Handling how you lead and communicate with your staff can be challenging, even on a good day. When there are so many variables at play, it is not surprising. Certain management approaches might be more successful for specific teams, branches, or workplace cultures. Some may come quickly to you depending on your personality, skills, or professional background. 

Finding the appropriate management style for you is highly essential, enabling managers to build trust with their team members. A survey showed that 67% of employees feel they can make mistakes at work without their managers holding them accountable. Leveraging the right management style will enable you to evade any such situation.

Excellent managers can adapt strategies to best support their staff’s development, productivity, and happiness. In this writing, we will be discussing the leadership styles in management. 

What is a management style?

The way a manager directs and supports a team is their management style. Management styles include methods for leading individuals or groups, how one’s character affects how one exercises authority, and specifics on how one prefers to resolve problems or disputes.

Combining various management philosophies to complete particular duties or realise predetermined objectives is possible. 

For instance, your manager may attempt a combination of both to maximise productivity by determining strict deadlines and providing incentives for achieving small objectives if your team responds well to praise but also needs a lot of direction.

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Top 10 Management Styles

Listed below are the top ten management styles. 

1. Authoritative management style

This management style can be described as a top-down system where managers set rules for operation and require employees to comply with them without question. It is the most standard and rigid strategy.

Due to managers’ need for more confidence in their staff members, this management style often requires close supervision.

Advantages:

• Specific instructions are given to novice teams to consider their skill deficiencies. This may result in shorter processing periods and better work. 
• Due to roles and organisational structures that are clearly stated, team members are entirely conscious of what is required of them. 

Disadvantages:

• Training in such an office setting could be overly regimented and controlling. This limits people’s growth because they might fear being examined or subjected to unfair criticism. 
• Autocratic leaders often cause poor team morale because they can make their employees feel ignored or undervalued. 

2. Democratic management style

Employees participate equally in the decision-making process under this leadership approach. Every member has an equal voice at every stage. Even though the majority votes decide the victory, each choice directly affects every team member. 

This approach can support innovation as it values different points of view and promotes debate and discussion.

Advantages:

• Team members can exchange ideas under the democratic management style. 

• This is going to establish a collaborative setting that values dialogue.
• The manager will have the final say. 

Disadvantages:

• The manager relinquishes final decision-making power. 
• It can take a lot of work.
• This can cause conflict between team members who hold different opinions.

3. Consultative management style 

Consultative managers will talk to each team member for their thoughts and views before making a final choice. This type of two-way communication works well for involving team members in the objectives and operational processes of the business.  

Consultative managers also maintain an open-door policy for regular discussions about the employee’s duties and general work history at the organisation. 

Advantages: 

• Creates buy-in and boosts team spirit.

• Encourages employee development and allows them to make the most of their abilities.
• Stimulates originality and problem-solving.

Disadvantages: 

• It can be ineffectual and time-consuming.

• If the majority vote is disregarded, it may result in “empty promises.”

• Managing team members whose views and suggestions are rejected may require managers to engage in “damage control.”

4. Laissez-faire management style

This kind of manager employs a non-involved method of management. Employees are expected to handle business decisions and issues with little help from managers. 

The job and advancement of an employee need to be tracked or checked on. A laissez-faire manager will only get involved in their workers’ jobs if they specifically request it. 

Since they will be left to resolve issues independently, employees must be highly competent and self-motivated for laissez-faire leadership to be effective.

Advantages:

• Encourages ingenuity and innovation at work.

• Since they finish duties independently, employees are delighted with their jobs.

• Since less time is spent debating ideas and reviewing work and more time is spent completing what’s needed, productivity levels are higher.

Disadvantages: 

• Employees who need help to solve issues independently or self-motivate will be less productive.
• Lack of instruction may cause employees to feel confused and dissatisfied with their work.

5. Collaborative management style

In this approach, management sets up a public forum where ideas can be thoroughly discussed before making choices based on a majority vote. Employees are free to take responsibility for the results, which may improve participation, creativity, and innovation.

Advantages:

• Every member of the management team’s staff believes they are trusted, appreciated, and acknowledged.

• Due to open conversation, conflicts at work are frequently resolved before they become serious problems.
• Employee engagement lowers turnover; diverse perspectives frequently produce superior solutions and results.

