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To be a great leader, learn how to be a great follower: the four rules of following.

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To be a great leader, understand what it takes to be a great follower

Everyone wants to be a leader. You get to make the key decisions. You will get the most credit when things go well. You will also get the blame when things go wrong. Yet few people understand that to be a good leader, you first need to be a great follower. As Aristotle said, "He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader."

Being a good follower isn't about being one of hundreds of lemmings that execute instructions with blind loyalty. Today's followers are more evolved. They judiciously choose who they follow and make followership part of their education. In an increasingly democratized workplace, where social media commands growing influence, followers are more empowered than ever.

Robert Kelley, the author of The Power of Followership, uses research to show that leadership affects an organization's success or failure by only 20 percent. So followers can influence their organization's effectiveness by as much as 80 percent; it's not an overstatement to say that good followers matter as much as good leaders. What makes a great follower? Here are four ways to separate yourself from the pack and prepare yourself for future leadership.

You're not following, you're a leader-in-training. The best followers don't see themselves as another cog in the corporate machinery. They know what they're doing. They know what their peers are doing. They even know what their leaders are doing. They know because they want to know. They want to know because leaders are supposed to know more than everyone else. That's right, leaders. Not followers. The best followers aren't really followers. They see themselves as future leaders. And they have already started their own personal leadership journey. They happen to be self-leaders who follow.

Put your team first. The best followers are also the best team-players. They know one truth: they are only as good as the team. And guess what? Their bosses know that about them and thank their lucky stars for them. When you make personal sacrifices for the good of the team, you're broadcasting the message, "I care about 'us' more than 'me'." That sort of selflessness hardly ever goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Team players are the “glue” that keeps the team together. Their leaders count on them. Their peers confide in them. Everyone else likes them. How this helps you as a future leader? Guess who else puts the team first? That's right, a good leader.

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Believe in yourself and your leader. The best followers have confidence in their abilities and the abilities of their leaders. They don't need to be told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. They just get things done. They also know, and expect, that their leaders will get things done too. It's a mutual trust that keeps the work engine humming along nicely. As a good follower, you have the courage and confidence to respectfully discuss with your leader if you believe you're not going in the right direction. You trust that your leader would appreciate the spirit of your input and engagement. To be a successful leader in the future, you will need competent and confident followers. Legendary adman David Ogilvy once said, "If each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants."

What you follow, not who. This may be a surprise. The best followers don't just follow a leader; they follow the leader's mission or vision. The leader is but an embodiment of that purpose. Apple's employees may have worshiped the iconic Steve Jobs, but it's his vision and Apple’s mission based on innovation and design that makes them true devotees and followers. Followers become die-hard advocates when their personal passion and purpose are aligned with those of their leader. As a leader, you will be able to see yourself as no more than a follower and advocate of a mission, one that is much bigger than you. Such a perspective will allow you the humility to see past yourself and focus on your vision and execution.

There's nothing wrong with being a great follower. Especially when you're following with leadership intent. What you learn as a follower can prepare you to be a greater leader than you could ever have imagined.

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• Published December 1, 2023
• 9 Minute Read

12 Characteristics of a Good Leader

Leaders shape our teams, organizations, communities, and world.

We need good leaders to help guide us and make the essential decisions, big and small, that keep things moving forward.

Our society is usually quick to identify a bad leader, but how can you identify a good one? What would most people say are the qualities of a good leader?

What Good Leadership Looks Like

Based upon our decades of research and experience working with leaders at thousands of organizations around the world, we’ve found that the best leaders consistently possess certain fundamental qualities and skills. Here are 12 essential leadership traits.

12 Essential Leadership Qualities

• Self-Awareness
• Communication
• Learning Agility
• Collaboration

TIP: Download an action guide & summary of these essential characteristics of a good leader in PDF format to keep this list of leadership qualities at your fingertips as a reminder.

1. Self-Awareness

While this is a more inwardly focused trait, self-awareness and humility are paramount qualities of leadership. The better you understand yourself and recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, the more effective you can be as a leader. Do you know how other people view you and understand how you show up at work and at home? Take the time to learn about the 4 aspects of self-awareness and how to strengthen each component.

