Leadership Style Types: When Boldness Becomes a Virtue in 2025

January 31, 2025

In today’s hybrid and AI-augmented workplace, understanding different leadership style types has become more crucial than ever. While various leadership styles exist—from transformational to servant leadership—one characteristic that stands out among leadership style types is boldness.  

“Quit and leave the company!”

These words stunned me during what should have been a routine leadership consultation. I was working with a group of engineers, and this visceral response came from a team member when I asked how their manager could improve. The story that followed perfectly illustrates why boldness in leadership isn’t just about being aggressive— it’s about having the courage to stand behind your people when it matters most.

The engineer had developed an innovative solution to a persistent problem. His manager initially supported the idea, right until the moment they faced their confrontational CEO. When the CEO barked, “What idiot wants to waste all your budget on this stupid project?” the manager simply pointed to his direct report and stepped back into the shadows. In that moment, months of trust evaporated.

Fast forward to 2025, and while our workplaces have transformed with AI assistance and hybrid teams, this fundamental challenge remains: People still won’t follow a leader who won’t stand up for them, regardless of how many leadership style types they’ve studied or how many management books they’ve read.

Check out The 90th Percentile: An Unconventional Leadership Podcast,  Episode 75: As a leader, How Bold Should You Be? 

The Paradox of Bold Leadership in 2025

Modern perspectives on leadership style types often create conflicting feelings about bold leaders. While we admire those who confidently navigate digital transformation, we’re wary of those who push forward without considering long-term implications for both human capital and environmental impact. The issue isn’t boldness itself—it’s the absence of complementary skills that make boldness an asset.

10 Essential Behaviors That Make Boldness Work in Today’s Leadership

Based on recent assessments of over 70,000 leaders, we’ve identified 10 critical behaviors that, when combined with bold leadership, create exceptional outcomes in our current business climate:

  1. Good Judgment: Bold leaders without sound judgment become the proverbial bull in a china shop, regardless of the technology at their disposal. Even in 2025’s AI-augmented world, good judgment comes primarily from human insights, knowledge, and opinions. Extraordinary bold leaders understand this and actively seek help and perspective from others, using technology to enhance— not replace —human wisdom.
  2. Hybrid Inspiration: Bold leaders in 2025 must inspire and energize teams across multiple working models—remote, in-person, and hybrid. They must create compelling virtual experiences while maintaining human connection in an increasingly digital world.
  3. Adaptive Change Recognition: With the rapid pace of technological advancement and shifting workplace dynamics, bold leaders must quickly identify which changes are necessary for long-term sustainability versus temporary trends, particularly in AI adoption and environmental responsibility.
  4. Multi-Channel Feedback Integration: Modern bold leaders don’t just accept feedback—they actively seek it through multiple channels, including digital platforms, AI-powered analytics, and traditional face-to-face interactions. They understand that feedback in 2025 comes from both human and artificial intelligence sources.
  5. Inclusive Listening: Effective, bold leaders in today’s workplace practice inclusive listening across all communication channels, ensuring that both in-person and remote team members feel equally heard and valued.
  6. High Standards of Excellence: Bold leaders can mobilize and direct others, but they must ensure the direction is right and the actions are worthy. In 2025’s fast-paced environment, maintaining unwavering standards of excellence becomes even more critical as teams navigate rapid change. These standards serve as a constant compass, ensuring that speed never compromises quality.
  7. Digital-First Idea Marketing: Modern, bold leaders excel at promoting new ideas across digital platforms while maintaining authentic human connections. They understand how to leverage both traditional and digital channels to build support for initiatives.
  8. Future-Focused Vision: Today’s bold leaders must articulate clear visions that encompass both technological advancement and human-centered values, preparing their organizations for continued digital transformation while maintaining human connection.
  9. Spotting new trends, potential problems, and opportunities. Successful bold leaders in 2025 combine human intuition with AI-powered analytics to spot trends and opportunities, particularly in technological advancement, sustainability, and changing workforce dynamics.
  10. Keeping others focused on top priorities. Having the ability to keep others focused on the most pressing priorities is a key to success. Organizations get bogged down in hundreds of competing priorities, but bold leaders keep people focused on the few priorities that make a difference.

The Art of Balance in Modern Leadership

Being bold is a great skill, but it’s a bit like salt. By itself, it’s not very good, but when mixed with the right foods, it can make a huge difference. When I was young, I remember seeing my father put salt on cantaloupe. When I asked him what he was doing, he simply said, “Try it.” To my surprise, the salt brought out the sweetness in a way I’d never experienced before—and I’ve been putting salt on my cantaloupe ever since! The key is not to diminish boldness but to enhance it with the skills that make it truly effective in our current business landscape.

In 2025’s business environment, the most successful leaders understand that different leadership styles require different applications of boldness.

Remember: Various leadership style types can incorporate boldness effectively, but it’s the combination of boldness with these ten critical behaviors that transform good leaders.

-Joe Folkman