{"id":87,"date":"2025-04-14T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/?p=87"},"modified":"2025-05-13T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T11:00:00","slug":"selecting-golemans-leadership-styles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/2025\/04\/14\/selecting-golemans-leadership-styles\/","title":{"rendered":"Selecting Goleman&#8217;s leadership styles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"885\" height=\"85\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Theory-banner.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-88\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Theory-banner.png 885w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Theory-banner-300x29.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Theory-banner-768x74.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Theory-banner-500x48.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who is this blog post for:<\/strong>&nbsp;Current&nbsp;or emerging middle leaders and for senior leaders or Headteachers who are developing middle leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Author:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/ecls\/people\/profile\/lisaramshaw.html\">Lisa Ramshaw<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Posted on:&nbsp;<\/strong>14th November 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Keywords:<\/strong>&nbsp;Emotional intelligence; leadership styles; situation-specific; toolbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffcb\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Goleman\u2019s Leadership Styles<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you play golf, enjoy cooking, or perhaps you\u2019re handy with DIY?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With any of those examples, you know you need to select the right club, utensil, or tool to be able to achieve the right outcome. Using leadership styles effectively works on the same principle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2000, Daniel Goleman wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review entitled \u2018Leadership That Gets Results\u2019, explaining six emotional leadership styles: Commanding (or Coercive); Visionary (or Authoritative); Pacesetting; Coaching; Democratic; and Affiliative. These are summarised in the table below.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"991\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Goleman-Styles-991x486-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-89\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Goleman-Styles-991x486-1.jpg 991w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Goleman-Styles-991x486-1-300x147.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Goleman-Styles-991x486-1-768x377.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/files\/2024\/09\/Goleman-Styles-991x486-1-500x245.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 991px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The article&nbsp;identified&nbsp;that the most effective leaders use a collection of leadership styles, each in the right measure, at just the right time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Reflection (click to expand)<\/summary>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffcb\" class=\"has-inline-color\">What style do you think you use the most? Why do you think that is?<\/mark><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffcb\" class=\"has-inline-color\">What style do you think you use the least? Why do you think that is?<\/mark><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffcb\" class=\"has-inline-color\">What style would you like to use more of? Why?<\/mark><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffcb\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Alternatively, what leadership styles have you experienced (i.e how have you been led), and how have these experiences influenced you as a leader?<\/mark><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Each style tends to have pros and cons, as there is no one style that is the \u2018silver bullet\u2019. However, if some styles are overused, or used to their extreme, they can be quite damaging to an individual, or to the organisational culture. Let\u2019s take commanding style for example. If people need a top-down decision or for the leader to take charge, then this style is effective for providing confidence and direction. However, when used to try and get everyone to conform, this can create resistance, low morale, and discourage people. For that reason, commanding style is most likely used in the shorter-term, as longer-term use can create dissonance. Similarly, the pacesetting style should be used with caution. No doubt you are a middle leader because you were great at teaching, and you have shown high expectations and achievement within your career so far.&nbsp;Often, these high expectations and drive follow you into your leadership role and you expect everyone else to behave in the same way.&nbsp;However, all leaders have to learn that not everyone in their team will have the same priorities or drive as them. I know I learned this in the early stages of being a middle leader, when another teacher just burst into tears in front of me because I was making her anxious, of which I had no right to. When using the pacesetting style, ensure your team or the staff you are working with share the same values, goals and working patterns as you, so you can work together at pace. For those that may work differently, or they have different goals within their own roles, allow space and time to support their development. This may be when a more affiliative or coaching approach would be beneficial. These styles tend to develop greater harmony and longer-term professional development, respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently, I have created a new module that I teach at the university called the Future of Educational Leadership. Within this module, we look at megatrends from globalisation, to digitisation, to how demographics are changing, and how we need to adjust our leadership and leadership development accordingly. In Hieker and Pringle\u2019s (2021) book, they share a study whereby MBA students undertook their own research on Goleman\u2019s six leadership styles and asked millennial and Gen Z undergraduates which styles they preferred. They found that millennials and Gen Z found the coercive (commanding) and pacesetting leadership style the least effective, but preferred coaching to all other leadership styles (Hieker and Pringle, 2021, p. 16).&nbsp;Within a school environment, you are most likely working with people from a range of demographics, generations and cultures, ranging from students, to parents, to other staff, who all have their own set of expectations, preferences and needs. As a middle leader, you therefore need to always have your set of golf clubs, kitchen utensils or tools at hand, as you are required to adapt to each situation you are faced with. Being aware of a set of leadership styles was one of the best learning moments for me as a leader, as I was able to \u2018choose\u2019 how I responded (rather than reacted) to whatever the day brought.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As stated in the previous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/2023\/03\/24\/challenges-opportunities\/\">reflection post<\/a>, middle leaders move into their leadership role directly from teaching, often without acknowledgement of the different skills that are required for the role. Self-awareness is crucial here: in the busyness of a middle leadership role, it is important to engage in conscious self-reflection. Now that you have some knowledge of Goleman\u2019s six leadership styles, I encourage you to be consciously aware when selecting a leadership style for a particular situation, and decide what\u00a0right club, utensil, or tool would be the best to use.\u00a0Then consciously reflect on whether it was the appropriate leadership style for that situation. If you keep doing that on a regular basis, you will be able to develop your own leadership repertoire, applying your leadership skills and styles more appropriately, and more often.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Reflection (click to expand)<\/summary>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consider a recent situation that you thought you handled well. What leadership style did you employ? How do you know it was the right one for that situation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Now, consider a recent situation that did not go well. What leadership style did you employ? How do you know it was not the right one for that situation? What style would you employ should the situation arise again<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">References:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hieker, C. and Pringle, J. (2021) The Future of Leadership Development: Disruption and the Impact of Megatrends. Springer Nature.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Goleman. D. (2000) Leadership that gets Results. In&nbsp;<em>Harvard business review,&nbsp;<\/em>78 (2), pp. 78\u201390. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pellitteri, J. (2021) Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Styles in Education.\u202f<em>Psychology &amp; its Contexts\/Psychologie a Jej\u00ed Kontexty<\/em>,\u202f<em>12<\/em>(2).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who is this blog post for:&nbsp;Current&nbsp;or emerging middle leaders and for senior leaders or Headteachers who are developing middle leaders. Author:&nbsp;Lisa Ramshaw Posted on:&nbsp;14th November 2023 Keywords:&nbsp;Emotional intelligence; leadership styles; situation-specific; toolbox. Goleman\u2019s Leadership Styles&nbsp; Do you play golf, enjoy &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/2025\/04\/14\/selecting-golemans-leadership-styles\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6648,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,19],"tags":[7,11,8,13,9,12],"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlc","category-theory","tag-cpd","tag-middle-leadership","tag-primary-education","tag-professional-development","tag-secondary-education","tag-subject-leaders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions\/199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/elcblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}