Every leader is different, but their approach to leadership does tend to fall into broad categories. We’ve outlined the five types of leader we think are the most successful in business – along with the pitfalls should it all go wrong

The dictator

The archetype of the leader, the dictator demands excellence and rewards loyalty lavishly, but any dissent is met with a chilling display of ruthlessness. Unrelenting in the pursuit and maintenance of power, they build organisations as monuments to their own authority – machine-like in their efficiency and engagingly theatrical in their branding. Under threat, however, dictators sink into paranoid fantasies and make bizarre decisions – they may make the trains run on time, but you know it’ll end in tears.

Famous dictators: Mussolini, Michael Corleone, Catherine the Great

The bureaucrat

Bureaucrats didn’t get where they are today without following the rules and they oversee model companies run with transparency, accountability and with all the correct policies in place. Bureaucrats have a deep knowledge of their sector and formidable command of detail – they explore every angle before making a decision, so you can be sure the outcome will be the one they predicted. Follow the rules and you’ve got a job for life – if you want to work for a business where simple decisions take months, processes are more important than people and inspiration is strangled by an obsessive esteem for detail.

Famous bureaucrats: Mao Zedung, Leonid Brezhnev

The visionary

Idealistic and inspirational, visionaries are dedicated to the big idea they believe will make the world a better place. Everything else flows from this, and the organisations they mould are as driven by faith as they are by systems. Visionaries have charismatic personalities, irresistible powers of persuasion and they are revered as icons by colleagues and employees. But are they potent symbols or false gods? Visionaries arouse resentment and should unwelcome realities intrude on their ideals, they quickly seem remote, irrelevant and irritatingly sanctimonious.

Famous visionaries: Gandhi, Joan of Arc, Emily Pankhurst, Che Guevara

The action hero

Action heroes are restless, hands-on leaders who love to battle against the odds and come up trumps. Their low boredom thresholds and powerful need to take on new challenges means they create diverse, energetic organisations with multiple business interests where risk-takers thrive. But constant change can be wearing and limelight-loving action heroes seldom give others room to develop. You can guarantee, too, that when a flimsy scheme collapses, it won’t be the boss who’s tainted by the consequences.

Famous action heroes: Winston Churchill, Alexander the Great, Bodicea

The parent

Parents are empathetic, caring and take a personal interest in the lives and welfare of their employees. Operating largely through consensus, they build organisations with strong foundations, and their businesses may take time to mature. When they do, however, they have character, and these are places where you can develop knowing you will be given second chances. But parents can be too indulgent and dynastic, promoting favourites beyond their capability and allowing individual whims to dictate policy. And their tolerance conceals a dictatorial streak – disappoint them and the result can be devastating.

Famous parents: Don Vito Corleone, King Lear, Tony Soprano

What do you think of our selection? What kind of leader is your ideal? Have your say.