The 4 Highly Interesting Management Styles: Which One Are You?

Introduction

Management styles can be confusing and frustrating. But as a manager, it’s essential to know your style – and to be able to adapt to different situations. There are many kinds of management styles that most management frameworks talk about. These include the Democratic management style, Visionary management style, Laissez-faire management style, Autocratic management style, Coaching management style, Participative management style, Consultative management style, etc. But, in this blog, we will be talking about the management styles that are not commonly discussed. But they are still fascinating and can often be seen in practice by different leaders. We will further guide you to identify your management style with a two-way approach.

The 4 interesting management styles and their pros and cons

Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leadership is characterized by a reliance on rules, paperwork, and centralized decision-making. It is characterized by strict procedures, rigid controls, and reliance on hierarchy. We often find this leadership style in organizations with a hierarchical structure, where leaders or managers hold a lot of power and control over the employees. Leaders often use this style in large organizations, where everyone has to follow the rules and procedures to keep everything running smoothly. Further, this leadership style requires subordinates to go through a long and rigorous process to get approvals on their proposals.

Pros of Bureaucratic Leadership

• Strict procedures and rules make it easier to manage and control an extensive team
• Centralized decision making minimizes chaos and makes the organization more efficient
• Hierarchy allows leaders to build strong relationships with their employees and keep them in line

Cons of Bureaucratic leadership

• This style of leadership is often seen as ineffective and slow-moving
• There is usually a single point of decision making, i.e., right at the top
• This type of leadership can be restrictive, difficult to change, and often results in low innovation and high employee turnover
• Also, it is often associated with limitations in creativity, flexibility, and risk-taking. Here employees do not get much of a say in any final decision

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership is a management style that focuses on the transactions between managers and their team members. It is a task-oriented and results-driven approach, where managers give clear instructions and then monitor and supervise their team members to ensure they meet the required standards. This type of management is often seen in businesses with a need for order and a clear chain of command. These managers use rewards and punishments to get things done and are not particularly interested in developing relationships with employees. The transactional leader is motivated by self-interest and a need to maintain control. These types of leaders don’t believe in building relationships with their team. The transactional leader sees employees as a means to an end and is not concerned with their well-being or growth.

Pros of Transactional Leadership

• These managers or leaders make sure that their teams do align with the organization’s goals
• They also make sure that the team can work together harmoniously and with dedication
• There is a just reward for good performance

Cons Of Transactional Leadership

• They rely a lot on short-term results
• These managers lead the team towards low creativity and innovation, which deteriorates the team morale
• They are often impatient and aggressive

Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is a style of leadership that emphasizes the role of the leader or manager as a servant of the team. It is based on the premise that the leader should not focus on achieving personal goals but rather orientate themselves toward the team’s needs. The purpose of servant leadership is to create an environment where all members feel respected and empowered and contribute their best effort toward fulfilling the organization’s goals. Rather than dictating, leading with power and control, or manipulating subordinates, a servant-leader cultivates a relationship of respect, trust, and collaboration. They view their employees as allies who can help them achieve their goals rather than as tools or resources that they can exploit.

Pros of Servant Leadership

• This approach allows team members to feel accountable and passionate about their work
• It’s a great way to build trust and camaraderie among co-workers
• They can better serve the team and improve their work environment

Cons of Servant Leadership

• Building and practicing this leadership style is hard
• Leaders have a shallow sense of power and control. So they must be comfortable with that
• Employees under a servant leader may end up taking things for granted.

Charismatic Leadership

Charismatic leadership is a type of leadership that emphasizes the need for charisma and charm, or the ability to inspire others to follow. It highlights the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) in the leader’s ability to motivate and inspire people. It emphasizes the need for a leader or manager to be able to connect and communicate with people on an emotional level and build trust and rapport. This type of leadership often involves a visionary leader or manager who can identify and articulate the organization’s vision. Further, they energize and mobilize the team around this vision.

Pros of Charismatic Leadership

• They inspire employees to take on challenges and achieve objectives
• These managers or leaders can motivate their team through their words and actions and have the ability to make everyone feel important
• They can connect with people on an emotional level and build trust and rapport

Cons of Charismatic Leadership

• They may expect a lot from their team
• They are too quick to criticize
• This kind of leader can be erratic and change their mind frequently

How can you identify which management style you are using?

There are two ways in which you can figure out what management style you are using:

1. Self-assessment

Do you constantly struggle to complete your work because you don’t know how to use the right management style for your situation? If so, you may want to try self-assessment. Assessing yourself will give you ideas about how exactly you carry out things. It will enlighten you about which management style is your actions and way of working related to. It will give you your interpretation of how you manage or lead your team.

2. Team’s feedback about your management style

Your own opinion about how you lead and manage your team will not be enough to provide you with a holistic approach to your management style. Taking feedback from your team about your management style will give you insights into how your management style is falling on your team. This way you can identify the gaps between the way your team perceives your management style and how you want it to be. Further, it will guide you to the management style most suitable for your situation. It will also help you determine whether you can increase your managerial effectiveness through a better management style.

How can you improve your management style?

The results gained by the questionnaires linked above will provide you following insights.

1. You may want to consider changing your management style if you feel that it does not work well for the team or the situation you face. Once you identify the gaps, you have to work on filling those gaps with an expert. You can either take training or hire a coach that will help you to fill those gaps.

2. On the other hand, if your management style is effective and fulfills all of your team’s needs, there is no need to change anything about it. But you may still want to strengthen it further by learning deeper nuances.

3. You may end up in a situation where you consider your management style perfect, but your team doesn’t, or visa-versa. In this situation, altering your management style to the extent of mutual agreement and acceptance will be the right path to take. Here again, a coach can guide you through this transition.

Overall, to improve your and your team’s work-life, you will have to work on your leadership style to be structured and consistent. A typical coaching session can cost you 100-150$. For a 6-month coaching program, you must have a budget of 2,500-4,000$. Alternatively, you can sign up for Risely at a fraction of this cost and take control of your leadership journey.

Conclusion

Managing people can be challenging and time-consuming, but it can also be an enriching experience. To identify your management style and improve it, knowing what works well for you is essential. Beyond that, it is far more critical to understand what works for your team as they are the ones who you are managing with this style of yours. By having a good idea about what management style will best suit you, your team, and the business you work for, you can develop the management style which takes you to great heights of managerial effectiveness.