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What is your leadership style?

I have been asked this question in all interviews for roles that have lead, mentor and coach other engineers or stakeholders. The only place I haven't been asked this question was at a startup where I was supposed to manage engineers. One of the main reasons that it wasn't asked is that the Engineering Manager role is not well defined there. I had to learn this fact in a painful way at the end.

So what are the different leadership styles for a manager? There might be more but I have come across the following basic ones

Leadership is an important aspect of any organization or society. Leaders are responsible for guiding their followers towards a common goal or objective. There are many different leadership styles, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. In this blog, we will explore some of the different leadership styles, with instances from mythology.

Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership is a style in which the leader makes all decisions without input from their followers. In Greek mythology, we see examples of autocratic leaders such as Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus is known for making decisions without consulting his fellow gods, often resulting in conflict and strife. While autocratic leadership can be effective in times of crisis or when quick decisions are needed, it can also lead to resentment and dissatisfaction among followers.

Democratic Leadership

Democratic leadership is a style in which the leader encourages participation and input from their followers. In Norse mythology, we see examples of democratic leaders such as Odin, the god of wisdom. Odin is known for seeking advice and counsel from his fellow gods, showing the importance of collaboration and teamwork in leadership. While democratic leadership can be effective in promoting creativity and innovation, it can also be time-consuming and may lead to indecision or lack of direction.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is a style in which the leader inspires and motivates their followers to achieve a common goal. In Hindu mythology, we see examples of transformational leaders such as Krishna, the god of love and compassion. Krishna is known for inspiring his followers to act with selflessness and devotion, showing the importance of leading by example and setting a positive tone. While transformational leadership can be effective in promoting teamwork and achieving ambitious goals, it can also be demanding and require a high degree of charisma and energy from the leader.

Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is a style in which the leader focuses on the needs and well-being of their followers, rather than their own personal goals or ambitions. In Chinese mythology, we see examples of servant leaders such as Confucius, the philosopher and teacher. Confucius is known for emphasizing the importance of empathy and compassion, showing the importance of putting others first in leadership. While servant leadership can be effective in promoting loyalty and dedication among followers, it can also be difficult to balance the needs of others with the needs of the organization.

When one starts out from an individual contributor to a manager role (which happened to me in the above scenario), the default behaviour is to let go off the hands on approach and trust your fellow engineers to do their job. However in many cases as I have found with my past managers, the autocratic approach has been heavily used to lead engineers. It depends on the maturity of this individual to quickly pivot to another approach like democratic or servant or hands-of laissez-faire approach to empower engineers in the team. I was able to quickly pivot into a combination of the three from an autocratic approach.

I always believed the transformation approach is great for a manager of manager role provided the managers don't need a lot of coaching. One should steer off from being bureaucratic approach as it doesn't encourage any innovation but forces follow the rules approach in the team. This behavior encourage stagnation, stressed and disinterested engineers.

There are many different leadership styles, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. By looking to mythology for examples of different leadership styles, we can gain a deeper understanding of what makes a good leader and how to inspire and motivate our followers towards a common goal. Whether you prefer autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, it's important to find a style that fits your personality and the needs of your organization or society. By developing your leadership skills and studying the examples of leaders from mythology and history, you can become a more effective and inspiring leader.

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