The world is a little better at interpreting personality assessments than it was 20+ years ago. In the early 2000’s I took the Myers Briggs test along with 70 classmates at a leadership program. Although there was discussion that any personality type could be a leader, it was clear that ESTJ was the most likely to be a CEO. I remember thinking that my INTJ, really was very close as I was only 1 or 2 points out on the E and the S. None-the-less I had the stigma of an INTJ in a class weighted to ENTJ. As a result, I adjusted my work personality for years afterward. This is the wrong way to use personality tests.
Today, rather than hard code individuals, we use the information to help us understand our own pre-dispositions, and to help us more effectively relate to, and communicate with others. It also helps us understand why we need to put out more energy when doing certain tasks, and provides insight on how to develop practices to remain resilient. The increased understanding that can come from a personality profile is one element in a leader’s toolkit for the journey of improving self-awareness. This is important because no leader can stick with one leadership style and be successful.
As with all things related to people, leadership requires working across a spectrum. In a static environment one could pick a leadership style most suited to the environment, stick with it, and be highly successful. For example, the dictator who keeps their country in a constant state of emergency or war hopes to stay in control by having the environment best match their singular leadership style. Eventually this comes crashing down since, in the real world, things are always changing. Therefore, leaders need to be able to adapt their leadership style.
We have previously talked about the shift towards relational leadership which supports empowered and inclusive organizations. The leader of a relational organization needs to be empathetic, curious, and vulnerable. However, there are times when that same leader needs to be autocratic and take a command-and-control approach, such as in a crisis or emergency situation, or sometimes just to get to a final decision in a reasonable time. Similarly, a normally hierarchical organization also needs its leader to switch gears and work closely with, be curious, and receive input from the rest of the organization to ensure they are aware of the changes impacting their organization, and to obtain a wide range of suggestions to deal with the change.
To be clear, no matter how far you are on either side of the leadership spectrum you can’t go so far as to abdicate (delegating without follow up and caring), or to become a jerk (commanding without caring).
Being aware of your pre-dispositions can help you to manage your energy, and put strategies in place for when you need to operate outside of your comfort zone. Delegating responsibilities that don’t align with your strengths, will help keep you resilient and allow others to take leadership roles. In the long-term, if you are more comfortable with command-and-control, but want to move to a relational leadership style, you can work with a coach to help you understand the beliefs that make you lean to the more autocratic leadership style. The reverse is true for relational leaders who have trouble adapting to an autocratic style quickly enough when clear decisions are required. In either case, over time you will be able to expand your comfort zone.
Don’t put yourself, or your team members, in a box. Understand your strengths and pre-dispositions first and then put strategies in place that allow you to comfortably move along the leadership spectrum – we can all do it successfully, we just need to work at different things.
