How may one define a good management style?

Is it a behavior exhibited by a particular person in an organizational setting?

Strong managers become capable leaders when they exhibit good managerial skills. But when we talk about management skills, it works pretty much like you are shopping for a shoe. Not one-size-fits-all.

A manager can learn from countless life experiences. But, the true comprehension of which management style works best with your personality can become really cumbersome, unless you know about all. Believe it or not, your dispositions, talents, and the abilities you bring to the table go a long way towards defining the management style you successfully utilize. The myriad facets that make you ‘YOU’, also define the type of leader you will be.

Here we discuss some effective management styles. Let’s identify which resonates best with your personality.

Strategic Management Style

What makes a strategic leader altogether strategic? When a leader is able to focus on the long-term goals of an organization, align those goals with the vision, and proactively seek feedback on the roadmap to their destination, they are known to be strategic managers.

Strategic managers are not fond of micro-management. It is a managerial style for all those who think expansively instead of getting into the nitty-gritty details. They create a powerful vision and communicate that vision to every stakeholder of the organization. Once they have communicated their vision to others, they put their faith in employees so they can progress towards their goals.

The good part about this style is that it will readily convince employees to stay aligned with the organization’s vision and direction. The downside, the style limits leaders to get into the minor details.

As the owner of a small business, it’s easy to get stuck in day-to-day operations. I put a lot of trust in the people I’ve hired to manage each team and give them the authority to make their own decisions to lead their teams. This leadership style is ideal where there’s a great deal of trust and when you’ve had the chance to hire great people. I’ve been fortunate to work in that kind of environment, but if I didn’t trust my team or they didn’t trust me, that would be a major roadblock.” — Donnie Shelton, Owner, Triangle Pest Control.

Servant Management Style

This type of management style goes hand-in-hand with people who have a knack to help others. People who care about their customers, as well as their employees, perfectly embody the servant management style.

Such leaders aren’t eager to leverage their higher position in the hierarchy to exert control over their subordinates. Instead, they opt-in to win the consent of their employees by helping them out with their tasks and needs. They hold a belief that by helping others, they can help employees proficiently perform at their daily tasks, which in return will collectively contribute towards achieving the different missions of the organization.

The good part about this style is that employees and customers will always stay satisfied with the service. The bad part, egomaniac employees who love to bully can undermine the authority of their leaders.

“The leadership style present in the most successful small businesses is servant leadership. The only time I’ve seen servant leadership backfire is in extremely rare instances where what is expected (culturally) is an autocrat.”— Ben Landers, CEO, Blue Corona

Exemplary Management Style

When managers portray themselves as exceptional stature leads by examples, they become exemplary leaders for every other employee. Words may not buy the right confidence level as setting an example would. Some great leaders don’t hold hour-long meetings and conventional speaking sessions to motivate others. They simply do it by setting an example of how good leadership can make a real difference,

Managers who want to communicate par excellent managerial skills and outstanding expertise to their employees can benefit from exemplary management style of leadership.

The good part about this management style is that you can be yourself and do things your way without hassle. The only downside is that when you commit a mistake and don’t own up to it, your employees can also fall in the same pitfall down the road.

“I have found it most effective to show my employees how a given task should be done, rather than just giving orders. By demonstrating that you are an expert at what you are asking them to do and are there to help, will often result in more respect and productivity from your staff. It’s impossible to deny that the work ethic of an entrepreneur is contagious; if you work hard for them, they are more likely to return the favor and work hard for you.”  — Sacha Ferrandi, Founder, Source Capital Funding, Inc.

Collaborative Management Style

This particular management style has an open table culture where the leader puts aside his leadership stature and allows employees to share their ideas and problems on the roundtable.

This management style encourages other employees to share their thoughts and concerns about the business. It helps leaders benefit from shared suggestions and solutions so they can help a business grow. Collaborative type of management style is one = where a leader entertains decision-making authority but allows other employees to take the credit of their opinion and ideas.

The good part about this management style is that it allows employees to take ownership and share their best thoughts and ideas. The snag is that not all employees come up with great ideas, so you have to cultivate some level of emotional intelligence to turn them down without hurting their feelings.

“You are not the CEO of Google and if you act like people don’t want to work for you. Be a team member. Your employees will work harder and be happier if you are on the same level as them.”— Mark Tuchscherer, CEO, Geeks Chicago

Authoritative Management Style

This type of management style works best for traditional personalities who want to be the boss of everything. Authoritative management style is usually adopted by leaders who are experts at fulfilling their business goals effectively. Authoritative managers are long-term planners, designing the overall work strategy for the next year or even five, prior to execution.

Such leaders are very disciplined and active. They want to direct what they need, and they make sure that everything is done the way they have actually planned on doing it. Managers of this style are to the point.

The good part about such management style leaders is that they are highly result-oriented and show a good crunch in numbers. The stumbling block; they hold zero-tolerance on feedbacks or inputs from others.

“I am a coach for C-Level execs as well as entrepreneurs and helping them find their voice as a leader is important. I tell them the same thing I tell parents–be authoritative as opposed to being authoritarian. Set expectations and rules, support them when needed, and reinforce the behavior you like to see. Doing anything less means they are missing one of the main points of having employees; they micromanage and wind up doing a great deal of the work themselves.” — David Ezell, Executive Coach, Darien Wellness

Word of Advice

So, before you go all in with the big idea of adopting one of the above-mentioned management styles in leadership; just hold up right there. Take a moment, introspect, and critically scrutinize your personality traits. Are you an emotionally intelligent person? Do you have a strong temperament? Are you an understanding person who listens to their employees? Or do you want to become the pilot of your own spaceship? Are you More like Steve Jobs or Gandhi?

The best management style initiates with understanding who you are.

What sort of a leader are you? Share with me. I would love to hear from you 🙂