How to Foster a Pacesetting Leadership Style in Your Team

There is an old adage that every team is only as fast as its slowest team member. While this is true, something is truer and more pertinent. Every team can only be as fast as the pace set by its leader.

In essence, the pace at which the leader adapts to the changes in the market will define the speed of change in the organization. This phenomenon is called pacesetting leadership.

In this blog post, we explore what it is, why it works, and how you can integrate that into your organization.

What Is the Pacesetting Leadership Style?

Pacesetting leadership style is an approach to business management that prioritizes the leader’s role in getting high-quality results from a motivated, high-performance team.

Daniel Goleman, a popular psychologist and author, introduced this leadership style along with five others in his book Primal Leadership. He outlines six leadership styles:

• Visionary: Inspires team members with a clear vision and direction
• Coaching: Focuses on the personal development of employees to enhance their strengths and overcome weaknesses
• Affiliative: Focuses on building team harmony and staying connected 
• Democratic: Builds team collaboration and consensus
• Commanding: Authoritatively solving problems
• Pacesetting: Sets performance standards and leads by example

Each of these leadership styles has its unique needs and applicability. In this article, we focus on pacesetting leadership style. 

Before we get into the details, it is important to note that ‘pacesetting’ doesn’t mean accelerating. It doesn’t automatically require you to move things faster. In fact, during situations of crisis or change, it might help to set a slower pace to ensure everyone is onboard and comfortable.

Now, let’s see what pacesetting leadership looks like in practice.

Key Characteristics of Pacesetting Leadership

A good pacesetting leader doesn’t just set the pace. They also set the roadmap and the destination of the journey. Therefore, it is characterized by the following.

Setting the bar high

Pacesetting leaders set high standards and expect the team to meet them. Moreover, they often lead by example and show what it looks like to raise the bar. This creates a culture where team members are in constant pursuit of excellence, which is a hallmark of pacesetting leaders.

Result orientation

The pacesetting leadership style sets big goals and focuses on achieving them. It drives the team toward specific outcomes, consistently improving individual and team productivity.

Efficiency improvement

Ingrained in the term ‘pace’ are also aspects of consistency and repeatability. When pacesetting leaders set goals, they demand faster execution without compromising quality. This is ideal for fast-paced environments with high-performing teams.

High competency

Pacesetting leadership works best for high-performing, self-managed teams. This means that team members are expected to take ownership of tasks and execute them with high competency.

Low tolerance for underperformance

The pace of the project depends almost entirely on the team’s ability to keep up. This means that pacesetting leaders have little patience for underperformance. They often address issues directly and quickly to maintain high standards.

Despite its many benefits, pacesetting leadership isn’t suitable for all kinds of situations. Here’s a primer on when to use this leadership style. But before that, if you have never been a leader, here are some tips on how to get leadership experience.

When to Use Pacesetting Leadership

In his book, Goleman writes that pacesetting leadership often has a highly negative impact on company climate because it is too frequently poorly executed. This goes to show that pacesetting leadership works only in the right circumstances and environments.

If you’re adopting this team leadership style, consider the following pointers.

When you have challenging and exciting goals

Pacesetting leadership is great for pivotal situations in business. Whether you’re a startup aiming for scale, an enterprise working on a merger, or a small business going online, a big challenge calls for pacesetting leadership.

During organizational turnarounds

When the organization is failing and requires a boost, pacesetting leadership helps. Organizations can overcome financial challenges, poor morale, and lack of innovation by following a leader who sets the pace and leads by example. 

In a crisis or while navigating large-scale change

Pacesetting style is also great for leading through change. Leaders with this style thrive in crisis situations by quickly identifying the problem, setting clear expectations, and getting their hands dirty in solving problems on the ground.

When quality is essential

People mistake pacesetting to be something that makes things go faster. While that is true, pacesetting is as much about speed as it is about excellence. Pacesetting leaders set high standards and expect high-quality output, making them best suited for building differentiated products. 

When chasing deadlines

Lastly, pacesetting leadership can dramatically improve speed. It ensures that you are focused on the goal, stay on track, and complete the tasks on or before time. This is a game-changer when you’re chasing tight deadlines. 

What would a pacesetting leader look like? We have some examples.

Pacesetting Leadership examples

Daniel Goleman offers the example of Mark Loehr, the CEO of Soundview Technology in the aftermath of 9/11, who led his team through the emotional turmoil of the time. “Over the following days, Loehr was there as people wept together,” he writes, demonstrating the need for emotional intelligence in leadership as well. 

That crisis defined the kind of leader Loehr was. Here are other leaders who emerged from crises, circumstances, and opportunities that faced them.

Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, X)

Elon Musk is known to work 120 hours a week regularly. He is also known to be a demanding boss, expecting his teams to clock similar hours. In a memo, he wrote, “The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence. That is why I spent so much time in the factory.”

With this attitude, he sets and drives the pace at which his organizations function at Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter).

Steve Jobs (Apple)

Steve Jobs is a classic example of a pacesetting leader. Not only did he set the pace in his organization, but also the industry at large. He drove the innovation and launch of groundbreaking products like the iPod for music, the iPhone for smartphones, and the iPad for tablets. 

Since its near-bankruptcy in 1997, when Steve joined Apple again, he took it toward becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world. 

Jack Welch (General Electric)

We’ve seen above that pacesetting leaders do not tolerate underperformance. Jack Welch is a great example of that. So much so that he devised a formal model called the vitality curve, which fits all employees into three categories:

• The top 20% who are most productive
• The middle 70% who are essential and reasonably productive
• The bottom 10% who are unproductive and to be fired

How seriously you take the tactics of the pacesetting style is up to you and your leadership challenges. 

