The Nine Types of Leader: How the Leaders of Tomorrow Can Learn from The Leaders of Today

by James Ashton

Business Book Awards 2022 - Leadership

Find out what makes great leaders tick, learn what it takes to be credible and read about the things that they'd do differently if they had to do it all again.

The Nine Types of Leader introduces some obvious and some not so obvious types of leader through stories, anecdotes and insight garnered from hundreds of encounters with world-class leaders. Featuring interviews with industry titans including Jean-Francois Decaux of JC Decaux, Michael Rapino of Live Nation, Zhang Ruimin of Haier, Gavin Patterson of Salesforce and Isabelle Kocher of Engie, it explores how the leaders of tomorrow will improve their game by borrowing from the very best of the nine types of leader that exist today.

Renowned journalist, James Ashton assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each leadership type, highlighting where and when they are best deployed, whilst helping you identify who you are and how you can improve performance. As the world seeks to recover from drastic disruption and uncertainty and the most acute test of leadership in living memory, it projects how future leaders can learn from what has gone before.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Psychology

288 pages, Paperback

Published January 26, 2021

About the author

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Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leaders
Nine Types of Leader is an interesting book on the characteristics and nature of leaders and James Ashton does a great job of pulling examples to reinforce the points and observations he makes. Leadership is the cornerstone of an organisation’s culture and has a huge impact on success. The study of leadership is an important exercise to arm the decision-makers in appointing or investing in leaders, or for those with their sights set on achieving a leadership level. The skillset of leaders has always been debatable and, as even this title suggests, there is no one way to define the appropriate leader for an organisation.

This book provides an excellent flow of scenarios and examples of leaders and the situations that brought them notoriety and the profile they gained. That is the main essence of the book and as I do enjoy reading about leaders from business, politics, community and war, where our history is full of many positive and negative examples of each, this is a great addition. These last few years have shown the poignant impact of leaders in power – many illustrating that leaders guide everyone through difficult times not exacerbate them. Others destroy everything around them in pursuit of their own selfish rewards.

The Nine Types of Leaders are: Alphas, Fixers, Sellers, Founders, Scions, Lovers, Campaigners, Diplomats and Humans.
At the end of each chapter for each type of leader is a short Brief, which is useful for a quick reminder. An example is:

ALPHAS IN BRIEF
Strengths: Visionary, energetic, inspiring, tough, traditional.
Weaknesses: Inflexible, narrow-minded, failure to listen, failure to adapt.
Suitability: Leading big, multinational companies with many moving parts, large workforces, disparate locations and regulatory challenges.
Where you will find them: In fewer boardrooms than you used to as a consensual leadership style is favoured.

In a genre that loves numbers from Zero to One, Art of the Start 2.0, Three Levels of Leadership, Four Disciplines, Five Dysfunctions, Six Sigma, Sever Habits, and Eight Lessons – we now have Nine Types of Leader. There is a drive to provide a quantifiable number of steps, or types or possibilities and I often wonder how many of these books start with a fixed number and then negotiate the breakdown against it. I can imagine several ways to divide the characteristics up and at times it feels divided by personality and others by role plus the terms aren’t always intuitive.

I would recommend this book and I would also like to thank Kogan Page and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC copy in return for an honest review.

[Fabian Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Summary:

This book is the result of deep and year long research and journalism of leaders and their organisations.
It categorises all of them in nine types, where the author tells exemplary stories to emphasise each leadership type. The purpose of the book is to shine a light on strengths and weaknesses of the types and to explain where a particular style comes in handy and where not.

I liked the book a lot, because as a young business student it serves kind of as a sorting hat. It can help you find out more about yourself and if you strive to be a leader to others, what kind you might be or can be.

Another thing I like about it is resembled in the title. According to the author there are nine types of leadership and each one has examples of successful respected leaders. Meaning there is no one type of leading people, not one fits-all-prototype you have to be.
The message should be anyone can be a leader, there’s no fixed framework on how to be one and there’s always room for a tenth, eleventh and more type.

Would recommend.

[Alex Ventisei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice summary of some major leadership styles, but I don’t think this really scratched the itch for me. This felt like an insight into leader’s lives is a more subjective way than I was expecting. I want graphs and stuff haha

[Maaike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute rubbish

The writing style made me vomit in my mouth.
The eternal asslicking of people who are CEO’s. Most of them are men and assholes, but somehow we should look up to them. And now I know they can come in 9 flavors, my life is enriched.
I don’t know why I picked up this book at the library, I must be dumb.

[Jung]

Let's take a closer look at nine types of leadership style.

Alpha.
Authoritarian.
Democratic.
Affiliative.
Coaching.
Visionary.
Laissez-faire.
Pacesetting.
Commanding.

