Leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping the success of any organisation. But leaders wield a powerful tool behind the scenes: their management style. As a skilled artist employs various brushstrokes to create a masterpiece, adept managers utilise different management styles to lead and inspire their teams.
From the decisive strokes of autocratic leadership to the collaborative hues of democratic management, each style leaves a unique imprint on the organisational culture and performance. So, let’s delve into the labyrinth of management styles, exploring their characteristics, merits, and potential pitfalls.
Exploring 10 Different Types of Management Styles
What is a management style? It is the method that managers use to achieve the business’s goals. There are many different types of management styles that a manager can use. The type of style a manager decides to lead with often depends on the individual themselves or the kind of business that is being run. A manager may even switch between different management styles depending on the situations that the business is facing.
Let’s examine the different management styles, their pros and cons, and some management style examples.
Autocratic
An autocratic manager has authority over everything and everyone.
Autocratic leadership is a management style characterized by top-down leadership. One person in the business has authority over everything and everyone in the industry. They control all aspects of the business and don’t ask for advice or listen to employee feedback. Employees are not encouraged to share ideas, provide suggestions, or ask questions.
This type of manager uses fear to control employees into doing what they want and micromanages employees, leaving no room for flexibility or innovation. The employees are in the business to do what they are told and hold no power in decision-making.
Pros of the Autocratic Management Style
This type of management is very effective in a crisis situation or if a deadline must be met. When decisions have to be made and one person has to take charge, this type of leadership is best suited.
Cons of the Autocratic Management Style
Employee retention is likely low as people don’t like being controlled. When employees feel like they have no purpose in the business and aren’t valued, they won’t stay.
Example of the Autocratic Management Style
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.
Steve Jobs, during his time at Apple.
Democratic
Democratic management allows employees to take part in decision-making.
Democratic leadership is another type of management style, which is a team-effort kind of leadership. Democratic managers allow their employees to participate in decision-making and take on their thoughts and ideas. Although this manager has the final say, the decisions that are made are influenced by all the employees of the business.
This type of manager truly cares about their employees’ welfare and ensures they feel valued and a part of the business. Employees want to feel that they are positively impacting the company, and democratic managers reassure them of this by giving them responsibility and taking their opinions on board.
Pros of the Democratic Management Style
Democratic leadership encourages employees to be innovative and become involved in the business, making them feel more valued.
When employees are happy, they are more likely to stay in a job, leading to employee retention.
Quicker problem-solving and decision-making occur as more people work towards the same goal.
Cons of the Democratic Management Style
Democratic leadership can lead to time-wasting if a manager finds it challenging to choose from all the ideas that employees come up with. This can be very unproductive for the business.
Employees may notice that a manager favours one person’s ideas more than another, and conflict can arise if they feel they are not all being listened to equally.
Example of the Democratic Management Style
Tim Cook, Apple CEO.
Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.
Laissez-faire
A laissez-faire manager does not interfere with employees’ work unless asked for help.
A laissez-faire manager takes a hands-off approach to leadership. Employees are expected to make the company’s decisions and problems with little or no help from the manager. An employee’s work and progress are not overseen or checked up on.
A laissez-faire manager does not interfere with the employees’ work unless they are asked for help. This management style is only successful if the employees are highly self-motivated and professional, as they will be left to solve problems independently.
Pros of the Laissez-faire Management Style
Laissez-faire leadership promotes innovation and creativity in the workplace.
Employees have high job satisfaction as they complete tasks on their own.
Productivity levels are higher as less time is spent discussing ideas and going over work and more time is spent actually doing what needs to be done.
Cons of the Laissez-faire Management Style
If employees lack self-motivation or the skills to solve problems independently, productivity will slow.
Employees may feel lost with the lack of direction and may become unsatisfied with their job.
Example of the Laissez-faireManagement Style
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Persuasive
A persuasive manager has all the decision-making power in the business.
In the persuasive type of management style, the manager has all the decision-making power in the business but keeps employees informed throughout. When employees are kept up-to-date with the company’s ongoing, they feel a sense of involvement.
This type of management is persuasive since the manager uses their persuasive skills to get employees on board with decisions by telling them the positives and benefits for them and the company. There is less conflict and disputes as employees feel they are a part of the decisions and are not forced to comply.
