6 Most common leadership styles in the workplace

26 de June, 2025

A good leader has the ability to inspire people and, consequently, influence the success of their teams and businesses. But leadership is a complex skill that involves different variables, such as communication, strategy, integrity, authenticity and trust, among others.

According to Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and science journalist – an expert in the fields of emotional intelligence, social intelligence and the application of psychology principles to the workplace – being a good leader means realizing that different circumstances require different approaches.

Goleman argues that there are six common leadership styles in the workplace, based on the emotional intelligence skills of the leaders themselves. Find out what these leadership styles are.

1 – Coercive leadership (“the boss”)

This is a coercive type of leadership, based on the idea of “do as I say”. This approach to leadership tends to leave a negative mark on organizational culture, as it promotes a mentality based on fear and repression.

Because it contributes to employee demotivation and dissatisfaction, it is often an ineffective and unsustainable leadership style.

Coercive leadership should be avoided, unless it is an emergency situation in which decisions need to be made quickly, even if they are unpopular.

2 – Authoritative leadership (“the visionary”)

Authoritative or visionary leadership is based on the premise “come with me”. These leaders seek to steer the business towards their vision of success and engage employees with empathy, trust and emotional intelligence.

Generally, people who adopt this type of leadership emanate charisma and express their ideas clearly and transparently in order to build a shared vision.

Leading with authority means ensuring alignment between teams, but giving people the freedom to choose their own means and working methods to achieve a common goal.

3 – Affiliative leadership (“the caregiver”)

This type of leadership is based on the assumption that “people come first”. One of the main objectives of these leaders is to build a harmonious, healthy workplace in which people form emotional bonds.

This highly relational and empathetic leadership tends to be effective in promoting employee motivation and satisfaction, especially during challenging times. It is also useful in managing conflicts, creating new teams and involving teleworking teams.

On the other hand, these leaders may find it more difficult to manage underperforming situations because they are more hesitant or less firm.

4 – Democratic leadership (“the listener”)

The question “what do you think?” is often asked by managers who adopt a type of democratic leadership. In these cases, leaders promote collaboration and effective communication to foster consensus and participation in decision-making.

This style of leadership is based on the sharing of opinions and points of view by the whole team, as it is believed that all perspectives help to foster innovation, creativity and growth.

As such, democratic leadership is the recommended approach for shaping a more efficient, more agile workforce and for effectively managing change.

5 – Pacesetting leadership (“the determined one”)

The motto of these leaders is something like “do as I do and do it now”. This style of leadership is suitable for highly motivated teams with high performance standards who tend to work to tight deadlines.

In these cases, managers lead by example and focus on setting objectives that are challenging for their teams and contribute to their motivation.

However, this approach can be unsuitable for work environments with less pressure on results. What’s more, it can make employees feel overwhelmed, overworked and even intimidated.

6 – Coaching leadership (“the mentor”)

This type of leadership is based on a long-term vision and focuses on people’s development. Their aim is to promote learning and encourage growth and progress.

Managers take on the role of mentors and believe that by providing people with opportunities to develop their skills, this will have an impact on the success of the business.

These leaders genuinely care about supporting their employees, helping them to develop in their roles and reach their potential.

Since different circumstances require different leadership approaches, good leaders must master various types of leadership – especially authoritative leadership, relational leadership, democratic leadership and coaching-style leadership.

In this way, they will be able to adopt a posture that is more appropriate to each moment and each context.

In addition, leadership is a skill that can, and should, be worked on and developed continuously.