Manager Styles/Types

Introduction
Management styles are characteristic ways of making decisions and relating to subordinates. This idea was further developed by Robert Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt (1958, 1973), who argued that the style of leadership is dependent upon the prevailing circumstance; therefore leaders should exercise a range of management styles and should deploy them as appropriate.
In my quest for searching manager styles on the internet also on some books from management, I have came across so many managerial styles and some of it have different calling but the same definition or type. This paper will not only discuss on the three most talked about management styles in some management text books namely democratic, autocratic and consultative but also all of those what I’ve found on the internet.
Some of the styles I will put here are those from the people who researched for years just to identify these types and the people who are coaching managers, business owners and executives and identified what are the other manager styles or types they’ve encountered. So we really not focus on the three most important styles, rather we will identify all of them.
These are some types of managerial styles:

Democratic Management Style
A democratic manager delegates authority to his/her staff, giving them responsibility to complete the task given to them (also known as empowerment). Staff will complete the tasks using their own work methods. However, the task must be completed on time. Employees are involved in decision making giving them a sense of belonging and motivating individuals. Because staff feels a sense of belonging and are motivated the quality of decision making and work also improves. Although popular in business today, a democratic management style can slow decision making down because staff needs to be consulted. Also some employees may take advantage of the fact that their manager is democratic by not working to their full potential and allowing other group members to 'carry' them.

Autocratic Management Style
In contrast to the above an autocratic manager dictates orders to their staff and makes decisions without any consultation. The leader likes to control the situation they are in. Decision is quick because staffs are not consulted and work is usually completed on time. However this type of management style can decrease motivation and increase staff turnover because staff are not consulted and do not feel valued.




Consultative Management style
A consultative management style can be viewed as a combination of the above two. The manager will ask views and opinions from their staff, allowing them to feel involved but will ultimately make the final decision.

Laissez Faire Management style
A laisses faire manager sets the tasks and gives staff complete freedom to complete the task as they see fit. There is minimal involvement from the manager. The manager however does not sit idle and watch them work! He or she is there to coach or answer questions, supply information if required. There are benefits; staff again is developed to take responsibility which may lead to improved motivation. However with little direct guidance from the manager staff may begin to feel lost and not reach the goals originally set within the time frame.

 Problem-Solving Manager
This boss is task-driven and focused on achieving goals. These problem solvers are constantly putting out fires and leading by chaos. The paradox here is this: It is often the manager who creates the very problems and situations that they work so hard to avoid. Continually providing solutions often results in the lackluster performance that they are working so diligently to eliminate.

 The Pitchfork Manager
People who manage by a pitchfork are doing so with a heavy and often controlling hand: demanding progress, forcing accountability, prodding and pushing for results through the use of consequence, threats, scarcity, and fear tactics. This style of tough, ruthless management is painful for people who are put in a position where they are pushed to avoid consequences rather than pulled toward a desired goal.

The Pontificating Manager
These managers will readily admit they don't follow any particular type of management strategy. Instead, they shoot from the hip, making it up as they go along often generating sporadic, inconsistent results. As a result, they often find themselves in situations that they are unprepared for. Interestingly, The Pontificating Manager thrives on situations like this. Often adrenaline junkies themselves, these managers are in desperate need of developing the second most essential proficiency of a coach: masterful listening. The Pontificating Manager is the type of manager who can talk to anyone and immediately make people feel comfortable. This character strength becomes a crutch to their leadership style, often blinding them to the need to further systemize their approach. As a matter of fact, the only thing consistent about these managers is their inconsistency.

The Presumptuous Manager
Presumptuous Managers focus more on themselves than anything else. To them, their personal production, recognition, sales quotas and bonuses take precedence over their people and the value they are responsible for building within each person on their team. Presumptuous Managers often put their personal needs and objectives above the needs of their team. As you can imagine, Presumptuous Managers experience more attrition, turnover, and problems relating to managing a team than any other type of manager. Presumptuous Managers are typically assertive and confident individuals. However, they are typically driven by their ego to look good and outperform the rest of the team. Presumptuous Managers breed unhealthy competition rather than an environment of collaboration.

The Perfect Manager
Perfect Managers possess some wonderful qualities. These managers are open to change, innovation, training, and personal growth with the underlying commitment to continually improve and evolve as sales managers, almost to a fault. This wonderful trait often becomes their weakness. In their search for the latest and greatest approach, like Pontificating Managers, Perfect Managers never get to experience the benefit of consistency. This manager is a talking spec sheet. Their emphasis on acquiring more facts, figures, features, and benefits has overshadowed the ability of Perfect Managers to recognize the critical need for soft skills training around the areas of presenting, listening, questioning, prospecting, and the importance of following an organized, strategic selling system. Perfect Managers rely on their vast amount of product knowledge and experience when managing and developing their salespeople. Because of this great imbalance, these manager often fall short on developing their interpersonal skills that would make them more human than machine.

The Passive Manager
Also referred to as Parenting Managers or Pleasing Managers, Passive Managers take the concept of developing close relationships with their team and coworkers to a new level. These managers have one ultimate goal: to make people happy. While this is certainly an admirable trait, it can quickly become a barrier to leadership efforts if not managed effectively. Although wholesome and charming, this type of boss is viewed as incompetent, inconsistent and clueless often lacking the respect they need from their employees in order to effectively build a championship team. You can spot a Passive Manager by looking at their team and the number of people who should have been fired long ago. Because all Passive Managers want to do is please, they are more timid and passive in their approach. These managers will do anything to avoid confrontation and collapse holding people accountable with confrontation and conflict.

The Proactive Manager
The Proactive Manager encompasses all of the good qualities that the other types of managers possess, yet without all of their pitfalls. Here are the characteristics that this ideal manager embodies, as well as the ones for you to be mindful of and develop yourself. The Proactive Manager possesses the:
• Persistence, edge, and genuine authenticity of the Pitchfork Manager
• Confidence of the Presumptuous Manager
• Enthusiasm, passion, charm, and presence of the Pontificating Manager
• Drive to support others and spearhead solutions like the Problem-Solving Manager
• Desire to serve, respectfulness, sensitivity, nurturing ability, and humanity of the Passive Manager
• Product and industry knowledge, sales acumen, efficiency, focus, organization, and passion for continued growth just like the Perfect Manager
The Proactive Manager is the ultimate manager and coach, and a testimonial to the additional skills and coaching competencies that every manager needs to develop in order to build a world class team.

Conclusion
Selecting the correct management style may lead to greater motivation and productivity from your staff. However, it is not as easy as just 'picking' a style.
Being an effective manager means knowing when to use the right management style. Some styles, for instance, are more people-oriented, while others tend to focus on a project or product. The management style you select will depend on your people’s skills and knowledge, available resources (like time and money), desired results, and, of course, the task before you.
Your job is to select the management style that works best for any given situation. Managing without a specific style geared to a specific set of circumstances can slow you down and even lead to costly mistakes.


References:

http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management/11438-1.html
http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/management-styles.php
http://www.learnmanagement2.com/leadership%20styles.htm
http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_management_styles.htm
http://www.philforhumanity.com/The_Types_of_Managers.html
http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/sales-selling-sales/10207093-1.html
http://network.latpro.com/profiles/blogs/the-six-different-types-of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_styles
http://www.answers.com/topic/management-styles
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/management-styles.html