Treating people with respect on a daily basis is one of the most important things a leader can do. It helps ease tensions and conflict, fosters trust, and improves your effectiveness.  Creating a culture of respect  is about more than just the absence of disrespect. Respectfulness can be shown in many different ways, but it often starts with showing you truly value others’ perspectives and making an effort to build belonging in the workplace — both critical components of supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion.

3. Compassion

Compassion is one of the most powerful and important acts of leadership. It’s more than simply showing empathy or even listening and seeking to understand — as compassion requires leaders to act on what they learn. After someone shares a concern or speaks up about something, they won’t feel truly heard if their leader doesn’t then take some type of meaningful action on the information, our researchers have found. This is the core of compassionate leadership , and it helps to build trust, increase collaboration, and decrease turnover across organizations.

Motivating others and garnering commitment are essential parts of leadership. Purpose-driven leaders ensure they connect their team’s daily tasks and the values of individual team members to the overall direction of the organization. This can help employees find meaning in their work — which increases engagement, inspires trust, and drives priorities forward. You’ll want to communicate the vision in ways that help others understand it, remember it, and go on to share it themselves.

5. Communication

Effective leadership and effective communication are intertwined . The best leaders are skilled communicators who can communicate in a variety of ways, from transmitting information and storytelling to soliciting input and using active listening techniques . They can communicate well both orally and in writing, and with a wide range of people from different backgrounds, roles, levels, geographies, and more. The quality and effectiveness of communication among leaders at your organization will directly affect the success of your business strategy, too.

6. Learning Agility

Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you don’t know what to do. If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in unfamiliar circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can foster and increase learning agility through intentional practice and effort. After all, great leaders are really great learners.

7. Collaboration

The most effective leaders can work with a variety of colleagues of different social identities , locations, roles, and experiences. As the world has become more complex and interconnected, good leaders find themselves spanning boundaries and learning to work across various types of divides and organizational silos. When leaders value and embrace collaboration, whether within their teams or cross-functionally, several benefits arise — including increased innovation, higher-performing teams, and a more engaged and empowered workforce.

8. Influence

For some people, “influence” may sound unseemly. But as a leader, you must be able to influence others to get the work done — you cannot do it all alone. Being able to persuade people through thoughtful use of appropriate influencing tactics is an important trait of inspiring, effective leaders. Influence is quite different from manipulation, and it needs to be done authentically and transparently. It requires high levels of emotional intelligence and trust.

9. Integrity

Integrity is an essential leadership trait for the individual and the organization. It’s especially important for top-level executives who are charting the organization’s course and making countless other significant decisions. Our research has found that leader integrity is a potential blind spot for organizations , so make sure you reinforce the importance of honesty and integrity to managers at all levels.

10. Courage

It can be hard to speak up at work, whether you want to voice a new idea, provide feedback to a direct report, or flag a concern for someone above you. That’s part of the reason courage is a key leadership trait — it takes courage to do what’s right! Leaders who promote high levels of psychological safety in the workplace enable their people to speak up freely and share candid concerns without fear of repercussions. This fosters a  coaching culture that supports courage and truth-telling . Courage enables both team members and leaders to take bold actions that move things in the right direction.

11. Gratitude

Being thankful can lead to higher self-esteem, reduced depression and anxiety, and better sleep. Sincere gratitude can even make you a better leader. Yet few people regularly say “thank you” in work settings, even though most people say they’d be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss. The best leaders know how to show frequent gratitude in the workplace .

12. Resilience

Resilience is more than the ability to bounce back from obstacles and setbacks — it’s the ability to respond adaptively to challenges. Practicing resilient leadership means you’ll project a positive outlook that will help others maintain the emotional strength they need to commit to a shared vision, and the courage to move forward and overcome setbacks. A good leader focuses on resilience, both taking care of themselves and also prioritizing leading employee wellbeing , too — thereby enabling better performance for themselves and their teams.

Download a PDF action guide and summary of these characteristics of a good leader, so you always have a visual reminder available of these 12 qualities of good leadership.

Develop the Characteristics of a Good Leader in Yourself & Others

Our 3 core beliefs about leadership & leadership development.

