There are many types of CEOs, and each leadership style has its pros and cons and areas for improvement. The difficult part comes in acknowledging the impact your personality has on your leadership style. Remember — regardless of your title or role within a company, you still have your own personality, whether you crave engagement with people or prefer to be behind closed doors crunching numbers.

Along the spectrum of leadership styles, most people fall between The Figure Head and The Best Friend. As we examine these examples of CEO types, determine where you fall as a leader. By understanding these two common leadership styles, you can understand and adjust your own style to better serve your company.

The Figure Head  

Some CEOs are Figure Head types, hardly ever seen by employees, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are ineffective leaders. This CEO may come across as aloof or just too busy to engage with their employees. However, this CEO works to the advantage of the organization if they are able to be a great brand ambassador.

Figure Head Advantages

• Effectively uses social media: If the CEO cannot be regularly available to employees, they can use social media to communicate and create a more welcoming persona. In fact, a survey explored the role that social media plays in the development of leadership, brand trust and brand reputation for CEOs. Respondents “believe that C-suite engagement on social media makes a brand more honest and trustworthy,” and researchers even found that C-suite leaders who are active on social media stand out among their peers who are inconspicuous online.

• The face of the company: A Figure Head CEO can be used as part of the strategic marketing plan to focus on growing the business. When a CEO attends events and speaks at seminars explaining new features or services, they are seen as having their finger on the pulse of the current and future states of the company.

• A place for introverts: Being an introvert doesn’t preclude you from the C-suite. In fact, the CEO Genome Project found that introverted CEOs are slightly more likely to surpass the expectations of their boards and investors.

Figure Head Disadvantages

• Moodiness is detrimental: If a CEO is awkward with people or moody, this is a bad outward sign to people you’re trying to impress. The leader of the organization signals the mood of the organization as a whole; if the CEO comes across as too cold, this affects overall expectations.