Lesson: Management Styles

Lesson: Management Styles


If you’re a manager, give yourself a pat on the back: Leadership sees you and your dedication. And then, take a moment to breathe: Managing can be hectic and involve a lot of responsibility (all that anxiety isn’t just in your head!). One of the biggest challenges can be finding the management styles that work best for you and your organization. Once you do, though, managing might start to feel like a breeze. Below are nine different types of management styles and some of their benefits and drawbacks.

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  What is a management style?
  

What is a management style?
A management style is a way a manager works to reach their goals for the company. Your management style comprises how you make decisions, oversee team members, and plan and delegate tasks. You might use different management styles throughout your career rather than sticking with just one. 
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9 types of management styles
Whether you’re a new manager or you’ve been at it a while, you’ll likely realize you prefer to run the show a certain way. That could mean following one specific management style or merging a few. Read on to discover nine types of management styles and determine which ones sound right for you. 

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  Authoritative
  
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  Democratic
  
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  Consultative
  
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  Laissez-faire
  
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  Collaborative
  
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  Transformational
  
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  Coaching
  
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  Delegative
  
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  Visionary
  

1 Authoritative
Authoritative managers follow a top-down autocratic management style. If you go the authoritative route, then if you set expectations and your team doesn’t follow them, they could face discipline or other consequences. After you explain a process, you’ll expect your staff to perform it the same way every time without questioning it. You’ll also watch your team closely to ensure that everything is moving along properly. 

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  You’ll closely track your team members to ensure they’re doing their work correctly. 
  
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  There will be consequences if a team member doesn’t hit their performance marks. 
  
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  Team members should not question your judgment. 
  

2 Democratic
A democratic management style is basically the opposite of an authoritative approach. This participative management style encourages your team to be a part of the process and give feedback on how things should be done. As a democratic manager, you believe the best way that your team works is in a collaborative, conversational environment. That said, you also give yourself the final say on all decisions. 

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  The democratic management style encourages team members to share their ideas. 
  
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  You’ll create a collaborative environment that thrives on communication. 
  
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  You’ll still have the final say in the decision-making process. 
  

3 Consultative
In a consultative environment, the manager wants to hear from every team member before making a final decision. Doing so could mean having a weekly meeting to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions or shooting an email to get everyone’s input. That’s why consultative management is great for specialized fields where your whole team brings unique experience to the table. 

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  Consultative management means taking everyone’s opinions and ideas into consideration.
  
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  Consultative management is common in specialized fields. 
  
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  You’ll see your team members as assets and make their opinions the bedrock of a successful work environment. 
  

4 Laissez-faire
The laissez-faire management style allows your team members to make their own decisions about projects, but they’ll always have you in their corner for backup. You’ll be there to offer guidance, but you’ll rarely tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t do. Think of this type of leadership style as a helping hand. You’ll give your team freedom and remain minimally involved in their projects unless they ask you for guidance. 

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  Laissez-faire managers give their teams more free reign when it comes to making decisions. 
  
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  You’ll be there to guide your team when they ask for it, but you’ll rarely tell them what to do. 
  
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  You won’t be heavily involved in projects. 
  

5 Collaborative
If you use a collaborative management style, you encourage your team to discuss any idea that anyone raises. After hearing what your team has to say, you’ll base your decision on a majority vote. This environment gives staff a large say in how things are run, leading to higher employee engagement and a more motivated team. 

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  Collaborative environments are great for keeping employees engaged. 
  
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  Each idea is fully open for discussion amongst all members.
  
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  You’ll make your final decision based on a majority vote. 
  

6 Transformational
As a transformational manager, your main focuses are innovation and employee development. You’ll challenge and gently push your team members daily to help them grow. You’ll constantly motivate your team and encourage them to start new projects – even ones that may feel are out of their wheelhouse. 

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  Transformational management prioritizes long-term employee growth. 
  
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  You’ll encourage your team to push their boundaries and crush their goals. 
  
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  You’ll expect your team to take on challenging tasks daily. 
  

7 Coaching
In a coaching management style, your team really is a team – it’s basically a sports metaphor. You want to lead your team to victory and perfect their skills so everyone can reach their full potential. You’ll focus so strongly on long-term growth that short-term mistakes are inevitable and okay. After all, letting your team problem-solve on their own makes you an effective manager – look at you giving everyone the space to do it themselves!

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  A coaching management style focuses on learning and problem-solving.
  
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  You’ll prioritize long-term growth over correcting short-term mistakes.
  
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  Professional development is the foundation of the coaching management style. 
  

“Leaders tend to fall directly into advice. If somebody asks for help, leaders say, ‘you should be doing this, or this, or this.’ And I think there are so many more opportunities to coach people through things. It’s to the benefit of everyone. To the leader, in the long term, it saves time, because they can focus on more strategic tasks, and they’re not micromanaging. It is also beneficial for the organization.”
– Dr. Julia Milner, Professor of leadership at EDHEC
8 Delegative
As a delegative manager, your main focus is to assign tasks, then give feedback once a task is complete. Your team members will decide how to perform each task. After you look over their work, you’ll offer positive feedback alongside constructive criticism on how they can improve in the future. 

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  Delegative managers assign tasks but don’t oversee the process. 
  
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  Your team will figure out how to perform tasks on their own. 
  
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  You’ll provide feedback once tasks are complete.