A friend of mine is a leadership expert that consults with 250 plus CEOs every year. He helped me to understand that there are more than just two kinds of leaders: the good; and, the bad. I’m not talking about the types of leadership processes, skills or styles, but rather the inborn brand of leadership birthed within a given leader.

A recent Forbes magazine suggested another way of looking at that inborn leadership. The article clarified the differences of leadership types from the typical interpersonal leader who inspires and enables.

ARTISTIC LEADERS inspire by influencing emotions. They help people to see things from new perspectives and encourage the taking of new approaches. These leaders are all about creating new stories and art, with little interest in ruling or guiding. They only want to change perceptions.

SCIENTIFIC LEADERS inspire by influencing knowledge. They develop their ideas with consistent thinking to create new technologies, conduct research, and teach their well thought-out ideas. Using data, analysis and logic, these leaders create structure that helps others solve problems.

INTERPERSONAL LEADERS inspire by influencing behaviors. They rule, guide and inspire teams, organizations and political groups.

Within each type of inborn leader, there are subcategories of leadership colored by personalities.

MASTER CRAFTSMAN is really good at what he does. At his core is a desire to learn. He can be either a scientific or artistic leader, but many times are introverted. On the negative side, he dies inside when over managed.

CHAMPION strives to be the best. He is the overcomer in spite of he situation. He usually is forthright and opinionated. He shows up as the assertive person leading sales and political campaigns. On the negative side, he dies inside when hindered.

THINKER is a problem solver. He is project-oriented and an interpersonal leader. On the negative side, he dies inside when over loaded.

GIVER is the person who leads within the ranks. He is a great team player and loyal. Many times he shows up working at headquarters or in customer service. On the negative side, he dies inside if he’s not taken care of.

The Artistic, Scientific and Interpersonal leader all face matters differently. If asked, “What matters?” The Artistic answers, “perception,” the Scientific answers, “solutions,” and the interpersonal answers, “cause.”

If asked how they connect, the Artistic answers, “by touching the soul,” the Scientific answers, “by touching the mind,” and the interpersonal answers, “by touching the heart.”

The impact made by their work is also different. They know that their impact was successful if the presentation or product moved or changed the audience’s feelings (Artistic), knowledge (Scientific) or behavior (Interpersonal).

Most importantly, if you ask each leader what it takes to win, they will reply differently. The Artistic answers, “new approach,” the Scientific answers, “better thinking,” and the interpersonal answers, “rally team.”

There are even differences in how issues are explored. The Artistic explores media, the Scientific explores problems, and the Interpersonal explores context.

This new vantage point of leadership gave me a new perspective on how we address issues and develop products/art. It also helped me understand the various leadership styles present on movie sets. Can you picture the various leadership styles within the roles of a motion picture company?

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers