What Kind Of Leader Are You?

You are a leader if someone is following you. This could be as

simple as one person watching you and following your example and

encouragement, to being a leader in your home, your community, your

workplace or even your nation. Leadership can take many forms, but

typically it often involves managing people- one of the most

difficult of all tasks. It means coordinating and motivating the

actions of others to achieve a common goal. A leader has to

establish that goal, and gain the willing agreement of others to be

governed by and work together towards that goal.



The style of leadership taken by any leader is usually predetermined

by the personality and motivational values of that person. They are

who they are, as a personality, and that has a strong influence on

the way they lead and communicate with others.



The study of personality traits has been on going for centuries, and

there is a great deal of agreement in the conclusions and findings

of personality characteristics. In this article I am going to refer

to the different types of personality in color form, adopts the

categories applied by Linda Berens and Don Lowry.



Every personality type has particular talents and skills that lend

themselves to good leadership. Any form of leadership however, is

greatly enriched and enhanced if it is able to draw on the strengths

and characteristics of the other styles.



A leader who has a strong Gold personality type is personally

committed and dedicated to the goal. They work hard, and expect

their team to do the same. They lead from a place of belief that the

work is important, and has to be done right. Gold leaders value

tradition- the ways of the past are proven ways, and so do not take

well to new ideas unless they are well proven to have potential.



Leaders with a strong Blue personality are motivated by their

commitment to the people involved, and a strong sense of community.

They have a democratic style of management, valuing the input of

employees and team workers. Blue leaders tend to see the big

picture, and have the ability to inspire others with the vision.



The strong Green leadership style also sees the big picture as well

as the complexity of detail. Green leaders excel in strategy. They

bring intellect, ingenuity and design into the leadership role. They

research and analyze facts and concepts, constantly looking for

improvements for working smarter rather than harder. Facts and

information are all important to the Green leader, and they pay

little attention to the value of feelings and relationships.



Action is the focus of the Orange leader. Administration and

organization exist to make action possible. They are great

troubleshooters. The Orange leader leads by example, setting the

standard to follow. Orange management style can be quite

authoritarian and abrupt as they are impatient with opposition, and

expect their directions to be followed. Above all Orange leaders

welcome change believing that the old ways can always be improved

on. A new project represents, adventure, a challenge and potential

fun, all of which the Orange personality thrives on.



Every leader has a combination of all four personalities, but one

will always be the stronger, more natural way to operate in. A

leader's style may also be a blend of their main strength, combined

with their second strongest style. A wise leader will understand

the strengths and weaknesses of their personal leadership style and

use those team members with different styles to bring balance and

greater efficiency in meeting the shared goal.



Barbara White http://www.livingbeyondbetter.com