Like people, companies are diverse and experience ongoing change. Because of this, different organizations benefit from different leadership styles at different stages of their lives. Leaders who understand their own strengths, weaknesses, and personalities recognize which type of company will benefit most from their particular leadership style. This ability benefits both firms and leaders themselves.

Here is some actionable advice:

If you want to join the next generation of leaders, prepare to face formidable challenges. Human leaders – the ninth type of leader – are future-oriented. Digitally savvy and ready to experiment in rapidly changing business environments, they’re brilliant at problem-solving. They’re also adept at mitigating the social and environmental impacts of their organizations.

To evolve into this type of leader, you need to recognize that decisions you make impact society; and you’ll also need to learn to foster profitability and sustainability, simultaneously.

Another important step is to commit yourself to inclusivity and clear communication. It’s all about creating a human-centric workplace. Recognize that people who work for your company are its core asset. They generate business solutions, sure, but they also act as your company’s advocates.

To become a human leader, then, you need to think about business, the environment, society, and people – all at the same time. This may be tricky, but this is the future.

---

Alpha leaders are charismatic, dedicated monarchs.

It’s a hot summer’s night in August 2015, and 2,000 excited audience members are taking their seats in Salzburg to watch Verdi’s Il Trovatore. This performance is part of Salzburg’s annual opera festival, and one of the best stalls in the opera house has been reserved for Peter Brabeck-Letmathe – chairman of the world’s largest food company, Nestlé.

Nestlé has sponsored the festival, and Brabeck-Letmathe is officially there as the company’s representative. Like at other events he attends, his presence captures people’s attention: he captivates people just as much as any famous tenor, without ever needing to do anything dramatic.

Brabeck-Letmathe is an Alpha leader, charming, confident, and striking. His strong personality has played a key role in leading a company worth £60 billion in annual sales.

You’ll always know when you’re in the presence of alpha leaders. Like true monarchs, they conduct themselves as if they’re the most important people in the room. They’re inspiring, sure, but they’re also intimidating. Staff hang on every syllable they utter and worry over pleasing them.

Alphas firmly believe in themselves and rule accordingly – with absolute control. This style may seem egotistical, but alphas need that level of confidence because they typically lead multinational companies with broad portfolios. There simply isn’t time for second-guessing, or ruling by consensus.

Alphas are future-focused. They know that it takes time to build a kingdom – and they aren’t afraid to wait. This leads them to invest in research and development that will broaden their portfolios even further.

Under Brabeck-Letmathe’s leadership, Nestlé spent 25 years developing the Nespresso coffee-making system. Today, it’s become a staple of homes and offices.

So alphas are committed to the long game; and they’re also competitive. This means that they often stay with one business for decades, moving up the ranks over time.

Let’s think about Brabeck-Lethathe again. By 2015 he’d been with the company for nearly 50 years. Nestlé had been his life’s work.

But the age of the alpha is coming to a close. As the age of globalization fades away, business empires become less attractive. Instead, we’re entering an era where the benefits of inclusivity become more and more apparent. Most boards now question autocratic leadership styles.

If you’re an alpha and you want to continue leading in the contemporary workplace, you need to relax your grip and become more collaborative. Delegate, listen to consumers and stakeholders, and you’ll maintain your place on the throne while keeping step with new business practices.

---

Founder leaders are driven visionaries who thrive on a challenge.

It’s the summer of 2015. In the Virgin Atlantic lounge at Heathrow Airport, holidaymakers are enjoying the buffet, while executives tap on their laptops. A hush falls over them all as Sir Richard Branson – founder of the Virgin Group – enters the lounge. He shakes hands with the staff and then disappears through a side door to discuss Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight from London to Detroit.

Here was an entrepreneur doing what he does best: launching something new.

Branson is the quintessential Founder. He’s creative and unconventional. He wore jeans to meetings long before they became Silicon Valley’s uniform, and his penchant for fun hasn’t stopped him from building an empire that spans cell phones, hotels, and banking services.

Founders are the rock stars of the business world. Famous and rich, they’re hunted by the media who love their antics and success. They love taking risks, and they have a certain glamor that outdazzles other leadership types.

Their stories capture the popular imagination: here’s somebody who had a brilliant idea and developed it into a winning product, and a thriving business. On that journey, they amass followers – loyal colleagues inspired to work alongside them. And they also attract their fair share of fans – people who idolize them.

But behind all this glitz and glamour is a visionary’s years of hard work. Founders may have an unwavering drive, but it arises from their passion about their products. Once they’ve established their empires, it’s this passion that keeps them on the throne, even when lucrative buy-out options are on the table.

To a founder, wealth is nice, but it’s not as important as living the dream.

Because founders have a clear vision and aren’t interested in working for someone else, they’re often motivated to launch start-ups. And they become emotionally invested in them. This can make it hard for a founder to move on even when the time is right.

