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3 minute read
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There’s no ‘right’ way to lead your team and there are several paths you can take to maximise your employees’ performances.
Choosing the right leadership style can be challenging. That’s why we’ve created this list of the best management styles, so you can decide which approach to leadership would best fit the needs of your team.
- Democratic Management
- Coaching Management
- Participative Management
- Results-Based Management
- Autocratic Management
- Visionary Management
- Transformational Management
1. Democratic Management
Democratic leaders have faith in their employees to reach correct decisions as a team and value their input.
In democratic management, teams collaborate to reach key decisions, rather than every decision coming from the top. Although the final decision will ultimately lie with the manager, democratic leaders instil trust in their teams to make the right call.
When employees are more involved in the decision-making process of an organisation, it can lead to higher team morale and increased satisfaction, allowing for healthy manager-to-employee relationships.
2. Coaching Management
Coaching managers strive to boost their employees’ development and a typical characteristic of these leaders is having a passion for teaching. Coaches promote partnerships within teams, give way to creative thinking and offer a more hands-on approach to their employees.
A good tip for coaching managers is to encourage employees’ development by providing incentives, such as a promotion or more responsibility within the workplace. However, be wary of over-promising as this could lead to conflict between you and the rest of your employees.
Coaches are known to understand short-term failure as long as the team can learn from mistakes and continue to push toward their long-term vision.
3. Participative Management
Participative leaders work closely with their teams, welcoming their employees' creative thinking and new ideas. Much like democratic leadership, a participative leadership style sees managers listen to their employees when reaching critical decisions.
However, in participative leadership, the group is the decision-maker. There’s no overruling from the manager on team decisions, creating the sense that everyone is on the same level. This management style will make employees feel valued in the workplace as they have an equal share of responsibility with their manager and colleagues.
One potential pitfall of this management style could be the time it takes to reach decisions. With all responsibility shared, disagreements within teams could lead to delays, which may be costly in fast-paced work environments.
4. Results-Based Management
Results-based managers set company goals and judge performances based on these targets. These managers have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and feed this to their employees.
Results-based leaders are responsible for allocating the correct resources for their employees to reach their goals. With expectations set by the manager, employees clearly understand what they need to achieve to succeed in the workplace. However, solely going by this management style can make employees feel undervalued if they aren’t treated as individuals with their own goals.
If you aren’t confident in setting goals, perhaps involve senior team members in the target-setting process. Team members would feel valued as they contribute towards company goals and decrease the possibility of unrealistic targets being set.
5. Autocratic Management
In autocratic management, key decisions and communication come from the top. Managers must be highly-skilled leaders to perform this type of management effectively. If performed correctly, autocratic management can contribute to success within your organisation as you guide the group towards the company goal.
Autocratic management can provide clear direction to teams. It can relieve pressure, with employees able to focus solely on their tasks instead of making key decisions.
6. Visionary Management
A visionary manager communicates a clear company vision to their employees, with the expectation set for team members to all work towards their goals.
Strong visionary leaders will set a clear plan for their employees and trust teams to work on their own terms to reach the end target. After setting these goals, managers will often adopt a more hands-off approach to leadership, should employees display a suitable level of productivity.
Allowing employees to work on their own terms creates a sense of trust between managers and employees, boosting morale and confidence within the workplace.
7. Transformational Management
Transformational management, if done correctly, can lead to employees performing above what they understood to be their potential.
Transformational managers push employees beyond their comfort zone, motivating them to continually raise the bar of their personal development. This management style can result in improved team performance and better results within your organisation. An excellent example of a transformational leader is Apple founder, Steve Jobs.
These leaders work closely with their employees to ensure they have the correct resources to continually improve their performance. However, transformational leaders must balance pushing employees beyond their comfort zone and setting unrealistic expectations, which could lead to burnout.
Now that you're familiar with some of the best management styles, the next step is to download our free Leadership Handbook.
Strategies to Help You Become a More Effective Leader
The handbook will equip you with strategies to lead your team to success and discusses what makes a good leader, the benefits of developing a high-performing team and the importance of monitoring staff performance, coaching and mentoring.
Get your free copy today using the button below.
