Management styles

Managers have many roles to perform in the course of their duties.

The way in which they choose to handle various situations will depend on their management style.

Management style refers to the manner in which managers exert their authority in the workplace and ensure their objectives are achieved.

It covers how managers plan and organize their work in their areas of responsibility and, in particular, how they relate to and deal with their colleagues and team members.

The key components of management styles are attitudes and behaviors including what managers say, how they say it, the example they set, their body language and their general conduct and demeanor.

If managers are to be effective in their role it is important for them to think consciously about how they manage – what kind of management style suits them best (i.e. a more timid manager might find it hard to adopt a more forceful management style) and what will work in their team (given the nature of the employees being managed) and organization (given the culture of their organization).

Adopting an appropriate management style helps managers to establish rapport, trust and respect, engage their team members and build good working relationships, things that can help improve employee motivation and build productivity.

Conversely, adopting an inappropriate management style may lead to employees becoming disengaged and demotivated.

In the twentieth century management style was seen as primarily about how managers exercised their authority to get work done and successfully meet objectives. There was also a perception that there was one best way to manage which would achieve the best results in every situation.

Later, more collaborative and coaching styles began to be favored with the aim of promoting motivation and engagement among employees.

Today there is certainly a stronger emphasis on management style as the way in which managers relate to people, especially those who report to them.

*This article is part of the course "Management and Leadership" in open university and CMI