Pros of the Persuasive Management Style
A good relationship between employees and managers is built on trust, which leads to employee retention and productivity.
Employees are more likely to accept change as they are given plenty of notice and reasoning.
Cons of the Persuasive Management Style
Although employees feel valued, they don’t have much of a say in what is happening in the business.
Employees who are not listened to may reject any change being implemented.
Servant
A servant manager builds a good relationship with their employees.
Servant management is another type of management style that prioritizes employees’ welfare. A servant manager focuses on building good relationships with their employees to maintain a positive working environment. They encourage and praise employees in the hope that this will lead to increased productivity and positive results.
The idea behind this management style is that if you treat employees well and put all your energy into them, they will return the favour by putting in the work and being interested in the business’s success.
Pros of the Servant Management Style
Employee retention will be high as employees will stay where they feel valued.
Employees will be more motivated to do their work, which will increase productivity and improve business results.
Cons of the Servant Management Style
There is no discipline for employees who are not performing because servant managers do not like confrontation.
If some employees know they will get away with complacency, they will lose respect for their manager and be less likely to take them seriously.
Transformational
A transformational manager motivates employees to strive for excellence.
Transformational is also a management style that is all about innovation and creativity in the organisation. Employees are encouraged to think outside the box and put forward their ideas.
Transformational managers take a progressive approach and motivate employees to strive for excellence. They push employees to reach their full potential and swap the boring and mundane day-to-day work for exciting and challenging work.
The work doesn’t become tedious or repetitive, so employees are kept interested.
Cons of the Transformational Management Style
The fast-paced and challenging environment may be too complex for some employees. If they can’t keep up with productivity, the whole organisation will slow down.
A collaborative manager focuses on involving employees in business goals.
The collaborative management style focuses on involving employees in business goals. It is all about empowering employees to work together to solve problems. As a result, there is more respect and trust between employees and managers, as employees do not feel like they are being spoken down to.
Motivation and productivity are high as employees feel valued and valuable. This management leadership style follows the saying, “Two heads are better than one”.
Pros of the Collaborative Management Style
Employee retention and innovation are high as employees work together and have greater job satisfaction.
Working together results in more solutions being solved for the organisation.
Cons of the Collaborative Management Style
It can be time-consuming deliberating over ideas with one another and choosing which ones to pursue.
Visionary
A visionary manager uses their charisma to get employees to see what they see.
Visionary management style is all about innovation and creativity, looking at the company’s long-term goals. This type of manager uses charisma to get employees to see what they see and follow their vision. They communicate what they hope the business will achieve in the future and how everyone in the organisation contributes to this goal.
Employees know what is expected of them in the future. They will, therefore, be more proactive.
Cons of the Visionary Management Style
Short-term goals may suffer as long-term goals are focused on more.
Pacesetting
A pacesetting manager pushes employees to the best of their ability.
Pacesetting management style is when the manager expects high-performance results from his employees. This type of manager constantly pushes employees to the best of their ability and sets the pace for employees to follow.
Pacesetting managers concentrate on reaching the end goal within a specific time frame. They lead by example and must be highly motivated and focused. If a manager lacks these attributes and is lazy, their employees will follow this pace and not be pushed to reach deadlines.
Pros of the Pacesetting Management Style
Pacesetting management deals with problems sooner rather than later.
There is a strong focus on consistently achieving business goals, leading to higher productivity levels.
Cons of the Pacesetting Management Style
Pacesetting management can become repetitive and boring for employees.
A coaching manager gives advice and guidance to their employees.
Coaching is a type of management style that focuses on the development of the organisation’s employees. It allows long-term goals to be put on hold to educate and train the employees. It also promotes creativity and innovation among employees and encourages them to put in maximum effort.
A coaching manager gives advice and guidance to their employees to help them improve their professional development. Allocating time to allow employees to improve their skills and knowledge is a priority in this type of leadership management. It benefits the business in the long term and builds the employees’ confidence.
Pros of the Coaching Management Style
Knowing they have the training, employees will be more engaged in their work and believe in themselves more.
A stronger relationship is built between the manager and the employee because the employee feels more valued when time and effort are put in for them.
Cons of the Coaching Management Style
Coaching takes a lot of time and requires patience, as it can not be rushed.
A manager adopting this leadership style must have the appropriate skills and experience to train their employees successfully.
