91 | Leading with Purpose: Discover Your Leadership Style with Justin Deese

Have you ever felt like you're doing all the right leadership things, but your team still just isn't responding the way you want them to? I know I certainly have had some, challenges in that area as well, where

You really feel like you're doing the right things, but you're just not really getting that momentum and that follow up that you really were hoping to see.

Welcome back to another

of freedom blueprint podcast. I'm your host Justin Deese and I'm excited to be hanging out with you today. And I'm just pumped that you're here, whether it's listening to the episode, the podcast while you're working out, driving, exercising, working, whatever you're doing, or if you're watching us on YouTube, no matter how you're doing it, I just want to say thank you for coming and hanging out with me for a little bit. Now it's been a while since I've done a solo episode.

And, ⁓ I don't have an answer for why that's been, it's just been, I've come out of this season of being really, really, really busy, ⁓ good, busy, but nevertheless, it's been busy. And so, ⁓ so being that I've been so busy, ⁓ this topic really kind of came out, in my head and, I love talking about leadership. think leadership is one of those, topics that there, you can go so wide, you can go so deep.

there's so many levels to it, but, ⁓ but today I wanted to talk a little bit about some specifics on leadership. now let me ask you this. Have you ever wondered why some leaders seem to be able to motivate effortlessly while others push through with precision and control?

The truth is there's more than one way to lead and knowing your leadership style can transform your team's performance.

So that's what we're going to dive into today. We're going to just talk about the different leadership styles, how they work, their strengths, their weaknesses, how to identify your style and really see if we can help you lead more effectively. Because at the end of the day, leadership's one of those things where you know, you can have the argument of where you born with it. you know, naturally some people have some

charisma and things that's, that's certainly helpful when it comes to leadership. but really it's a learned behavior, most things. I mean, I can't think of a whole lot of things in business that aren't learned behaviors, But leadership is definitely one of those as well where it's really a learned behavior. And a lot of times when you're learning a new trait, the challenge you have is that you can have blind spots. And so again, today we're just going to talk about the different leadership styles and types.

And, I don't know, this should resonate with you to where you should fall in one of these categories. And if you don't, ⁓ well, I'll give you some tips at the end on how maybe you can smoke that out just a little bit, but you know,

leadership isn't just about barking orders. It's really about inspiring your team, ⁓ navigating growth, creating culture. mean, really when it comes to leadership, I believe that when leadership, your job is to clear out any obstacles and BS that's in the way of your team so they can win. Because as long as you have it built correctly,

Then if they win, you win. And the other thing in leadership that's really important is to make sure and match the WHY's. talk about this a lot, but your team members don't care about your why. And that sounds a little bit harsh. So I'm going to say it a little bit differently. They're concerned about their why not yours. And I'm, and I'm sure you've heard, and if you haven't,

I heard the, the saying about what's everybody's favorite radio station, W II F ⁓ which stands for what's in it for me. Again, I don't want to sound like I'm bringing everybody down as far as their teammates go, but the truth is, is there has to be a why behind it for them. And as a leader, another part of what your challenge and obstacles are is you have to make sure that you're lining up the two WHY'S. What is your why and how do you align it with their why?

Because the truth is, is the world we live in now is totally different. Like we have this whole gig economy now where if somebody doesn't want to be a technician for you and they leave, whether it's voluntarily or you politely ask them to go work for the competition. the time they get in their vehicle, they can already be on an app working, whether it's Uber eats or Uber or whatever it is. I mean, there's a, there's a lot of different ways in order to.

generate revenue these days and generate income that's not on a full-time basis. So leadership is really important to make sure that you're building a cultivation, building and cultivating a team that people want to be there. Cause I can tell you this

When you have a really good culture, fun culture, people want to show up and be there. And that's how you, when you create those cultures, that's how you kind of get away from that. ⁓ Jimmy's going down the road for a dollar more an hour. this is really what you want with good leadership. So again, today we're going to be talking and diving into what are the four different styles of leadership.

Listen, also understanding your leadership style, it really, and truly will help you lead intentionally. And when you're leading intentionally, it helps avoid you really, you getting burned out, your team getting burned out and ultimately your team really breaking down. So here's the four core styles of leadership. So the four core. So the first one is visionary. The second one is democratic.

