Leadership Styles in the Workplace

Let's get real here - not everyone in our workplace is going to be exactly like us. We all have different personalities, quirks, and characteristics that make each one of us unique workers; and that's a good thing! A blend of these personalities is what makes for a collaborative team that is able to contribute different things to the workplace.

In light of this, there are bound to be different leadership styles at your place of work too. Whether it be your supervisor, boss, or even coworker, it is useful to be aware of the way they lead a team and what their strengths are in a leadership position.

Here is a short rundown of the different leadership styles you might find in the workplace, taken from Personality Dimensions:

• Blue leaders are supportive and good mediators but tend to avoid conflict. They are fair to their team and are able to read their staff/coworkers well.They are genuinely interested in developing relationships at work and are committed to making a difference professionally and socially.
• Green leaders are independent and extremely innovative. They thrive on facts and knowledge and will to go great lengths to finish a quality product. Greens can come off as critical but really they just want to make sure their team is as competent as possible.
• Gold leaders are organized and detail-oriented. They love to set goals and achieve them. They work excellently in a team environment as they are able to determine the strengths and pitfalls of a project easily. A Gold leader is very helpful and dedicated to his/her team, but can appear strict if team members are not contributing.
• Orange leaders are resourceful and energetic. They tend to be fast-paced and like to get their jobs done so they can move on to their next project. An Orange leader may not necessarily plan ahead, but is great at  negotiating with others about the next step to take. Oranges have a very go-with-the-flow attitude, not to be confused with laziness or incompetence.

Obviously the leaders you may see in your workplace might be a combination of any of these styles; the important thing to recognize is how they thrive in a work environment and what you can do to be a better team member when working with them.

And whatever your leadership style, use your strengths to your full advantage!

- Lia