At the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)®, we’ve been researching the qualities of a good leader and the role of leadership for over 5 decades. Here are 3 of our core beliefs about good leaders and effective leadership.

Good leaders are made, not born.

First, we believe that leaders are made, not born. Put another way, leadership is a skill that can be developed . Good leaders are molded through experience, continued study, intentional effort, and adaptation. So you can strengthen any of these 12 characteristics of a good leader, if you’re open to growth, use your experiences to fuel development , and put in the time and effort toward self-improvement.

Similarly, organizations can help their people hone these top leadership qualities by providing ample opportunities for training, offering support for learning from challenges, and providing access to coaching and mentoring programs .

Leadership is a social process.

It’s also essential to recognize that  leadership is less about one strong or charismatic individual, and more about a group of people working collectively to achieve results together . If you demonstrate several of the characteristics of a good leader, but fail to grasp this key point, chances are you won’t get very far on your own. You may be well-liked and respected, but it will be challenging to accomplish team or organizational goals. At CCL, we like to say that the  outcomes of leadership are about creating direction, alignment, and commitment, or DAC , within a group.

Good leadership never stops.

Also, we believe that leadership isn’t a destination, it’s a journey   — it’s something that you’ll have to work at regularly throughout your career, regardless of what level you reach in your organization or what industry you work in. Different teams, projects, and situations will provide different challenges and require different leadership qualities and competencies to succeed. So you will need to be able to continue to apply these leadership characteristics in different ways throughout your career. Just continually keep learning and growing, and you’ll be an agile learner with a long career .

We Can Help You Develop the Qualities of a Good Leader

Organizations can strengthen leadership qualities and foster deeper levels of engagement at work through providing a variety of on-the-job learning experiences, mentoring, and formal development opportunities. At CCL, we have many award-winning leadership solutions with clients around the world, and we’d be honored to work with you and your organization as well.

But individuals don’t have to wait to begin strengthening these leadership characteristics within themselves. If you decide you want to work proactively on developing your leadership qualities and skills,  download our action guide & visual summary  of this content. And get our tips on how to  convince your boss to make an investment in you  and your future. We’re here to support you every step of the way on your journey to becoming a better leader!

Ready to Take the Next Step?

After you download the 12 Characteristics of a Good Leader , keep on learning and growing: never miss our exclusive leadership insights and tips — subscribe to our newsletters to get our research-based articles, webinars, resources, and guides delivered straight to your inbox. 

Keep these qualities of a good leader top of mind in the future: download a PDF summary of this article as an action guide and visual reminder of the leadership qualities to nurture in yourself, on your team, and at your organization in the future.

This article was written by our Leading Effectively staff, who analyze our decades of pioneering, expert research and experiences in the field to share content that will help leaders at every level. Subscribe to our emails to get the latest research-based leadership articles and insights sent straight to your inbox.

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What to explore next.

With over 30 pages of insights gleaned from our research, this collection of resources includes actionable tips and team discussion questions to help you become a (better) leader with a focus on compassion, wellbeing, and belonging.

This introduction to our leadership philosophy explains how direction, alignment, and commitment (the elements of our DAC framework) are key in how leadership works, connecting exponential potential with collective progress.

Want to set yourself apart as a leader? Arm yourself with these 6 essential skills. Our global research study found that organizations will need these 6 key qualities that their leaders presently lack.

Do you know how to effectively communicate at work? It's the core of everything we do, and yet many of us have significant room for improvement. Get our top tips for leaders.

Stepping into a management role requires a fundamental shift of identity. Learn how to be an effective boss and succeed in your new role with our leadership tips for first-time managers.

Related Solutions

Learn more about our flagship Leadership Development Program (LDP)®, the most widely known and longest-running leadership development training in the world.

Professional leadership coaching deepens and sustains leadership development. Learn more about our world-class leadership coaching services.

Learn more about our leadership training courses, which are targeted to develop the skills leaders need to succeed at all levels of your organization.

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® is a top-ranked, global, nonprofit provider of leadership development and a pioneer in the field of global leadership research. We know from experience how transformative remarkable leaders really can be.

Over the past 50 years, we’ve worked with organizations of all sizes from around the world, including more than 2/3 of the Fortune 1000. Our hands-on development solutions are evidence-based and steeped in our work with hundreds of thousands of leaders at all levels.

