Different types of leadership is required at different times and for different purposes and people. As a leader an ability to recognize when you should employ different leadership approaches it an important trend. This is not about bending your leadership but about understanding how to apply it.

You often read about good and successful leaders in recent years that they practiced mindful leadership. Mindful leadership means being able to be in the moment and be conscious of all the variables, that includes your own thoughts, preferences and perceptions. Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahnamen wrote an interesting book a couple of years ago 'Thinking, Fast and Slow'. It reminds us that our thoughts, decisions and actions are influenced by many factors, but internal ones and how they perceive the world around us, are key among them. Do successful leaders become successful because they have perspective and can practice mindful leadership or do they achieve success and then gain a perspective that allows them to further develop the ability to be mindful and gain perspective? Perhaps both. But being mindful as a leader of the bigger picture and the picture in the moment should enable you to better listen and lead the people with whom you are working.

I think mindful leadership and being able to understand your preferences can be improved with self-awareness which can be gained through self-assessment. I use two tools, a personality profile tool (not because personality tools are perfect but because they open the door for self-awareness conversations) and Emotional intelligence assessment. I use tools called Typefocus and another called EQ-i 2.0. I have also worked with organizations that profile their leadership team so people can be more mindful and aware of potential differences in perspective and preference.

There are many leadership trends that work sometimes, in some places with some people. I think the best leaders (for the long term) include awareness of themselves, strengths and weaknesses and of the team around them.

Finding a good coach or partner who can help you gain perspective and see what you need to see and then use that to inform your leadership actions is always a good idea and one that is becoming more popular.