A manager’s ability to lead a team holds the ability to make or break the effectiveness within a company. Management styles are the plan and process managers choose to use in order to fulfill their goals. The type of management style a person chooses to use is highly dependent upon the individual’s personality, their experience and expertise, and their country, industry and the company itself. This style of management will be demonstrated via their decision making processes, delegation techniques, communication channels, organisation etc.
There is not one specific management style that determines the success of a company, as each individual can provide a unique value to the team, however, the individual characteristics of the leader will have a dramatic impact on their ability to deliver the benefits of each approach.
Different types of management styles
Autocratic
Autocratic leaders operate under a highly directive and black and white mentality. This means that the direction for tasks and actions come straight from the top individual who leads the company. An autocratic leader will often solely determine any strategies, policies, procedures, practices etc. by dictating each action to their employees. There is minimal collaboration or feedback within an autocratic management style, allowing the manager to be in sole control of the operations.
Pros
- Fast decision making
- High workplace communication
- Increased productivity
- Improved crisis management
- Clear structure and role descriptions
Cons
- Employees may feel micromanaged
- Employees may become dependent on the leader for direction and may be incapable of making their own decisions
- Discourages feedback
- Can create a high-pressure working environment to meet demands
- When a manager has too much power, this may negatively impact the corporation, so much so, that employees may file to have the director removed
Sub-categories
Democratic
The democratic leader is a more collaborative and engaging approach to management. This type of management involves gathering input and feedback from employees to allow everyone to contribute to the final decision making process. Although the leader considers all of the input from their employees, the final decision still lies with the democratic leader. Under democratic management, employees often state they are more creative and productive, which allows the improvement of projects and a positive working environment.
Pros
- Higher creative input from employees
- Increased employee morale as employees feel valued
- Strong connectivity between team members
Cons
- Employees may feel left out because their idea was not chosen
- Time-consuming processing decisions
- Element of uncertainty
Sub-categories
- Consultative management style
- Collaborative management style
- Transformational management
- Coaching management
Laissez-faire
Laissez-faire managers deliver a laid back and trusting approach to their leadership style. This type of technique allows employees to feel empowered and trusted within their tasks without having constant micromanagement and supervision. A Laissez-faire leader allows their employees to make decisions, and only provides feedback when necessary.
Pros
- Faster decision-making as employees don’t need to seek approval
- Effective when employees are fully competent and don’t require supervision
- Encourages innovation
- Encourages personal growth
- Can free-up more productive time for manager
Cons
- Problematic when employees don’t understand the tasks
- Dependant on the employee, lack of oversight or direction may restrict their accomplishments
- Reduces accountability
- Can create comfort zones
Sub-categories
How to determine your management style
Finding out your management style can be an effective reflection tool to ensure that you are maximising your ability to deliver on the pros of the technique as well as reflect on how valuable these traits are within your workplace, and amongst employees. The following steps will allow you to assess and monitor your own management style:
- Self-reflection
Being able to reflect on your own qualities and how you manage yourself will ultimately help you decide how to manage others. This reflection can be done through some individual journaling where you can list out your own strengths and weaknesses some questions you can ask yourself include:
- What is my biggest strength as a leader?
- What is something I believe needs to be improved within my leadership capabilities?
- What is a leadership quality I have been complimented on before?
- How do I handle conflict?
- Am I comfortable and confident with my team to let them work in their own way?
- Do I like being responsible for all tasks in the workplace?
- How do I want my team to feel at work?
- What is the most impactful leadership technique my mentor/role model demonstrates?
- Personal values and challenges
Being an effective leader requires you to be able to understand where your greatest values and challenges lie within the workplace, which will ultimately help you to determine your priorities and areas of focus. Simply making a list of your values and greatest challenges will allow you to visualise these traits and brainstorm how these relate to your work and other useful tools such as helpful colleagues.
- Learn from your leaders
The most effective tool for young leaders is the ability to analyse the management styles of their role model or superior. This can include observing how they interact with employees during meetings or one-on-one, listening to client conversations or sitting in on a presentation. You can make a pros and cons list on what values you would like to incorporate into your own management style.
- Trial and error
When you are new to a management position, it may be useful to try different management styles to find which one works best for you. You can make notes along the way, and review these regularly to determine which is the most suitable.
- Gain feedback from colleagues, mentors and employees
By asking for feedback from those who work with you, you are able to determine an immediate understanding of how well your management style is working within your organisation. Due to a heavy reliance on the types of personalities within the team you are leading, being able to understand the boundaries and pressure-points of the team will reduce conflicts and create a healthy working environment.
6. Quiz
There are many online quizzes that will be able to automate your responses to clearly determine which style of management you are such as this quiz.
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