Disadvantages:

• The process can take an extended period, just like other democratic management methods.
• Additionally, the majority rule may only sometimes be the best option for a company. If a decision is not best for the company, management must step in and alter it, which can lead to hostility and mistrust.

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6. Transformational management style

In this approach, managers concentrate on expanding their team’s abilities and confidence. It’s a growth-oriented strategy that prioritises employee development while distracting attention from particular objectives and successes. 

Instead, it depends on personal and intrinsic drives depending on a similar organisational vision that the entire team, including the managers, actively pursues.

Advantages: 

• The transactional management style, determined by external factors such as reward and punishment, is the opposite of transformational management. 

• Employees will easier adjust to change, disruptions, or complex projects, and innovation will increase.

• The staff’s greater flexibility will help with problem-solving and product development.

Disadvantages:

• This approach can lead to staff burnout if not used carefully.

• Employees risk becoming exhausted from continuously pushing themselves and unable to keep up with the pace.

7. Coaching Management Style 

These managers want to support and enhance their staff members’ long-term professional growth, much like coaches or mentors do in sports. 

Training programmes or promotions are used to motivate people teams, to enhance the performance of the business overall. Managers who utilise this approach will also use organisational objectives and challenges to convey important professional lessons to their staff.

Advantages:

• The coaching management approach offers career and personal development chances.
• Relationship building is supported by team managers who supply constant feedback and guidance.

Disadvantages: 

• Since it takes a lot of time and effort to succeed, this managerial approach can be resource-intensive. 
• This type of management is only successful if the team leader has excellent management skills to give their team ongoing support.  

8. Delegative management style

Your primary goal as a delegative manager is to assign duties and provide feedback after everyone is finished. The members of your team will choose how to complete each job. 

After reviewing their work, you’ll give them encouraging remarks and suggestions for future improvement. Delegative managers need to control the procedure before they spread duties. The group will work out how to complete tasks independently. Once the tasks are accomplished, the manager offers their solutions.

Advantages:

• Having more freedom often results in happier employees.

• Stimulates creativity and invention
• Strengthens cooperation and resolves issues

Disadvantages: 

• Without active management, productivity may decline.

• Teams could need more direction, consistency, or concentration.
• Some workers might believe that managers need to be helping with the endeavour.

9. Visionary management style

In this approach, managers inspire their employees to do their best work. Leaders encourage their team to carry out their mission by outlining their objectives and justifying them.

Team members are inspired by their managers, who then give them the freedom to carry out their tasks without much supervision. Although managers occasionally check in, they are confident that their shared vision will keep employees on task and yield positive outcomes.

Advantages: 

• Bonds team members together by fostering a sense of mission.

• The ability to increase staff engagement. 

• A rise in employee motivation and happiness lowers turnover.
• Increased creativity and speedier problem-solving.

Disadvantages:

• Being a visionary leader is difficult for some managers, who may rely on a specific company, market, and personnel.
• Managers and employees will only perform well if they are genuinely inspired.

10. Participative management style

Both managers and staff members participate actively in decision-making under this management approach. Each team member has access to the materials and data they need to understand the business and its objective(s). They then apply this access to develop original remedies.

Advantages: 

• Proactively seeking the opinions of their employees, managers then work alongside them to make decisions and take action.

• Members of the team experience trust and freedom to choose how they do their job. 

• Managers who engage their staff in the company’s progress give them a sense of belonging. Therefore, team members are more engaged and motivated. 
• Teams that can freely communicate and share ideas frequently develop novel solutions.  

Disadvantages: 

• The participative management approach will be practical only if participants are ready to participate and voice their opinions during group discussions.  
• This method can postpone time-sensitive tasks and decision-making, much like the consultative management style. 

How to choose?

Choosing the appropriate management style is very important. Of all the leadership styles in management given above, when selecting a management style, keep the following things in mind:

• Managers’ perspective: Managers can select the management style that best fits them based on their personality, experience, and abilities as team managers.
• Needs of the team: Is your team fresh, or are you working with an experienced team? Your response will largely determine your management approach.
• Work culture: Corporate culture, including the culture of your team and the entire company, will significantly influence your style. 

Conclusion 

Leaders hardly adopt a management style and stay with it throughout their careers. This is because there is no one best way to lead a team. Even the types of duties can alter management styles. Identifying the correct management style that best suits you and your team is highly essential. 

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