How Can You Help a Client Identify their Unique Leadership Style?
Unlocking a unique leadership style can be a game-changer in one’s career. With insights from a Keynote Speaker on Culture and a CEO & Executive Career Coach, this article offers expert advice on how to identify and leverage your distinctive leadership qualities. Discover the first insight on embracing a 'One Size Fits One' mindset and the final tip on keeping a 'Leadership Journal' for ongoing insights. Dive into a total of seven invaluable perspectives from industry leaders.
- Embrace a 'One Size Fits One' Mindset
- Use Strengths-Based Leadership Assessments
- Combine Assessments with Reflective Exercises
- Guide Through Real-World Problem-Solving Exercises
- Utilize Proprietary Diagnostic Assessment
- Explore Experiences of Speaking Up
- Keep a 'Leadership Journal' for Insights
Embrace a 'One Size Fits One' Mindset
One of the most effective approaches I've used to help clients identify and leverage their unique leadership style is embracing the "one size fits one" mindset.
Every leader has their own set of strengths and challenges, and trying to mold them into a standard leadership model often suppresses what makes them powerful. Instead, I start by deeply listening to their experiences, challenges, and aspirations. I use assessments and candid conversations to highlight their natural tendencies. Together, we uncover what truly drives them and align those insights to enhance how they lead.
A key part of this approach is encouraging leaders to lean hard into their strengths while deliberately avoiding areas where they struggle—seeking help or delegating instead. Too often, leaders feel pressured to do it all and avoid admitting any weakness. But leveraging their strengths and getting support for their weak spots empowers them to lead authentically and effectively. When a leader operates from this place, they inspire and motivate with a genuine confidence that people naturally respond to.
Use Strengths-Based Leadership Assessments
I find it very effective to use a strengths-based leadership assessment like the CliftonStrengthsFinder or Leadership Circle paired with a Myers-Briggs assessment to empower leaders with initial insights and terminology about their specific leadership style. After the assessments, the leader and I explore which parts of the descriptions resonated for them and which didn't. Next we create a clear outline of what we want to build on and/or make improvements on during our leadership development work. I appreciate how assessments can shine a clear light on someone's natural talents and abilities, as well as create a common language for us to use as we grow their strengths in a leadership context.
Combine Assessments with Reflective Exercises
Leadership skills are always important for my clients/business owners regardless of the business size. Personalized leadership assessments combined with reflective exercises help me identify and improve my client's leadership skills. We start with a comprehensive assessment that highlights their strengths, weaknesses, and natural tendencies.
Once we have the assessment results, we dive into real-life scenarios they've encountered in their career. This helps them understand how their inherent leadership qualities play out in practical situations. For instance, I had a client who excelled in collaborative environments but struggled with decision-making under pressure. Through our sessions, we identified strategies to enhance their decision-making confidence while still maintaining their collaborative approach.
The impact was profound. They became more aware of their strengths and how to harness them effectively, which improved their overall leadership effectiveness and team morale. My advice to others is to take time to reflect on your experiences and seek feedback that can reveal valuable insights into your leadership style.
Guide Through Real-World Problem-Solving Exercises
To help clients identify and leverage their unique leadership style, I often guide them through real-world problem-solving exercises that mirror the challenges they face in their specific industries. This approach is rooted in my experience growing OneStop Northwest, where I consistently had to adapt and refine my leadership style from hands-on team management to strategic oversight as the company expanded.
For instance, I worked with a client in the tech sector who was struggling with delegation. Through a customized workshop, we focused on managing a simulated project, letting them experience firsthand the benefits of trust and empowerment. The result was a 30% increase in team productivity over six months. This practical exposure was crucial in helping the client see their strength as a change-oriented leader, focused on vision and motivation.
Another example involves a retail client who excelled in customer-centric strategies but needed to develop assertiveness. By implementing role-play scenarios where they negotiated with clients and stakeholders, we honed their natural knack for negotiation and empathy into a more decisive, influential style. This not only bolstered their leadership presence but also improved customer retention by 15%.
Utilize Proprietary Diagnostic Assessment
At our company, we've designed a proprietary diagnostic assessment to help our clients understand who they are and how they show up, so that they can become the leader they aspire to be. This unique tool delves into various aspects of an individual's personality, communication style, decision-making processes, and core values. By providing concrete, real-life action plans and avoiding vague generalizations, our assessment offers clients a clear picture of their inherent leadership qualities and potential areas for growth.
We firmly believe that while we all have diverse perspectives and styles, everyone has the potential for great impact and is inherently valuable. Our assessment not only identifies a client's unique leadership style but also helps them leverage it effectively. Through targeted coaching sessions based on the assessment results, we guide clients in applying different leadership styles depending on the team and situation they're managing. This approach enables leaders to adapt their style while remaining authentic, ultimately enhancing their effectiveness and impact within their organizations.
Explore Experiences of Speaking Up
One way I've discovered my client's authentic leadership style is by asking them to share experiences when they felt they had to speak up despite opposition. I walk them through examples of instances where they've expressed their value over convenience, norms or standard business practices. It explores those times when it felt like they had that inner pressure to do what seemed "right" instead of logically or strategically correct. It exposes unarticulated values that characterize their most honest form of leadership.
One client, for example, learned from this exercise that they were consistently arguing for disclosure even when withholding information could have been quicker or more profitable. This was not something they had actively sought out, but these moments became the portal to their deeper values. It also allowed them to adopt transparency as a leadership competency and intentionally develop a culture of transparency and openness. By coming back to these high-water marks, they could lead in a way that was productive and also fulfilling, and develop trust with their team in a way that was authentically true to who they were at the core.
Keep a 'Leadership Journal' for Insights
I've found that having clients keep a 'leadership journal' for two weeks, documenting when they felt most energized and effective in their role, reveals patterns about their authentic style. For example, one executive discovered she thrived when facilitating collaborative problem-solving sessions rather than giving top-down directives. This insight helped her restructure team meetings to capitalize on her natural strengths as a participative leader, resulting in more engaged employees and better outcomes.
