Evaluating your Management Style

Today the working environment sees many styles of leadership. Whether you are a CEO of a large corporation or a leader of a smaller team, it is good practice to assess your management skills in order to advance not only the results that your company are accomplishing, but also the happiness of you workforce. Moreover, continuing education is offering the opportunity for many managers to undergo programmes, such as leadership training, to develop their method of organisation and control.

Overall there are four recognised forms of leadership; one extreme version is known as “autocratic”. This style is quite self-explanatory through its title alone; it is a repressive form of management that restricts the amount of control that employees receive within the company. Most leadership training courses won’t promote this style of control as often it leads to resentment within staff and a high level of absentees. However, it can be proposed that often a manager will benefit from having some autocratic characteristics, as often this style can be incredibly efficient and can gain results fast. It is therefore vital to achieve a good balance that will allow your workforce to be cooperative, which in turn will lead to first-rate results. 

A company that is often involved with large sums of money, or one that is based within an environment that carries serious safety risks, will need a manager that embraces a bureaucratic style. This form of leadership focuses heavily on rules and regulations, and often leaders are formed from people who are successfully able to commit to these. Yet, this type of leadership does not see success within teams and organizations that rely on creativity or innovation. A leadership training course can provide managers with guidance on this; it can help you to manage a range of challenges that occur in your career.

Many executives wish to achieve a combination of a charismatic and a democratic leadership style. This form encourages employees to give their input into company decisions, which creates a high level of creativity and often leaves team members highly engaged in projects and decisions. Although this can sometimes lead to unhurried decision making, it is the perfect style for when working as a team is essential, and when quality is more important than efficiency or productivity. The tools required to achieve this form of management can be gained by undergoing a leadership training programme.

Overall, it is important to find a suitable balance as a manager. Too much control can lead to resentment within the employees, whereas a laissez-faire approach can encourage insignificant motivation amongst a team. If an executive was looking to acquire further knowledge and guidelines to become an efficacious leader then a leadership training course would achieve this. The programme helps a student to understand their own personal leadership style and provides them with the tools to improve it. It is evident that a healthy balance of all four styles should be embraced to become a prosperous manager.