Home — Essay Samples — Business — Leadership — The Qualities Of A Good Leader

The Qualities of a Good Leader

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Published: Mar 13, 2024

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Effective communication, strong decision-making skills, inspiration and motivation, adaptability.

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5 Reasons Why Good Leaders Must Be Great Followers Every effective general was initially an efficient soldier.

By Pratip Biswas • Jan 13, 2021

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

"He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader."

Aristotle's old adage has never seemed more prescient. Consider the current Covid crisis: It has taken a pandemic to prove that distant, aloof and larger-than-life leaders are no longer effective. Now more than ever it has become advisable for the modern manager to empathize with, and lend an ear to, those he manages. A study conducted by Kim Peters & S. Alexander Haslam on these two identities has proven that individuals who appear to be ideal followers are often a more popular choice for any leadership position among their peers.

Here are 5 reasons why an individual's personality as a player helps them to be a proficient coach...

Related: Emotional Intelligence is the Secret to Leadership in Times of Crisis

Removal of ego

The egotism of being a leader comes from the sense that their position is crucial for any kind of success. However an in-depth study of followership has revealed that reliable team players are accountable for almost 80% of an organization's success. That's why it is more critical for leaders to let go of any restriction they impose upon free communication between themselves and their employees.

This is where the benefit of being a good follower comes in: The experience of working side-by-side with other members of the crew can help you further down the line to fulfill the demands of modern management as stated above. Removal of ego is the first step towards becoming a better boss.

Quality judgment

Today's employees are particular about who, and what, they are about to follow. Their decisions depend on intrinsic values, life goals and the kind of future they want to see manifest. To make that judgment call they have various solutions on their hand, from social media to advanced news portals.

The quality of making better judgment calls will help you as a leader to understand what your team needs. It is the hook that will make you a more humane captain, able to recalibrate your leadership style with time.

Related: How to Set Goals That Will Turn an Average Team Into All-Stars

Loyalty & commitment

A cause, value or goal without committed followers is an abstract concept. One of the many qualities discovered among good players is the ability to commit to the game plan and stay loyal to it. Ignoring self-important goals while staying committed to the values, morals and team is one of the crucial qualities a leader must have.

The natural path of transformation from a follower to a leader can teach you how to stay committed to the larger picture and ignore the temporary goals. Today's authentic leadership style concentrates more on committing to long-term goals for both the teams and the overall league.

Communication

According to Warren Bennis, a pioneer of the contemporary field of leadership studies, bosses are only as effective as their ability to engage employees and no one can deny the importance of communication, coupled with quality diplomacy skills, when it comes to this simple truth.

Being a good follower brings about these skills quite naturally. Working with diverse personalities will act as an automatic training for your communication style, teaching you to effectively share ideas and opinions. The experience of teamwork will also help you to handle the more tricky situations carefully.

It is important for leaders to convey the purpose of set goals to their followers---and not knowing how to inspire your team will start a chain of failures that becomes impossible to break.

Honesty and courage

Eschewing even white lies and casual cowardice is often seen as secondary qualities of being a competent employee. Upon paying closer attention, one can easily see that these are primary qualities of both a good follower as well as a good leader.

Being respectful while approaching the person in the leadership situation, and discussing the efficacy of their strategy, takes courage. The combination of this kind of bravery, honesty and respect is necessary for any leader in a meaningful position.

However, being shut in the ivory tower of superiority, and refusing to communicate with your followers, will not make you an effective leader. This is why good followers-turned-leaders implement the process of an open channel of communication that helps the entire team stay on the same page and continue to progress together.

Related: 7 Qualities That Distinguish Genuine Leaders From Bossy Poseurs

Good followers make for greater tomorrows

The traits displayed by any efficient employee is the basic foundation of great management characteristics. That's why the bosses of tomorrow must make the best of their followership and incorporate what they've learned into their future leadership style.

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You Can Lead, But Are You a Good Follower?

What does it mean to be a good follower how you can lead from behind.