The third is coaching and the fourth is commanding. Now, as you hear that, I'm curious if anybody goes, well, I think the answer should be this. And I think the correct answer should not be this other one, but let's dig into a little bit about, ⁓ what, what that actually means when you're talking about the two different or the four different styles. So a visionary leader is really kind of a big picture, future focused.

inspiring leader, right? They paint a really clear picture on where the company's going. they're really good at rallying people around them and in this vision and this crazy idea of what they want this business, to look like. Now this leader may struggle with the details or the follow through,

Think about it like this. It's kind of a, Hey, here's where we're going. I you know, everybody let's go. Like, let's go, let's go, let's go. And so visionary leader, that's, that's really kind of, ⁓ some of the breakdowns of that. So painting a clear picture, rallying everybody behind what the vision looks like. and again, some of the struggles that leader would have a lot of times as details and follow through full disclosure.

when it comes to leadership, a lot of that for me falls under the visionary side of it. again, all of these, I'm sure, as you listen to some of this and as we talk through it, ⁓ some of these you'll go, yeah, that's me. Or, that's not me. And you'll, you'll kind of go through it a little bit, but the second one is your democratic leader. ⁓ your democratic leader is going to be your team first include, you know, like

Everybody's included. Everybody's on the bus, consensus driven, like let's all be on the bus and let's go. a lot of time, these kind of leaders really want to involve a lot of other people in the decision making process. you know, some, some good parts of this is you really, you can build a lot of.

buy-in and loyalty from your team because they see, Hey, you know, my guy over here, my leader over here, he's, he's always asking my opinion and, and, and that's good. There's, there's really some parts that are good at that. The bad side of that can be, it can slow down progress. if overused, right? So if every, you, you want to have your team feel involved, but

⁓ sometimes democratic leaders tend to really get bogged down in the, in the fine details of getting everybody involved. And sometimes that can really slow up the process. You know, think about it like this. what do you think? Let's all decide together. Right? So that's, that's probably a term that you would hear from a democratic leader. Now, next one is a coaching leader.

So coaching leader is going to be really growth minded, supportive, empowering. They're going to focus on really developing people long-term, know, they're going to be thinking about that three to five year term when it comes to their team. they're going to be the type of person, the type of leader that gives good feedback. they're going to ask questions and they're going to build confidence.

So asking questions and getting everybody's feedback is a little bit different. So I don't, I don't want to get those two confused, but yeah, they're going to give feedback and they're going to ask good questions. And a lot of times that will build confidence in the people that are on your team because you're giving them honest and open feedback. And you're also asking them the questions, not only about the company, but really, you know, how am I as a leader, which is a, which is a really good practice to do.

Now, some of the, some of the downside of this sometimes could be it really, it can take a long time and patients to see results because sometimes you have to be, you know, a little more, maybe not swing a hammer when it comes to, there's a problem again, you're given feedback. So that's good, but there's still this whole process of.

You know, here's the line in the sand. You can't cross it. And sometimes coaching leader, there's a little bit of a struggle with that. So think about like this, like, how can I help you grow and succeed? Like that's probably a really good quote that you'd hear from a lot of good coaching leaders. And fourth is going to be your commanding leader. Uh, commanding leader is going to be a very direct, decisive results oriented type of leader.

a lot of times they are going to take charge and they're going to move quickly, which again, that can be good and bad. We'll get into the second. commanding leaders. A lot of times have clear expectations and they're fast to make decisions. So, you know, kind of a, kind of a downside to that could be. They can come off a little bit as controlling, ⁓ if not balanced, a lot of times people can think about micromanaging a little bit.

a statement, a commanding leader might make is something like, here's what needs to happen. Let's get it done. ⁓ again, as we go through all four of these, you can hear pros and cons to each of them. And I really think that a lot of times people have, you know, as I go through that list, I have some visionary qualities when it comes to leadership. ⁓ I do have some, ⁓

some command ones in there. And I, and I do have a lot of visionary that, that are in there as well. So the truth is, and the thing to remember is or one size really doesn't fit all, there are some different blends that can happen. And, and honestly, there's some, there's some shifts that sometimes happen depend on what phase you are in business. But again, you want to make sure to identify your style.

So that you have a very good understanding of how you're doing it now If you kind of went through and we just went through those four and you think well You know I kind of feel like I check a lot of boxes in all of them or I don't know if I check any boxes in any of them

You know, there's a couple of different ways that you can self-evaluate the style of leadership that you have. one thing is there's tons of assessments, that are out there online. If you don't have one, you can certainly send me an email or a message. I'll be happy to share one with you. another thing is to get feedback from your team.

You know, you're going to have to do this in kind of a one-on-one scenario, but, know, don't be afraid to ask your team like, you know, when it comes to leadership based on these, what are some boxes that you feel like I check or where do you feel like I need improvement? Um, you know, the truth is if you give people permission, to either raise their hand or give good feedback, a lot of times they will, you just have to make sure and give it.

