What is pacesetting leadership? Daniel Goleman in his book: Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence mentions the 6 Goleman Leadership Styles, and each style makes different impacts on both individuals and organizations.
He also indicates that you can learn to become a good leader over time and might experience a range of leadership styles that you might never have noticed before.
Are you curious about what your leadership style is? In this article, you'll learn everything about pacesetting leadership, its definition, its characteristics, its pros and cons, and examples as well. So, let's see whether you are a pacesetting leader or not.
Table of Contents
- What is Pacesetting Leadership?
- What are the qualities of Pacesetting Leadership?
- Advantages Pacesetting Leadership
- Disadvantages of Pacesetting Leadership
- When does Pacesetting Leadership Work best?
- Pacesetting Leadership examples (positive and negative)
- How to Overcome Negative Pacesetting Leadership
- Final thoughts
Overview
| Who is an example of a pacesetting leader? | Jack Welch - CEO of GE (1981 to 2001) |
| Who invented term 'pacesetting leadership'? | Daniel Goleman |
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What is Pacesetting Leadership?
A leader with a pacesetting leadership style is highly result-oriented. You are motivated by being the best, and thus, you prefer to work with a high-performance work team. Sometimes you are called a pacesetter as you are the only person “setting the pace” for the other people to follow. You are likely to put forward an approach that can be summarized as "Do as I do, now."
There is no right or wrong to be a pacesetting leader since it is the leader's role to promote the highest level of performance, speed, and quality. As well as no leader wants to take risks by delegating tasks to employees who cannot handle them. Though it is believed that the pacesetting style might destroy the climate, it also can be a good technique to persuade people to work toward common goals.
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What are the Qualities of Pacesetting Leadership?
So, what are the exact characteristics that pacesetting leaders demonstrate? There are five key components that define pacesetting leadership as follows. Take a look as it might help you understand more clearly this particular management style.
Lead by example
Pacesetting leaders lead through personal examples. They model the behavior, work ethic, and performance they expect from their team. They understand that actions speak louder than words and recognize the impact of their behavior on the overall performance of the team. By demonstrating a strong work ethic and displaying high standards themselves, they motivate others to follow suit.
Focus on Individual Responsibility
Pacesetting leaders emphasize individual accountability and hold team members responsible for their performance. They expect each person to take ownership of their work and deliver results. They may provide feedback and guidance, but they generally give team members the autonomy to execute their responsibilities.
Expect High Performance
Pacesetters have exceptionally high expectations for themselves and their team members. It also means that pacesetting leaders are self-motivated toward achieving goals and demand excellence. They set ambitious goals and expect everyone to meet or exceed them. The emphasis is on achieving excellence and constantly striving for improvement.
Maintain a Quick Pace and Intensity
Always working at a fast pace, there is no doubt that pacesetting leaders also expect the same level of intensity from their team members. They often have a sense of urgency and drive for immediate results. This can create a high-pressure environment that may be demanding and stressful for some individuals.
Take Initiative
Taking initiative can be considered an important quality of a pacesetting style leader. They prefer to take initiative by proactively identifying opportunities, making decisions, and taking action to drive progress and achieve goals. Pacesetting leaders don't wait for instructions or rely solely on others to initiate tasks or projects. Additionally, they are not afraid to take calculated risks and push boundaries to achieve desired outcomes.
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Advantages Pacesetting Leadership
The pacesetting style brings many benefits to employees and companies. The four obvious aspects that get the most of this style are explained below:
Promote high-quality work
The high standards set by pacesetting leaders often lead to increased productivity. When team members are pushed to perform at their best, they are more likely to find innovative solutions, work efficiently, and produce high-quality outcomes.
Address issues immediately
The best words to demonstrate pacesetting leaders are decisive and clear. In particular, this style of leadership allows for quick decision-making and swift action, which can be advantageous in fast-paced or time-sensitive situations.
Facilitate rapid growth
Pacesetting leaders challenge their team members to develop new skills and capabilities. By setting high standards, they encourage continuous learning and improvement, which can enhance the skill set of individual team members and contribute to their professional growth.
Demand excellence
It is worth noting that pacesetting leaders are likely to inspire their team members to develop new skills and capabilities. By setting high standards, they encourage continuous learning and improvement, which can enhance the skill set of individual team members and contribute to their professional growth.
Disadvantages of Pacesetting Leadership
While pacesetting leadership can have advantages in certain situations, it also has some potential disadvantages. Here are a few disadvantages of the pacesetting style that managers should consider:
Burnouts
The high standards, and sometimes unrealistic goals are likely to push their team members to be under pressure. If the pressure is more intense and constant, it might lead to increased stress levels and a higher risk of burnout among team members. This can negatively impact their well-being, job satisfaction, and overall productivity.
Loss of trust
Pacesetting leaders may prioritize results over the well-being of their team members. This can result in a lack of empathy and understanding of their concerns, challenges, or personal circumstances. When employees feel that their leader is unsympathetic or uncaring, trust in their leadership is likely to decline.
