In this age of teams, teamwork, and empowerment, is there
room for a “do it my way” style of management?
Situations that call for a quick turnaround, instant action,
or unity of purpose-such as crises or emergencies—need a forcible communication
style.
Such a style may be necessary when you don’t have time for
debate. Don’t pull lever A; turn valve B first, you say to an employee who is
about to endanger the safety of himself and others on the plant floor. In such
a case, you need to tell the employee what to do without listening or
permitting input from him.
But being forcible doesn’t mean bullying, yelling, screaming
or treating employees in a disrespectful manner. Overusing this style could
cause employees to rebel, passive resist, or quit. It needs to be used only a
small percentage of the time and then by a person such as a manager who has
positional or legitimate power over the employees. The employee must believe
that the manager has knowledge and is acting in the best interests of everyone
concerned. After all you are in a management position and your company expects
you to use those skills. They have the confidence in you do to the right thing
for the company and expect you to be forcible if needed.
The best managers are those who vary their management styles
based on the demands of a situation. He shares insights into five other
management styles:
Authorative. Whereas the forcible style sets direction
around a specific situation, an authorative style tends to set direction around
a goal, vision, or object and how the group will get there. This style uses
both positive and negative feedback, explaining why actions are necessary and
encouraging alternatives.
Affiliative. Such a style appeals to the “humanity” of
employees and fosters cooperation and teamwork through compromise and
communication. It is particularly effective in managing work teams.
Democratic. This style works best with experts or technical
people who won’t tolerate being directed and are highly competent, having a
good understanding of the job, and tend to function autonomously, yet need a
manager to coordinate their activities.
Coaching. This style focuses not only on providing good
constructive development feedback around job performance but also on long-term
development needs of employees. New hires may especially benefit from this
style.
Pacesetter. This approach is recommended for manager looking
to create an entrepreneurial environment, and works best with highly motivated
employees who don’t require much direction but respond to someone they can
model themselves after.
