3 management styles that beat out aggressive leadership, and how to master them

Assertiveness, dominance, competition, risk-taking: these are the hallmarks of traditional leadership models, and they’re overwhelmingly associated with men. From corporate boardrooms to political offices, the archetype of a “strong” leader has been built around commanding voices, hardliner decisions, and lone-wolf thinking.

This framing isn’t just outdated: it’s dangerous.

The traits we’ve long sidelined—compassion, collaboration, long-term thinking, humility—are no longer soft skills. They’re survival skills. And they’re overwhelmingly found in what are often called “feminine” leadership styles. In fact, businesses with gender-diverse executive teams are 25% more likely to outperform financially, and companies led by women CEOs have historically delivered around 223% return on equity over 10 years, versus 130% for companies led by men. Alternatively, Gallup research indicates that employee performance can drop by up to 30% under authoritarian or top-down management. 

It’s clear that aggressive leadership styles are not working, and that inclusive, emotionally intelligent leadership must be embraced by organizations that want to achieve greater success and longevity. But there are other leadership styles that are redefining what effective leadership looks like.

Collaborative Leadership: Power With, Not Power Over

Aggressive leadership thrives on control: the leader speaks, others listen. But in a world where the best solutions come from diverse voices and interdisciplinary teams, this model falls short. Collaboration isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a prerequisite for success.

Consider the turnaround of Korean Air in the 1990s. Plagued by fatal crashes, the airline discovered that junior crew members were too deferential to challenge their captains—a cultural deference to hierarchy that proved deadly. When Korean Air implemented training that encouraged teamwork and empowered all voices in the cockpit, its safety record transformed.

In modern organizations, collaborative leaders flatten hierarchies and empower team members to think, speak, and lead. They listen more than they talk and make decisions informed by a wide range of perspectives. They know that authority doesn’t mean having all the answers—it means creating the conditions for the best answers to emerge.

Purpose-Driven Leadership: Inspire, Don’t Intimidate

The traditional model of leadership motivates through pressure: meet your targets, or else. But this approach is a major driver of disengagement. According to Gallup, close to 80% of the global workforce is disengaged at work, costing businesses $8.8 trillion in lost productivity every year. Many are not just unmotivated: they’re working against their employers.

Intimidation is costly, but leaders who inspire with purpose reverse that trend.

Take Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, who focused not just on profits but on sustainability, health, and human well-being. Paul expanded the circles of connection and well-being, see circles in figure below. He ended quarterly earnings reports—an industry norm that drives short-termism—and embedded social and environmental goals into the company’s core strategy. The results? Unilever outperformed competitors and built one of the most admired brands in the world.

Purpose-driven leaders don’t lead with fear. They lead with vision. They make people care not just about what they do, but why they do it. In a generation of workers increasingly driven by values, this is your competitive edge.

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: Strength Through Empathy

For decades, leaders were taught to leave emotion at the door, or at best at home. But the truth is, emotional intelligence is one of the most powerful tools a leader can have. The ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions—both your own and others’—is essential for building trust, diffusing tension, and guiding teams through uncertainty.

Nelson Mandela is perhaps the most powerful example of this. After 27 years in prison, he emerged not bitter or vengeful, but focused on reconciliation. His leadership brought South Africa back from the brink of civil war—not through force, but through empathy, humility, and vision.

In business, emotionally intelligent leaders like Satya Nadella at Microsoft have reshaped company cultures by prioritizing learning, psychological safety, and inclusiveness. These leaders don’t mistake kindness for weakness: they understand that people do their best work when they feel seen, heard, valued, and respected.

The Future of Leadership Is Balance

The traits that aggressive leaders dismiss as weak—listening, collaborating, empathizing—are actually the ones that foster resilience, innovation, and long-term success. Masculine or feminine, they’re simply effective. And they’re precisely what today’s challenges demand.

The real question is whether leaders can meet the moment—and the moment calls for balance of a wider range of leadership skills, our full human leadership potential. We need leaders who can be bold and humble, decisive and inclusive, confident and caring. For too long, leadership has rewarded those who speak the loudest and dominate the room. The future will reward those who can listen, connect, and bring people together.

The age of aggressive leadership is over. The age of collaborative, purpose-driven, emotionally intelligent leadership has just begun. Ask yourself: What masculine and feminine leadership traits do I lead with? Are they balanced and effective to drive performance?