Posted March 16, 2014

There are hundreds of books and thousands of articles that focus on developing your leadership . But what about your followership? No matter what position we hold in an organization, we will do more following than leading throughout our work careers. How can you tell if you are a good follower?

There is a growing body of research on followership. Why? Because our preoccupation with leaders and leadership has distorted our focus. Leadership is not something that is done solely by the leader. Leadership is co-created by leaders and followers working together. In fact, it might be the other way around: followers may be more important to leadership, and getting things done, than leaders.

What makes a good follower?

Robert Kelley, who began studying followership a generation ago, says that effective followers:

• Think for themselves

• Carry out assignments with energy and assertiveness

• Are self-motivated, self-starters

• Take calculated risks

• Receive high ratings from both superiors and peers

Ira Chaleff has written a book titled “The Courageous Follower” and the subtitle of the book discusses the most important aspect of followership. According to Chaleff, a good follower is able to “stand up for and stand up to” the leader. What that means is supporting the leader when he or she is on the right path, and having the courage to let the leader know when she or he is making a mistake, doing something unethical, or potentially harming the group or organization.

Here are some other characteristics of good followers :

• Taking initiative and not waiting to be told what to do

• Having a broad view of what your job entails. A good follower never says, “that’s not my job,” but pitches in and helps out where needed.

• Mentoring, teaching, and helping co-workers

• Having strong support for the mission of the organization or group

• Encouraging a sense of fairness in the group and organization

Here are some references to read more about Followership:

Chaleff, Ira (2009). The Courageous Follower: Standing up to and for our leaders (3rd ed.), Berret-Koehler.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Courageous-Follower-Standing-Leaders/dp/1605092738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394983159&sr=8-1&keywords=ira+chaleff

Kelley, Robert E. (1988). In praise of followers. Harvard Business Review

Riggio, Ronald E., Chaleff, Ira, & Lipman-Blumen, Jean (Eds.). (2008). The Art of Follwership: How great followers create great leaders and organizations. Jossey-Bass.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Followership-Followers-Organizations/dp/0787996653/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394983257&sr=8-2&keywords=ira+chaleff

Follow me on Twitter :

http://twitter.com/#!/ronriggio

Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D. , is the Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology at Claremont McKenna College.

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Followership: What it is and Why it’s Essential for Leaders to Understand

“If you think you’re a leader and you turn around and no one is following you, then you’re simply out for a walk.” There are mixed opinions about the source of this quote, but it’s one that Dr. Chipp Windham, instructor in Bethel’s M.A. in Strategic Leadership program , keeps top of mind.

Traditionally, the world has held a leadership-centric view: leadership being of the utmost importance and everything else, including followership, being secondary. But followers are essential to the success of any team or organization, which is why studying the concept of followership can be transformative to a person’s leadership abilities.

We sat down with Windham to learn more about what followership is, why it’s an important concept for leaders, and how we can cultivate good followership in ourselves and others.

What is followership?

The study of followership concerns itself with the role a leader plays in understanding who their followers are and how best to lead them. At the same time, it also helps leaders understand how to be better followers themselves. All leaders have been and will be followers at times, and understanding followers’ individual needs (including your own) will help you move your organization forward.

Why is studying followership important?

The day and age of hierarchical leadership is over. “That style is nearly gone,” Windham says. “More and more, we need to be thinking about the skills and needs of the people we work with.” Rather than followers adapting to their leader, Windham says that leaders must identify and adapt to the needs and values of their followers.

As society becomes more diverse, so do followers’ needs and values. “People come to our organizations with all kinds of things that make up who they are,” Windham says. “It really is a leader’s job to identify all of the different values, skills, backgrounds, and relationships so that we can lead each individual based on their values, while still trying to get to the same end goal.”

How can leaders become better followers?

Start by identifying your followership style. There are a variety of tools that can help with this, but when Windham teaches his course on followership, he uses Robert E. Kelley’s model which features five distinct followership styles. People can identify their followership style by understanding where they fall along two different continuums: engagement (from passive to active) and critical thinking (from dependent to independent).

