Management and Management style
Management refers to the coordination and administration of an organization in order to accomplish the organizational objectives. It comprises of different management functions such as Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.
A Management style simply refers to the style or manner adopted by an organization to achieve its goals. It comprises decision making, how things, tasks or activities are planned and how they exercise their authority.
Moreover, a Management style might not be the same, it can vary by company, management level and individual to individual.
A Comprehensive View of the Different Management Styles
Authoritarian Style
An authoritarian style is the one wherein a leader dictates the policies and procedures to be adopted by an organization. The leader decides and defines the goals of an organization. In addition, the leader controls all the activities in an organization without the meaningful participation of the subordinates.
The leader fully controls the team with low levels of autonomy and increased levels of micromanagement in the group.
One relatable example would be Adolf Hitler.
In this context, quoting one of his quotes:
“To conquer a nation, disarm its citizens first.”
On the other hand, Bill Gates is an example of a positive authoritarian style.
Visionary Management Style
Visionary style of management is often referred to as inspirational, charismatic, transformational and strategic. Visionary managers emphasize on disseminating the complete or overall vision of the team, department, and company.
This type of management style requires a great amount of emotional intelligence, willingness to take risks, caliber to lead and effectively manage the changes.
Nelson Mandela is one well-known example of a Visionary leader. He was the face and representative of the anti-apartheid movement. It was through his determination and will South Africa could achieve liberation. He was the source of inspiration and encouraged his people to bring in change.
Transactional Management Style
As the name suggests this kind of management style involves extrinsic or positive rewards. The rewards could be in the form of incentives, bonuses (Quarterly or annually), stock options to increase employee performance.
For instance, talking of Sean Gilberts who is the co-owner of Gilbert Orchards in Yakima implements a Transactional style for the fulfillment of organizational goals and objectives. He exercises piece work pay to attain higher productivity levels.
Servant Leadership Management Style
The term Servant Leadership was coined by Robert K. in 1970. This style is often called coaching, training or mentoring.
In this style, the manager pays a lot of attention to support his/her employees. Managers adopting this style devote a lot of time in coaching and supporting their team.
The managers often act as advisors rather than dictators.
Jack Ma the co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba group is a well-known example of servant leadership management style. In order to achieve the organizational goals Jack Ma values emotional intelligence and fosters support and care among his employees.
Pacesetting Management Style
As the name suggests pacesetting management style is the one wherein the manager sets up a standard and expects his/her employees to match the pre-defined standards or benchmark.
Typically, this style includes setting high standards to drive your team to reach the goals thereby increasing the overall efficiency.
Jack Welch Former CEO of General Electric is one prime example of a persistent, ambitious and demanding pacesetter.
Democratic Management Style
Democratic style is often called consensus, collaborative, affiliative and participative style. This management style is based on the concept that: two heads are better than one.
This type of management style gives importance to all the employees irrespective of what position they are at. However, the final decision-making authority is the manager.
But the manager seeks to get the opinions, ideas, thoughts, and recommendations of the team before making the final decision or judgment.
Laissez-Faire Management Style
This management style focusses on employee freedom. Laissez-faire is a word of French origin which means “let do”. This simply means that Laissez-faire managers allow their employees to work at their own will and pace with little or negligible interference.
Google is one example of laissez-faire management to promote employee creativity and innovation.
Adapting the right management style to increase the overall effectiveness
The success and image of an organization depends a lot on the way the management deals with its employees. The crux is that adopting the wrong management style could result in demotivation, decreases productivity, increases attrition and forces them to, leave.
Thus, an organization should strive to adopt the most appropriate management style to achieve its organizational objectives.
Figuring out the most appropriate style for your team depends on the a) needs of your team b) manager’s skills, knowledge, experience, and c) work culture.
The most amazing managers mold their approach in accordance to their team and easily switch between the different styles according to situations.