If you’re preparing for your first leadership position or accepted a supervisory role at a new company, you want to figure out which management style is right for you before you begin your new job! More than likely, your ideal style will fall into one of these three categories:
- Authoritarian Style – As a manager, you make all decisions without input from those you supervise. You give detailed instructions on what you expect from each project, how to accomplish it, and when each task is due.
- Democratic Style – With this management style, you still have the final say in all decisions and have set clear boundaries. However, you very rarely make decisions without gaining input from your team. You give project guidelines but allow your team a certain amount of creative freedom.
- Delegative Style – This is the most hands-off approach. You delegate as many tasks as you can and give your team the creative freedom to determine how to accomplish the project at hand best.
How Do You Know Which Is Your Best Management Style? Follow These Tips to Find Out!
Understand Your Personality
The first step to determining your best management style is to understand your primary personality traits as they relate to your professional life. Are you able to delegate and trust that the job gets done without checking-in, or do you feel the need to give detailed instructions every step of the way? Think about whether you value creativity and collaboration in the workplace or if you prefer one person to streamline the process by taking the lead and making all decisions.
What Do You Value Most at Work?
Think about the people you’ve worked with over the years and what traits you value the most. The employees who work under you need to be able to understand clearly what you value the most in an employee. Do you appreciate leadership qualities in team members, submissiveness, creativity, independence, etc.?
Know Your Weaknesses
Understanding your strengths is great, but knowing your weaknesses is what will make you an exceptional leader. Identifying your weaknesses will help you determine what you need from your team to compliment your strengths.
Reflect on Inspirational Managers
Think about influential managers you’ve had throughout your career. What are some of the traits they possessed that helped you become a better employee? What are some of the things they could have done better to improve the work environment? Use these revelations to improve your leadership style.
Make Sure Your Next Team Member Fits Your Management Style!
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to management style. It is purely based on your preference as a leader and what your team needs. Here’s a bonus tip! When it comes time to hire your next employee, let FirstOption Workforce Solutions find premier candidates that possess just the qualities you are looking for to fit into your workplace culture!
