Why 3 leadership styles are better than one

Savvy leaders know when and how to switch up their leadership style based on the situation and the person, asserts leadership expert and author Paul Thornton. Using suitable leadership styles -- discussing, directing or delegating -- "motivates people to be fully engaged and motivated ... [and] also builds people's knowledge and skills, making them more effective employees," Thornton writes.

Put it into practice: Minister David Hurst, in the early stages of counseling, relies on discussion to identify "the reasons behind the behavior." Professor Beth McGinnis-Cavanaugh uses delegating to teach students "how to advocate for themselves, ask for help, communicate, seek needed resources and work independently." John P. Murphy, a fire department emergency management director, uses directing in emergencies when "[t]here is no time for discussion and collaboration. Decisions must be made quickly."

"Supercommunicators" know that they "need to be having the same kind of conversation at the same time if we want to connect with each other," writes journalist Charles Duhigg in his book "Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection." To do so, they must ask deep questions, give proper weight to nonlinguistic communication, prove that they want to connect with someone and understand the value of social conversation, Duhigg says.

Put it into practice: Start asking 10 to 20 times more questions than others, and make them deep without being inappropriate, such as "What happened next?" "Did you always want to practice law?" Duhigg writes. Also, connect better with people nonlinguistically by matching their energy and laughter.

Many meetings seem pointless, but convening meetings where that's the point -- to explore hunches and ideas with no set agenda or outcome -- can boost productivity and innovation, writes Lori Melichar, the senior director of the Pioneering Ideas for an Equitable Future team at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Melichar outlines how Slow Hunch Jams, trend-sensing sessions and just time to wonder about possibilities have paid off for their organization.

A photo of the ripple effects across the moon from a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch won photographer Pascal Fouquet the US division of the 2024 World Photography Awards. Other winners include a photo of fog rolling in on the tallest bronze Buddha statue in Asia on Vietnam's Ba Den Mountain, taken by photographer Tran Tuan Viet, and an image of an elephant taking a sand bath along Nepal's Narayani River, taken by Ju Shen Lee.

Today's issue focuses on leadership superpowers -- whether it's spotting new opportunities, choosing the most effective leadership style, communicating in ways that help others and boost their confidence or convening meetings with the agenda to brainstorm and bring out new ideas.

As Ed Batista notes, the key to effectively using all these superpowers is emotional regulation, which does not mean suppressing emotions.

"Instead," observes Batista, "emotion regulation entails improving our ability to sense, understand, articulate and express our emotions, and we develop those skills by getting closer to our feelings, not by distancing ourselves from them."

Once we can do that, then the shadow side of our superpowers -- in the forms of hubris, fear or blindness to other alternatives -- can't cripple us like kryptonite.

What are your leadership superpowers? How have you been affected by that shadow side and worked to strengthen your weaknesses? Tell me about it.

If this newsletter helps you, please tell your colleagues, friends or anyone who can benefit. Forward them this email, or send this link.

What topics do you see in your daily work that I should know about? Do you have praise? Criticism? Drop me a note. And don't forget to send me photos of your pets, your office and where you spend your time off.