Leadership – Is there a Universal Leadership Style?

Few managers, who expect to have a high profile career, can expect to stay in their home country, or even the same company for their entire career. 

In a future where flexibility is a given, we may like to ask “is there a universal leadership style, that can help a manager to be successful in every company, wherever it is in the world?”

A way to find out more about leadership is to go to A way to find out more about leadership is to go to www.google.com – you will find around 994 million references…so clearly leadership is a hot topic. No wonder: we spend most of our day time in our jobs – making up to, 40+ hours a week up to 50 weeks a year. So leadership skills – whether your own, or those of your superiors, are clearly of relevance for any one of us.

It would appear, from browsing through the bookshelves at any airport around the globe, that there are many people looking to find the “universal” leadership style. Whether it be London Heathrow, Hong Kong International or JFK, you will find almost the same titles ranging from the straightforward “Leadership” by Rudolph W. Giuliani, or “Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know” by John C. Maxwell, and last, but not least, the ultimate guide for any universal leadership success: “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow” by John C. Maxwell.

So, by looking at these very prominent (even if randomly selected) examples of the literature – the answer would appear to be “yes”: there is a universal leadership style. One is tempted to believe that just by reading, for example, John C. Maxwell’s “Indispensable Qualities” you will learn the essentials to become a great “leader” wherever you are. But let’s have a bit of a closer look: you will find, that most of these “universal” leadership books are written by Anglo-Saxon authors and (as is often the case within management literature) the Anglo-Saxon approach is taken to be universal. Those who have worked and lived around the globe will soon find out that the Anglo-Saxon approach in management – despite major differences between UK and USA – are often taken as the role model for leadership styles. So based on the Anglo-Saxon management literature, the typical qualities of a successful leader include logical thinking, persistence, self-control and last, but not least, personal characteristics (social, physical, psychological). But does the Anglo-Saxon leadership approach really work universally? No!

Contrary to the high profile examples found in airports, there are a substantial number of well-researched books that make clear that, despite all the globalisation and internationalisation, there is no universal leadership style: good examples of this body of research include Geert Hofstede “Exploring Culture”, or Fons Trompenaars / Charles Hampden-Turner “Building Cross Cultural Competence”.

This is also underpinned by the so called “contingency theory” developed first by Fred Edward Fiedler (A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness, McGraw-Hill, 1967). Fiedler pointed out that the optimal leadership style is dependent upon various internal and external constraints. These might include the industry, size of the organisation, technologies used, etc.

The four key ideas of the contingency theory by Fiedler are:

1. There is no universal or one best way to manage
2. The design of an organization and its subsystems must 'fit' with the environment
3. Effective organizations not only have a proper 'fit' with the environment but also between their subsystems and
4. The needs of an organization are better satisfied when it is properly designed and the management style is appropriate to the tasks *

(Source /Further reading: http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_contingency_theory.html )

These writers indicate to us that “situational” factors appear to be critical.  So, how is it that we encounter some managers who seem to be very successful no matter in which organisation, or where in the world, they work? Have these managers discovered a universal leadership style? I personally believe that it is not a question of style, more one of personality, that make these managers – independent of gender – successful. My personal observations are that leadership qualities often include many of the Anglo-Saxon virtues you can read in all these management books, but on top of this these leaders can connect emotionally with their followers. This doesn’t mean that they are “softies” – they are typically good listeners who can motivate people and in this way they can be instrumental in transforming organisations, driving change and challenging conventions. This requires a lot of self-awareness, openness, but especially integrity and authenticity. All the successful leaders I have met were the ones that remained true to themselves and were not pretending to be the “Neutron Jack” (or whoever) of their industry. I truly believe that you can develop these management skills and that individual training and coaching can be very powerful tools to support successful managers in their process of self-reflection.

So the final answer to my stated question “Leadership – Is there a universal leadership style?” is “no”, but if you select the company that fits to you and this way manage to be yourself, you will have a good chance to be a successful universal leader.

Dr. Ludger H. Opgenhoff

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Read these articles in full by clicking the links below:
 
The CEO and Talent Management

Leadership - Is there a universal leadership style?

Leadership Reflections

Authentic Leadership - "Know thyself"

The Difference Between Leadership & Management  

Leading from the Edge

The Crisis of Leadership