Less Job Satisfaction
An aggressive pacesetting management style can result in limited investment in the long-term development of team members. Without adequate attention to skill-building and professional growth, employees may feel stagnant and undervalued. Some may feel overwhelmed, unappreciated, and dissatisfied, leading them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Potential Micromanagement
Micromanagement probably happens when pacesetting leaders closely monitor and control every aspect of their team's work to ensure it meets their high standards. This act might lead to demotivation and disempowerment for team members. In addition, micromanagement restricts autonomy and can hinder creativity and problem-solving abilities.
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Pacesetting Leadership Examples
With the right tools and the right person, a pacesetting style can bring positive outcomes and efficiency. However, when this style is overused, usually accompanied by unethical behavior and a lack of integrity, it can bring negative consequences. There are four examples of pacesetting leadership, and two of them are bad examples.
Remarkable examples of Pacesetting Leadership
Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink)
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, is a prominent example of pacesetting leadership. Musk is known for his ambitious goals and determination to revolutionize industries such as electric vehicles, space exploration, and neurotechnology. He sets demanding standards and expects his teams to deliver groundbreaking advancements, pushing the boundaries of what is deemed possible.
Steve Jobs (Apple Inc.)
Steve Jobs, the co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc., is widely recognized as an iconic pacesetting leader. His unwavering pursuit of excellence, innovative thinking, and uncompromising standards set new benchmarks in the technology industry. Jobs' visionary leadership transformed Apple into one of the most valuable and influential companies globally.
Related: 5 Successful Transformational Leadership Examples
Negative Examples of Pacesetting Leadership
Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos)
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO of Theranos, exemplifies a negative example of pacesetting leadership. Holmes set out to revolutionize the healthcare industry by developing a blood-testing technology. She created a culture of intense secrecy and high expectations, setting ambitious goals for the company. However, it was later revealed that the technology did not work as claimed, leading to fraud charges against Holmes. Her relentless pursuit of success and failure to deliver on promises ultimately resulted in the downfall of Theranos.
Travis Kalanick (Uber)
Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, displayed a negative form of pacesetting leadership. Kalanick fostered a culture of intense competition and aggressive growth, setting ambitious goals for Uber's expansion. However, this pacesetting style led to a series of controversies, including allegations of harassment and discrimination within the company, as well as regulatory and legal issues. The relentless pursuit of growth without adequate attention to ethical considerations ultimately tarnished Uber's reputation.
Related: Signs of Toxic Work Environment and Best Tips to Avoid
When does Pacesetting Leadership Work Best?
Pacesetting management style of leadership doesn't work in all cases. To make the most of your team performance and best outcomes, as a leader, you should consider the following situations:
Short-term Projects or Goals
Pacesetting leadership can be effective when working on short-term projects or goals that require a rapid and focused effort to achieve specific outcomes. The leader sets clear expectations, closely monitors progress, and ensures that the team delivers results within a tight timeframe.
Time-sensitive or Crisis Situations
When leaders encounter time-sensitive or crisis situations where quick decisions and actions are necessary, they can take advantage of pacesetting leadership. The leader sets high expectations and drives their team to achieve immediate results, mobilizing everyone to work efficiently and effectively under pressure.
Highly Skilled and Self-Motivated Teams
Pacesetting leadership won't work unless teams consist of highly skilled and self-motivated individuals. The reason is high high-performing team members are competent, professional, and competitive for their inner motivation. What the pacesetting leader has to do is set challenging goals and push them to excel further, leveraging their existing competencies.
How to Overcome Negative Pacesetting Leadership
Overcoming negative pacesetting leadership requires a concerted effort from both leaders and the organization as a whole. It is also important to listen to subordinates' opinions as they are the ones who are under their management.
- Encourage open and transparent communication within the organization. Create channels for employees to express their concerns, share feedback, and provide suggestions for improvement.
- Focus on promoting a broader understanding of different leadership styles, and are willing to adjust
- Encourage employees to be involved in goal-setting discussions to ensure that targets are challenging yet achievable, and align with the capabilities and resources available.
- Conduct an assessment of the leadership style and its impact on individuals and the overall work environment by regularly collecting surveys or feedback from every possible stakeholder.
- HR can offer continuous leadership training to ensure leaders and managers are capable of managing and inspiring their employees.
Tips: Using AhaSlides to collect and analyze feedback much more efficiently and value for money.
Related:
- How Important Is Employee Engagement? All You Need To Know
- Why Employee Performance Evaluation Matters: Benefits, Types and Examples
- Employee Satisfaction Survey – Best Way to Create
Final Thoughts
Pacesetting leadership is not a bad choice in team management but not the perfect one in any case. But, it is also hard to say which leadership style is the most effective one, as each style of management has both pros and cons, and works under certain circumstances. It is the leader's choice to adopt a certain leadership style and switch to the other one when they are in different situations. Making more observations, taking feedback and conducting performance reviews a somewhat useful methods to becoming a great leader and a great team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pacesetting leadership?
Pacesetting leadership focused on the final product. This is a goal-oriented emotional leadership to drive high-achieving team members to accomplish as highest result possible!
What are the benefits of pacesetting leadership?
Pacesetting leadership is a leadership style characterized by a leader who sets high-performance standards for their team members and leads by example. The benefits of pacesetting leadership are helpful, including (1) high performance expectations (2) quick decision-making (3) skill development and (4) to increase accountability.
