Discovering your management style is critical to the success of your business.

And the best way to succeed with your management tasks is to find out what works best for you, as you and the people you manage may approach tasks in different ways.

Management is the ownership and responsibility of all facets of an organisation or specific departments contained within it. A management style is the way a manager goes about meeting the expectations of the role.

Director of consultancy and training programs Clifford D’Cunha, from PIM Training and Consultancy, says working out a management style that is right for you and your business is critical because stakeholder management exists in every level of an organisation.

“The levels are frontline, middle and senior management, and the executive level – consisting of the board and shareholders,” he says.

Clifford says with the agile nature of business in modern times there are plenty of opportunities for management to identify approaches that are not working for the company and change them.

“Most mature business has stocktake every 90 days to make sure that everything is going according to a strategic plan,” he says. “This is because the world will live in requires a company to be more agile than in the past.

“It means an organisation can have the opportunity to evaluate the management strategy several times a year if required.

“For me, the most effective management style is measured by how quickly you can articulate expectations from your customers and your business’s ability to deliver those wants.”

Clifford says there are autocratic and inclusive styles of management.

“I believe in delegating and empowering your people is a much more effective style. Unfortunately, mining and resources tend to have a rigid hierarchy, so you usually get a more traditional style of management in those sectors. But that is changing as well.”

Management styles

Autocratic

Autocratic managers do things without seeking any input from other people. This style can have its advantages around timeliness, however can harm staff morale.

Consultative

This is a more inclusive style of management which has the advantage of gaining insights from other people. The downside is that it can be disappointing to the people whose views were overlooked in the final decision made by the manager.

Persuasive

Employees will have the opportunity to lobby their manager with their views as a part of the decision-making process. Again, this can hurt the opinions of those whose choices are overlooked.

Democratic

Democratic managers include subordinates in the evaluation of choices and in the final decision that is made. This style has the added benefit of transparency and inclusion from the manager down to the employees at various levels.

 Laissez-faire

“Let it happen” style of management places the onus on the employees to make most decisions. This can foster an environment where people in the organisation feel valued and empowered. However, it can be risky if things go wrong and the manager is held accountable for other people’s mistakes.

Management by walking around  

This highly consultative style of management involves managers conversing with employees from day to day and acting on problems or opportunities as soon as they emerge.