger and inexperienced team members, even from external experts or observers. In the last few years of operation, he is already become one of the players to watch in the segment & is now looking out to attract some fresh thinking & young talent.
From a close proximity, this is my reading of the HERO type,
+s : Ability to connect with a large team on a 1X1 basis, inspire the team to stretch beyond their best, Teams find them genuinely interested in making a positive difference in their lives & hence go out of the way to achieve the goal
-s : Are sometimes found wanting on emotional grounds, Rely overtly on passion and gut
The CONTROL FREAK type
This type start as result oriented individuals who are able to deploy the result areas but find it tough to disengage from the day to day process. They would jump from one process to another to another with great intentions of improving results. While doing this, they learn across functions and processes and become better in their experience to understand complex situations. In the process, they make themselves trouble shooting leaders and sooner than later start contributing to incremental improvements. As a bi-product they create their own clones in the organization, and suppress fresh thinking or an untried approach. Their enthusiastic "jumping from one task to another, one department to another kind of working style", results in multiple lines of communications to the same team, further adding to the frustration of the team managers, sometimes resulting in utter confusion between teams.
The problems become bigger when these leaders start taking decisions for the team Manager randomly making him feel cluelessly occupied and stupid. Essentially, they manage incremental improvements through personal interventions. Vijay Mallaya, Azeem Premji are extreme examples, but most of the leaders among corporate would fall in this group. I have had the opportunity of working with these types more than often & must say that I quit on them rather than the job. Each time, I worked with the Control Freak type, I learnt a new lesson about what not to do, what not to say, how to manipulate a discussion which could have been simple and straight but displeasing to this type.
Expect phrases like, “I don’t think so, don’t think you should be doing this, you should have come to me, you are not taking feedback, I’m telling you so”.
If you are working with a Control Freak type, all i would say is that avoid being confrontational & direct, get as much data as possible, run analytics every time you have a decision point & select your own team if you can. Of course, I offer you my luck!
Some typical Control freaks have….
+s : Sound understanding of business, develops trouble shooting abilities
-s : Random Intervention leading to incremental improvements instead of explosive growth, Inability to let alternate styles of operations thrive, incremental improvements through personal intervention
Clearly, all the four types exist and can be found across levels and industries. Bull’s-eye type is the rarest breed whereas Control freak type is in abundance. Bull’s-eye over the years have been able to attract the best talent and create maximum value in the shortest of times, whereas Control freak are on the other end of the spectrum & are typically found befitting the incremental leadership style. Where as Bull’s-eye can co-exist with almost all the other types, Control freaks may find it difficult to co-exist with Classic Hero or Bull’s-eye type. In my next notes, I would share my learning on how these different types have been able to co-manage & co-exist. Till then, hope you would watch & identify the Hero & Bull’s-eye type to work with & may be label some as the step by step & Control Freak type. Do write in with common characteristics in each of these types from your own observations.