• Exemplary follower : Exemplary followers have a high level of active engagement and high level of independent critical thinking thinking. Characteristics of an exemplary follower include a willingness to take initiative, provide constructive criticism, assume ownership, and champion the goals of the organization.
• Conformist follower : Conformist followers have high levels of active engagement but lower levels of critical thinking. They are active “doers” who are often seen as team players. They’re willing to accept assignments and are trusting of leaders, but often they will put the needs of the organization over their own.
• Passive follower: Passive followers tend to fall on the lower end of both engagement and critical thinking. They follow the leader without question, but need consistent direction. They might be the kind of person who puts in their time, but little more, and they may believe that the organization and its leaders are uninterested in their ideas.
• Alienated follower : Alienated followers have high levels of independent critical thinking but are low in engagement. They often see themselves as people with a healthy level of skepticism, but others might see them as cynical and not a team player. They might feel like their leader doesn’t fully recognize or utilize their talent.
• Pragmatist follower : Pragmatist followers have moderate levels of engagement and critical thinking. They may feel like their work environment is full of uncertainty and tend to see where things go before they take action. They are sometimes perceived by others as people who play political games, but they typically see themselves as people who know how to work the system to get things done.

Did you place yourself in the exemplary follower category? Windham would recommend taking a second look. “A lot of people think they are innately exemplary followers when they’re really not,” he says. “85-90% of people tend to place themselves in the exemplary follower category, but that’s just not realistic. If you’re just honest with yourself about where you land, it makes it much easier to identify what your needs are and what types of workplace environments work for you.”

What does good followership look like?

There are entire books written on this topic, one being The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders by Ira Chaleff. Windham uses this text in his followership course. Here are a few high-level characteristics of good followers from Chaleff:

• Good followers don’t orbit around the leader; followers and leaders orbit together around a common purpose. They work in partnership committed to shared values and causes.
• Good followers are passionate about their work and the people they serve. If they experience a loss of passion for their work and organization, they’re not content to accept it as normal.
• Good followers will defend their leaders when they encounter complaints being made behind the leader’s back. But they will also respectfully challenge a leader if they present questionable ideas or behavior.
• Good followers will strive to be self-aware and seek feedback on their performance so that they can identify both strengths and areas for growth.
• Good followers may have their own interests, such as personal growth—but they ensure that their interests align with the mission of an organization, rather than compete with it.

How can leaders cultivate good followership in their teams?

There are many steps you can take to cultivate good followership, but Windham says understanding, acknowledging, and validating the values of your followers is key. “You want to genuinely become interested in the things that are important to your followers,” he says. “Then you can build relationships on that understanding.” Building genuine relationships based on your understanding of your followers’ values will help you cultivate trust, meet your followers’ unique needs, and ultimately lead your followers toward specific goals.

The values your followers hold will be both personal (e.g. family, travel, flexibility) and professional (e.g. development opportunities, an inclusive workplace, teambuilding), and in today’s society, the values our followers hold are incredibly diverse. But at the end of the day, it’s all about relationships, Windham says: “It’s about identifying who you are, who your followers are, and how those relationships work with each other.”

Level up your leadership skills at Bethel University by pursuing an MBA or a leadership foundations certificate . You’ll further develop your self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the competencies necessary to lead people and organizations in new directions. 

Chaleff, Ira. (2009). The Courageous Follower: Standing up to and for our leaders. (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Riggio, R. E., Chaleff, I., & Lipman-Blumen, J. (Eds.). (2008). The Art of Followership: How great followers create great leaders and organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cherie Suonvieri

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6 Common Leadership Styles — and How to Decide Which to Use When

• Rebecca Knight

Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances call for different approaches.

Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to different circumstances — be it a change in setting, a shift in organizational dynamics, or a turn in the business cycle. But what if you feel like you’re not equipped to take on a new and different leadership style — let alone more than one? In this article, the author outlines the six leadership styles Daniel Goleman first introduced in his 2000 HBR article, “Leadership That Gets Results,” and explains when to use each one. The good news is that personality is not destiny. Even if you’re naturally introverted or you tend to be driven by data and analysis rather than emotion, you can still learn how to adapt different leadership styles to organize, motivate, and direct your team.

Much has been written about common leadership styles and how to identify the right style for you, whether it’s transactional or transformational, bureaucratic or laissez-faire. But according to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist best known for his work on emotional intelligence, “Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.”

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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