How to Improve Leadership Management Skills
A study by Zippia revealed that it costs a company 7% of its annual sales every year when it decides not to invest in leadership development. The importance of personal growth in your workplace cannot be overlooked. Here are a few things you can do to improve your leadership management skills.
Values and Principles
Know what your values and principles are and what is important to you. You will always refer back to these. If you know your values and believe in them, it is easier to get others to follow. Lead by example.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses allows you to better use your strengths and improve your weaknesses. This will lead to greater self-awareness. Realising that you are in the wrong direction and correcting yourself is a great quality of a leader.
Communication Skills
Work on your communication skills; communication is key. Bad communication can have a very negative impact on an organisation. Knowing what communication to use and when to use it is a very important skill. Use communication to advise, direct, and empower employees.
Active Listening
Active listening is essential. Employees want to be heard, as this makes them feel valued. Listening to concerns and ideas from employees greatly benefits the organisation. If an employee feels they can talk to their leader, it will strengthen their relationship.
Ongoing Training
Ongoing training is essential to keeping up-to-date with the best leadership practices. Constantly educating oneself and always looking to improve sends a positive message to employees and also makes you, as a leader, more confident in your abilities.
Resolve Conflicts
As a leader, you can not be everyone’s friend. You have to balance professionalism and approachability. Your employees shouldn’t be afraid to talk to you or come to you with issues, but they should also not feel they can get away with not doing work to a high standard or being unprofessional. If confrontation occurs, you must resolve it and not let it go on too long.
8 Consequences of Bad Management Styles
According to Zippia’s report, leadership is lacking in 77% of businesses. Bad management comes at a great cost to an organisation. The consequences of bad management styles have a knock-on effect, and if they aren’t fixed early, they can harm the business. Let’s look at 8 possible consequences of bad management styles if left to go on too long.
Employees Quit
They say that good employees leave bad management. Employees quit due to bad management in an organisation as they are fed up with the treatment they endure and how badly things are run.
Employee Morale is Lower
Employees will be less motivated to work hard and do a good job for a manager who does not reward or acknowledge their work. A bad management style may be a manager who doesn’t look over employees, i.e., a laissez-faire manager, or a manager who is constantly on employees’ backs, i.e., an autocratic manager. Both management styles lead to employees feeling undervalued.
Decreased Job Satisfaction
Employees eventually become burnt out from lousy management and lose job satisfaction. If employees have no sense of purpose in their jobs and do not care about the organisation’s success, they will not work to the best of their ability.
High Employee Turnover
If employees aren’t happy, they will leave. A business with high employee turnover gains a bad reputation. People question why employees leave; the finger is usually pointed at lousy management. High employee turnover is bad for an organisation as it loses highly trained and experienced staff.
Wasted Resources
Employees significantly impact an organisation as they manage its day-to-day operations. When an employee quits, time and money are spent training new employees. It can take months to replace the level of expertise that the previous employee added to the organisation.
An organisation needs employees to succeed; therefore, money that has been put away for other business projects will be used in recruiting and training new employees instead. Time is business money, and the more a company has to recruit, the further away it is from achieving its goals.
Legal Action
If employees feel they are treated unfairly by management, they may take legal action. Constructive dismissal is a type of unfair dismissal that employees may decide to take against their employer. In this case, the employees feel they have no other option but to leave their jobs due to their employer’s behaviour. This can be very costly for an organisation.
Loss of Business and Customers
When an organisation loses employees due to bad management, progress is stalled. This can delay business and affect other organisations and customers with which the business deals. If these problems occur regularly or are prolonged, customers may become frustrated and cease business with the organisation.
Decreased Profits
Bad management can decrease profits, eventually leading to the business having to close. Losing employees constantly negatively impacts the organisation and leads to a loss of valuable time and money.
The main consequence of lousy management styles is employee dissatisfaction and turnover, which directly impact the organisation’s cost and time. This leads to other problems in the organisation that cease progress and eventually can lead to the end of a business. This is why it is so essential for an organisation to invest time in leadership development, as the price they pay for training will be nothing compared to the cost of trying to resolve the problems that bad management causes.
Now that you know the different types of management styles, it is up to you to discover what type of management style you decide to lead with and which one best suits you and your business. You can also check our blog: Want to Become a Thought Leader?
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