IPA Leadership Mindset

Leadership Mindset

In a world of constant change and increasing complexity, effective leadership is essential for organisational success. IPA Nordic, the leading Nordic research house for personality analysis, has repeatedly emphasised the importance of a leader’s leadership style. But what is the difference between a leader’s role and style, and why is style so important?

A role describes a function within the team that must be performed to ensure efficiency and progress. Roles are instrumental and are defined by the tasks to be performed. Therefore, a role is not necessarily rooted in your personality, but rather a result of your experience and learning over time. A role is external in the sense that it reflects how you contribute to the overall performance of the team – whether as a coordinator, motivator or specialist.

A style, on the other hand, is a reflection of your personal preferences, motivations and natural behavioural patterns. It is internal and deeply rooted in your personality. Your style reflects what you prefer to do and how you naturally think and act in a work situation. While a role can change depending on the context, your style is more stable over time as it stems from your inherent driving forces.

1. Employee engagement and motivation: A leader who adopts an inclusive and supportive leadership style can increase employee engagement and motivation. When employees feel valued and heard, they are more likely to perform at their best and remain loyal to the organisation.
2. Productivity and Efficiency: Effective leadership style can directly impact productivity. A leader who is adept at clearly communicating expectations and supporting employees in their work can ensure projects are completed efficiently and on time.
3. Innovation and Creativity: A leader who fosters an open and experimental culture can inspire employees to think creatively and come up with innovative solutions. This is especially important in dynamic industries where adaptability and innovation are key to survival and growth.
4. Organisational Culture: The leader’s style has a deep impact on the overall organisational culture. A leader who practices and promotes values such as integrity, respect and collaboration can create a positive work culture that attracts and retains talented employees.
5. Managing Change: In times of change, leadership style is critical. A leader who can communicate the vision clearly and build trust among employees can ease transition periods and reduce uncertainty and resistance to change.

A leader’s management style is more than just a personal preference; it is a determining factor for organisational success. While role defines what a leader should do, style defines how it should be done. A conscious and effective leadership style can create a positive work culture, increase employee engagement, promote innovation and ensure the organisation can navigate through challenges and change successfully.

IPA Nordic’s research highlights that investing in leadership development not only benefits the leaders themselves, but also the entire organisation. By understanding and improving their leadership style, leaders can not only fulfil their formal roles, but also inspire and motivate their teams to reach new heights.

Role

Function

To manage, coordinate and evaluate

Systematises, creates order and overview, maintains, calculates, complies with rules and standards

Role

Function

To organise, execute and complete

Ensure effective governance and direction, assess goals and means, prioritise, optimise and distribute roles and tasks

Role

Function

To motivate, facilitate and create meaning

Build teams, facilitate collaboration and relationships, manage conflict, negotiate compromise and bring the team together

Role

Function

To perspective, change and adapt

Gathering input and ideas, summarising, contextualising in relation to business challenges and strategic goals

Style

Gather knowledge, analyse, find errors, correct

Professional and technical guarantor that things are in order, develops specific knowledge, documents, objective, patient and persistent

Style

Drives, completes, finishes and fulfils goals

Delivers results, performs, cuts through, energetic enthusiast with high and visible activity levels, impatient and restless

Style

Support, counselling, encouragement and bonding

Interlocutor, catalyst, takes personal responsibility for the relationships in the team, open, positive and inclusive

Style

Creating ideas, experimenting, exploring possibilities

Enthusiastic exponent of creativity and change, original, curious and challenging, free of habits and traditions