Effective leadership may be the single most important part of any business’s success in the marketplace. For us in the hardwood lumber industry developing leaders across all our business disciplines whether that be forestry, sawmill management, kiln drying or even lumber sales is key to our long term success.

But what type of leadership style is best? For us, we believe there are many effective types of leadership styles. It is not a “one size fits all” scenario. From our experience it depends on the team, the situation and a host of other factors. But when it is right, it is awesome!

Across our team you can find many different leadership styles.  For example:

• The Democratic Leader. This type of leader solicits feedback from others and weighs these opinions before arriving at a decision
• Visionary Leaders. A visionary leader aims for lofty goals but isn’t necessarily interested in all the details required to achieve those goals. This can be both inspiring and frustrating to others, because of unexpected factors that interfere with the leader’s vision.
• A Transactional Leader. A transactional leader focuses almost entirely on getting results, rewarding quality performance and inflicting penalties where team members fall short.
• The Servant Leader. A servant leader places a high value on inviting input from team members, and generally regards their needs above those of the organization.
• A Transformational Leader. Similar to visionary leadership, this style emphasizes dramatic changes to the status quo, while also forgoing details that these leaders feel are better left to others.

We stress with our team that often times, for leaders to be effective it means incorporating aspects of different styles depending on the situation. We urge them to be open to change and to be aware of their natural leadership style, their own strengths and shortcomings and to be willing to adapt.

One way for leaders to successfully adapt to changing conditions, or to leverage a different leadership style is through learning. This usually involves feedback from others, notes Forbes, as long as you make it clear “that you want to hear honest feedback” so you can “learn more about your effectiveness in holding a meeting or whether your approach to a challenge was the most logical.”

Are you encouraging your leaders to develop their skills and their leadership styles? What do you find effective? What would you share with others? Let us know! We would love to hear from you!

Tony C.
Baillie Lumber
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