As a pacesetting leader, you can choose how to respond to any situation in your workplace. However, some best practices can set you up for success.

Key Strategies to Foster a Pacesetting Leadership Style

Good leadership is about clarity and consistency. As a pacesetting leader, you need to be clear about your expectations and be consistent in your behaviors. The most effective way to achieve both is through regular communication and collaboration with your teams. This is where a virtual workplace platform like can help. 

1. Set clear expectations

A pacesetting leader sets high standards and makes sure everyone on the team understands it. Here’s how.

A comprehensive tool like Goals is a great way to make your objectives and progress visible in one place. Set goals, assign tasks, tag people, organize into folders, and monitor progress in real time. 

2. Provide regular feedback and recognition

Good leadership needs good communication. This applies to goals, briefs, and instructions as well as recognition and feedback. 

For instance, on Tasks, you might write clear instructions and acceptance criteria for each task for a project running on tight deadlines. During the course of the project, you might want to make yourself available to answer questions or support team members on Chat.

If you’re in a crisis situation, you might use a tool like Whiteboards to map out your thought process and show the team your vision. At the end of the year or in retrospectives, you might use your communication styles in leadership to offer feedback or coaching. 

3. Lead by example

Practice pacesetting leadership by doing difficult work. Especially when you’re chasing big goals or tight deadlines, take up a challenging task and show how it’s done. This helps build confidence and creativity among team members. 

One of the bigger risks of leading by example is the team thinking that a certain task is your job. For instance, you might show your team how a feature must be programmed by writing the code for it. As a result, your team might assume that you are also a developer and will help them with every feature.

Avoid such eventualities with ’s Team Management Plan Template. Use this to outline who is doing what, how well they’re performing, and what collective success looks like.

4. Encourage autonomy and accountability

Pacesetting leadership works best in self-managed, high-performing teams with autonomy and team accountability. So, empower them to:

A simple way to operationalize accountability in your organization is by using the RACI matrix. This framework divides the team into responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed (RACI), giving everyone clarity on their role in the process.

Ready to start? ’s Responsibility Assignment Matrix Template is all set to fire up. This beginner-friendly, fully customizable template is ideal for setting the pace of the workflow based on the skills and roles of each team member. 

5. Track progress

How do you know if your pace is working if you don’t monitor the results? Use Dashboards to track performance on each of the metrics you’ve set. From marketing campaigns to development sprints, these powerful dashboards can help you view reports in real time. 

6. Foster a culture of continuous improvement

Don’t set the pace and step away. Continuously evaluate the pace—and outcomes—and improve accordingly. This might mean: 

’s Progress Report Template offers a great starting point for continuous improvement and team management. It helps track the metrics that matter to identify productivity loopholes, inefficiencies, and other concerns. 

If that has convinced you to adopt a pacesetting leadership role in your organization, here’s an objective assessment of its pros and cons.

Pros and Cons of Pacesetting Leadership

A pacesetting leadership style isn’t the only way. In fact, Daniel Goleman himself expands on the pros and cons of five other leadership styles.

But if you’re leaning towards being a pacesetting leader, here are its advantages and disadvantages.

✅ Pros

High-performance: Pacesetting leadership pushes teams to achieve exceptional results by setting ambitious goals. This approach can energize a highly skilled team, building a company culture of excellence and accountability.

Motivation: Pacesetting leadership ensures that everyone knows where they’re going. This keeps them motivated and focused on the outcomes. Moreover, when led by example, teams also feel inspired to do great things.

Result-orientation: Pacesetting focuses on measurable outcomes aligning efforts toward organizational goals. This improves efficiency and minimizes wastage.

Skill development: High expectations from a pacesetting leader push employees to stretch their limits and develop new skills. Over time, this creates a powerful set of uniquely competent employees.

❌ Cons

Short-term focus: While pacesetting leadership is effective for achieving immediate results, it may not be sustainable over the long term. You risk neglecting employee well-being, development, and healthy culture.

Avoid such consequences by proactively monitoring them. For instance, you might integrate mental health and well-being programs into your organization to support employees. 

Or, you could create an organizational charter on Docs to demonstrate what a healthy workplace culture looks like. So, when an employee feels shortchanged, they can refer to these documentation/handbooks and raise the issue with you.

Employee burnout: Constant high demands and a relentless focus on performance can feel like you’re running on a hamster wheel. Over time, this can decrease morale, productivity, and employee retention.

Keep an eye out for burnout. Frequently collect employee feedback using Form View. Based on the responses, streamline processes to prevent burnout.

Lack of support: As a pacesetting leader, if you take autonomy seriously, you might leave employees feeling like they lack support. Foster a culture of collaboration by being available for your teams without compromising their autonomy. 

Stifled innovation: The pursuit of pace and excellence can sometimes prevent employees from experimenting or taking risks. In such environments, team members may prioritize meeting expectations over exploring innovative solutions, potentially limiting long-term growth.

Pace Yourself Effectively with

Pacesetting is often mistakenly understood as setting the pace to be fast.  While that is commonly how pacesetting leaders work, good leaders also know to pace themselves right.

Like a long-distance runner who starts the race slow to conserve energy, leaders use their pace to balance the team during a major project. They embody leadership behaviors like being a role model, managing tasks effectively, and taking calculated risks to move the team forward. They create a healthy working environment that nurtures employee engagement.

They combine pacesetting with a coaching leadership style to bring employees up to speed. They integrate it with a democratic leadership style where they collect feedback regularly and stay updated with on-ground insights. 

They also take the help of advanced leadership tools like to stay on track. Whether it is setting goals, writing instructions, creative collaboration, or progress tracking, has everything a leader needs to set the pace and set sails. Try it for yourself. Sign up to for free today.

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