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Though many of the best leaders share some of the same characteristics, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership. What improves productivity for one team may interfere with the workflow of another, and what makes some employees feel empowered to do their best work may leave others feeling directionless and unsupported. It’s important for all leaders to find the style that works for them and their team members – and be willing and able to adapt their approach when necessary.
Let’s look at a few approaches to leadership that will be better suited to the current moment than the more traditional styles.
Transformational leadership
As its name implies, transformational leadership is focused on continuous improvement in all its forms. A transformational leader is one who works to foster a shared vision among their team, then gives each member the tools, support, and advocacy they need to make that vision a reality. Employees are encouraged to be creative, to challenge the status quo, and to develop the skills necessary to tackle the challenges ahead of them.
If done correctly, transformational leadership makes employees feel more like stakeholders, giving them a personal interest in the team’s success beyond collecting a paycheck.
Consider Steve Jobs. While Jobs was known for the revolutionary technological advancements achieved by Apple, his legacy can be seen in the continued success and innovation of the company after his death. He implemented a training process that instills in every Apple leader the way the company thinks and operates, ensuring that Apple’s future executives deliver new ideas that advance personal technology.
Servant leadership
Servant leadership flips the paradigm on its head. A leader following this style will set the tone, the agenda, and the deadlines, then take their hands off the wheel. Rather than flexing their authority and pulling their employees behind them, a servant leader empowers their employees to do their best work by providing support, advocating for their interests, and helping them grow as people and professionals.
Employees who feel empowered and that their boss is genuinely concerned for their well-being often feel more connected to and invested in their jobs, which leads to greater engagement and increased productivity. This is especially important in industries and departments where the employees generate the lion’s share of the revenue.
If you’ve found that you, as a leader, tend to hoard the decision-making power of your firm, consider challenging that innate desire. Is your team feeling burnt out by the end of the week? Give them Friday afternoons off and trust that their output during the shorter workweek will improve. Do you have an advisor who wants to work on their ability to land new clients? Give them a marketing budget and trust that their efforts will bear fruit. In time, you might just be amazed by the way your employees set and exceed expectations (even without you sitting in on every meeting!) with you serving them instead of commanding them.
Laissez-faire leadership
This aptly named leadership style is best suited to distributed teams of established, self-motivated professionals, though it can work in other contexts. Practicing laissez-faire leadership means establishing goals, setting deadlines, and then letting employees tackle their tasks however they see fit – so long as they turn in high-quality work on time. A laissez-faire leader trusts their employees to act like professionals and take ownership of their work, and provides the support, resources, and advocacy they need to do so.
Laissez-faire leadership is a high-risk, high-reward style that will not work in some contexts. A remote team of trusted industry veterans will likely thrive with minimal managerial guidance, for example, while a team of recent graduates may need more supervision and guidance. It’s up to you to determine how much autonomy any given employee can handle.
Technological enhancements
“Old-school” bosses often relied on time-tested (but less effective) leadership techniques like prowling around their offices and peering over the shoulders of their employees to make sure they were staying on task. As you might imagine, remote and hybrid work makes it very difficult to do that micromanaging.
Even if you aren’t one of those obsolete micromanagers, you may still find it difficult to stay on top of your team and make sure that everyone knows what’s expected of them, has what they need, and contributes to the team’s overall goals. Properly managing teams working in the same building is hard enough, let alone managing hybrid teams of in-person and geographically distributed remote workers. Even thinking about it triggers flashbacks to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thankfully, there are purpose-built solutions that will help you manage even better than you did when you could see your team by poking your head out of your office. For example:
Productivity / team coordination technology
This software existed for years before the pandemic, but its popularity has grown exponentially since COVID. Software, applications, and online platforms like ClickUp, Asana, Trello, Pipedrive, and Notion give managers the tools to manage projects, assign work, track progress, and change tasks and deadlines on the fly, making it much easier for every employee to stay connected and up-to-date on your team’s current objectives.
Communication and connectivity technologies
You’ve using these programs already. Software and services like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, GoTo Meeting, and even Discord make it incredibly easy to schedule and hold hybrid and fully remote video-enabled meetings with teammates and employees around the globe. Microsoft Teams combines text, audio, and video communication capabilities with the rest of the Microsoft Office ecosystem, which offers some significant synergies that should not be taken for granted.
The future of leadership
The leadership style that works best for your firm will depend on your preferences, your employees, and your firm’s direction. To build a motivated team with a shared goal, adopt a transformational leadership style by solidifying your firm’s vision, developing your team to share that vision, and giving your employees the resources they need to both carry out the vision and share it with others as future leaders. Or you could be a laissez-faire leader by canceling the check-in meetings altogether, setting an objective and a deadline, and letting your team determine when to meet, how to distribute the work to hit the goal, and what milestones need to be accomplished along the way.
Being a leader has never been easy, nor should it be. We take on these responsibilities because we value the growth and success of our teams and their members, and we have the experience, drive, and expertise needed to make those goals a reality. Our jobs aren’t going to get any simpler, but we wouldn’t be where we are if we couldn’t rise to the challenge and adapt to the future. We need the right tools, adaptive mindsets, and the willingness to adjust our approach to face whatever challenges the new work environment brings.
Matt Reiner is a CFA, CFP®, and partner at Capital Investment Advisors, a $2.8+ billion RIA in Atlanta. Reiner is also CEO of Wela Strategies, a sister company to Capital Investment Advisors, and is the founder and CEO of Benjamin™. Benjamin is an AI technology created by Reiner after seeing the gaps in technology used in his own firm. Reiner's true passion is using his vast experience to coach other advisors across the country, helping them evaluate their firms' practices and find the best strategies for future success. To reach Matt Reiner, visit www.MattReiner.com.
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.