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Leadership Styles, Behaviors, and Approaches

Intermediate 0.9 hours English Course Certificate
SkillsLeadershipLeadership stylesManagementTeam leadershipSelf-awareness

Is this course right for you?

Our take
How do effective leaders actually operate? This LinkedIn Learning course maps out the range.

Good for: Understanding the range of leadership styles and approaches.

Skip if: You want hands-on management skills or deep academic theory.

In about an hour it walks through the traits associated with modern leadership, the major leadership styles, and current thinking on leading diverse teams — a useful conceptual map for reflecting on and developing your own approach. Because it's conceptual, it's the wrong pick if you want hands-on management skills or deep academic theory. Watching it needs a LinkedIn Learning subscription (usually a free trial first; free through many libraries); the certificate it adds stands as a learning record rather than a credential. The styles it surveys remain a useful lens (as of 2026).

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About this course

Leadership Styles, Behaviors, and Approaches surveys how effective leaders actually operate. In about an hour it walks through the traits of modern leadership, the major leadership styles, and contemporary approaches to leading diverse, dynamic teams — including the pressures of AI-driven change.

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Instructor

AL
Alexander Lyon
LinkedIn Learning instructor

Taught by Alexander Lyon, a communication and leadership professor and educator who specialises in organisational leadership.

Frequently asked questions

The main leadership styles and approaches — such as directive, participative, transformational, and servant leadership — how they differ, and when each is effective. It helps you understand your own style, recognise others', and adapt your approach to the situation and people you lead. It is about the range of ways to lead and choosing the right one, rather than a single prescribed method.

A mix, leaning practical. It explains the styles and the thinking behind them, then focuses on applying that self-awareness to real leadership situations — recognising which approach fits a given team or challenge. The value comes from using the framework to reflect on and adjust how you lead, so it is more useful applied to your actual role than absorbed passively.

It is short — typically an hour or two — as a focused LinkedIn Learning course. That makes it an efficient way to understand the range of leadership styles and reflect on your own, without a large time commitment. Applying the insight to how you lead is where it pays off, so treat the runtime as the introduction and practice as where it lands.

Not by default — it runs on LinkedIn Learning, which is subscription-based — but a free trial is common, and many public libraries and universities give members full access at no cost. Check whether a library card or an institution you belong to already provides LinkedIn Learning before paying, since that quietly unlocks this course and the whole catalogue.

Yes, you earn a LinkedIn Learning completion certificate for your profile. Treat it as a signal of professional development rather than a formal qualification — leadership is judged by how you actually lead, not a badge. The real value is understanding the styles and applying the right one, which shows in your effectiveness with teams far more than in the certificate.
Paid
LinkedIn Learning subscription
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