Give it some safe space, give them the place that they need in order to, give that feedback. But you know, you can, you can be honest and respectful and give feedback, even if it's, you know, even if they're frustrated with you, there's still a respectful way to do that. and another way to do it is through coaching or mentoring. know, if everybody listening, you should, you should have a coach, you should have a mentor. ⁓ and this is something that if you, if you do have a coach or mentor, this is something they can.

that can really help you work through to figure out what style is going on.

There's a couple of things that I want to point out as we kind of go through a little bit of this stuff. ⁓ and one is, is really that kind of matching leadership to team needs. And the truth is, I know I'm not saying that, that you change based on what your team wants at the moment, but there is different seasons in your business. And as you're having different seasons in your business, I do think it's important that you're kind of shifting a little bit.

and being flexible, right? So no one, when to switch up, no one, when to lean in on certain areas. and just, just being aware of what your team needs from you. You know, that's the other thing is there's some teams that need that swing the hammer, ⁓ commanding type of leadership. And there's times that they don't, you know, for instance, if you think about your call takers.

You know, if you go in there and you're swinging a hammer and then they're getting on the phones, that's probably going to be a little bit different than if you're dealing with an install team that, you know, has 5,700 callbacks. You can have a little bit of a different conversation with them. So just, just make sure as you're going through and you're thinking about, know, which leadership style do I, do I fall under? Which one is it? Just make sure that you're thinking about not only what style you, you

often portray, but also what, do you feel like your team needs from you?

You know, I would say that leadership is really probably one of the most important things in a business, Because when you think about kind of a trickle down effect, I mean, culture, retention, getting the team to execute. mean, a lot of that kind of core things come from, the leadership and the style leadership and how much is the team behind your leadership style.

You know, again, we, kind of talked a little bit about, you know, figuring out which, which style are you? And, you know, I think it's important as you're going through this to really be honest with yourself. And, um, some, sometimes that's easy for people and sometimes it's not, but really kind of be honest as you, as you go through this and think about, know, which style am I, am I the swing the hammer? Am I the, you know, Kumbaya? Am I a combination of the two that don't be, don't be afraid to ask your team for feedback.

You know, the truth is great leaders, they're flexible in their style and they do a pretty good job of adapting to what their team needs. Meaning, you know, sometimes there's a, there's a way that you're trying to lead and it's not working. a course, correct. If it's a big initiative or a big thing, you were, you were ready to go for, and it was wrong. Man, do not be scared to go to your team and say, I was wrong. I was wrong.

This initiative didn't work. Let me tell you, ⁓ we're going to do this a little bit different and just, just kind of, ⁓ ask for grace. It's okay. It's fine.

So again, kind of, kind of to go over from a high level your four core styles of leadership, you're going to have your visionary, you're going to have your democratic, you're going to have your coaching and you're going to have your commanding different leadership. So think about it, which one do you fall under more times than not? Are you the.

paint a clear picture of where the company's going. Are you comfortable getting in rallying the troops and you know, let's go everybody. Come on, let's go. are you more of that democratic leader where you really want to involve everybody in the decision making process? you are really good at buy-in and loyalty. Are you more of a coaching leader where you're supportive and you're empowering and you really focus on developing people long-term? And here's another one giving.

crystal clear feedback and asking questions. again, all those things are going to fall under the coaching. or do you fall under more of the commanding leader, which is direct and decisive and results oriented and really that take charge and move fast, clear expectations, fast decisions.

which one are you? One size doesn't fit all again, sometimes there's, there's a little bit of a flex that happens in your leadership, depending on what season you are in your business, but just take a moment. Think about which one you fall underneath, ⁓ that leadership style, which one really

represents you.

At the end of the day,

Leadership isn't about being perfect. Honestly, it's probably even more about consistent than anything else, but it's also about being present, being aware, and being willing to grow and do whatever to help your team grow. Cause your growth equals your company growth.

So listen, I hope all that information was helpful, talking about the four different styles of leadership. I want to say thank you. for joining me on today's episode and listen, make sure to subscribe. So you're notified anytime we release new content and, share with other leaders that you feel like could really benefit from mastering leadership styles.

Also, here's another thing. If you want to do a solid for me, five star reviews are big and they really help us navigate this, ⁓ secret wizard of algorithms and really helps get our message out in front of other people who could also benefit from, checking out the show as well. Listen until next time, keep setting those trust goals and watch your business and leadership transformed.

This is Justin Deese signing off from the Freedom Blueprint podcast. Stay motivated, lead with intention, and as always, keep crushing it.