The rise of empathetic leadership feels good for everyone, but it's the reason we can't keep leaders any more! We need to focus on training leaders to be versatile.

We’ve demonised autocratic leadership so thoroughly that many leaders feel like they’re not allowed to lead that way anymore. But here’s the truth: sometimes, autocratic leadership is exactly what’s needed.

Leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every style, whatever words we use for the same things - democratic/collaborative, transformational/visionary, autocratic/authoritarian, servant/empathetic - has pros and cons:

• Democratic leadership gets buy-in but takes fooooorever!

• Transformational inspires but change fatigues teams (and often overlooks detail).

• Autocratic, when overused, can disempower. But it offers clarity (strongly correlated with wellbeing) and boy it gets shit done.

• And servant leadership makes people feel safe but often doesn’t empower them to solve their own problems. And it burns leaders out fast.

We shouldn’t treat any style as inherently good or bad. Instead, leaders need to learn when and how to use all of them.

No one wants a democratic approach when a patient is crashing, but it’s vital during change processes. No one wants autocratic leadership when the team feels unsafe, but it’s perfect for crisis management.

And yes, servant leadership feels great when it clears your path and removes barriers, but it often means leaders are left to resolve every interpersonal conflict and end up with an impossible task-list of barriers to remove when the team starts confusing discomfort with danger.

The result? Overwhelmed, unhappy leaders burning out and walking away.

It’s time we stop romanticising one leadership style or demonising others, and start training leaders to be versatile, situational, and clear about when to step up, step back, and hold firm.