But once a business is established and all scope for innovation exhausted, founders will inevitably get itchy feet. They excel in the realm of innovation, not in the routine of merely running a well-functioning business machine.

---

Diplomat leaders calmly navigate complex and competing needs.

Until 2018, Dame Helen Ghosh was director general of the National Trust – the British charity that maintains public spaces. With its vast collection of notable estates and thousands of acres of land, the National Trust is a far greater part of an average Briton’s life than any public company.

Managing such a vast array of assets involves a massive team: 14,000 staff members, 65,000 volunteers, a 36-person council, and a 12-person board. But that’s not all. There are also families who bequeath their estates to the trust, along with town councils and even local interest groups, who will all have their own opinions on how assets are used.

It was Ghosh’s job to reconcile the demands of every last one of these people.

An organization that faces so many stakeholders calls for a special type of leader – one who can exercise restraint and reflect deeply. Diplomats are ideal when you need to balance expert advice against demands of diverse, interested and, above all, vocal parties.

In essence, Ghosh’s role was to listen to stakeholders, then make decisions. Inevitably, many of these attracted heavy criticism. People said it was wrong to put floor cushions in grand houses so people could soak up the atmosphere, or pay a premium price for farmland in the Lake District.

But in every decision she made, Ghosh worked to find consensus.

Diplomats seek solutions which are inclusive. They use their highly advanced listening skills to gather information and evidence from stakeholders, and then they look for steps that will benefit the majority. That ability to take everyone into consideration makes diplomats valuable in workplaces which strive for equity.

Often, diplomats are appointed to positions of authority by their colleagues. For instance, they may combine two roles: those of a company’s partner and its chief executive.

David Sproul was in this situation when he moved into the leadership role at Deloitte. In 2002, Sproul helped negotiate the sale of a share in his previous firm – Arthur Andersen – to Deloitte. In this deal, he represented the interests of hundreds of Andersen colleagues and partners.

During his tenure at the top of the company, Sproul always found time to discuss shared values with his fellow partners. He stayed deeply connected to their interests while balancing the overall needs of the firm.

Diplomats may not be fast-moving or charismatic. But their light-touch approach to leadership allows them to foster collaboration and promote a shared company identity.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The introduction is sort of interesting. It is usually used to set the premise of a book, to set context for a story, or to give history as to why the author is an expert on the subject. And oftentimes an introduction is written by someone who is not the author because heaping praise on the following material can come across as somewhat... well, as bragging. And this introduction sure did. There is a LOT of name-dropping in this intro and in the rest of the book. The author has certainly interviewed and been in contact with a lot of people whose names are recognizable.
I wish there had been more about why these 9 types had been chosen. Usually, with nonfiction, I enjoy seeing the scientific reasoning behind why specific categories were chosen and this book definitely doesn't have that. It is interesting that the author actually makes a point of saying that he didn't want to write "another academic study of leadership." And Ashton even admits that at least one of his analyses is very subjective Aside from the name-dropping, the author is a good writer and people may enjoy thinking about their own immediate (and not-so-immediate) leaders and categorizing them.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides accessible insight into modern leadership, but it lacks the polish and nuance of other leadership titles.

The nine archetypes of leaders chosen did indeed form the tenet of this book as it delved into the various traits and characteristics of various leaders, but I did feel that the book was very scattered (too many examples in one chapter which could definitely have been condensed), and it should provide additional helpful information about what readers can do to take the next step - perhaps identifying your own leadership type, or providing a compatibility chart which would have value-added to the book. Would also have been nice to see more examples of global leaders beyond the UK-centric companies and leaders mentioned in this book.

Overall, it's not a bad book, but it had the potential to be much more.

[Andrei Gavrila · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I did not fully read the book. I read the blinkist on it and spent around 40 minutes sampling different parts of the book.

I am confident the blinkist and/or the end of each chapter that explains strengths, weaknesses, and suitability might be enough for most people.

As far as I've seen each of the 9 types described are full of stories, examples, examples, examples. To me that is unappealing.

[Alicia Robben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great lead. Although the introduction did seem long, it was interesting to read about the different leaders and how we can use the leadership of today to prepare for the future. Some of the British references I didn’t understand fully but overall this is a good read!

Thanks to Kogan Page Ltd and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and well researched book, written by a journalist who has met and interviewed countless leaders in corporate life and not-for-profits over a 20 year period. He is therefore well placed to provide his observations and opinions regarding various leadership types and styles. Whether you have been a leader, currently lead others, or aspire to do so, this is well worth a read!

[Laurène Kaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think we can always take something from a book and I actually learnt about a few CEOs and their management style. I’m not saying it will become my basis to understand management but it can definitely feed your reflexion

[Norbert Deli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The base concept was good, but the much&detailed story made it worse. At least it turned out I'm a Lover type leader 😀

[Luca Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated the way it was written.