6 Types of Management – Find Out What Kind of Manager You Are

There are many types of management. Without self-reflection from time to time, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking you are a great manager with very few areas to improve, that your team is motivated and working at its best rate. Here are 6 types of management styles. Which type of manager are you?
types of management

There are many types of management. Without self-reflection from time to time, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking you are a great manager with very few areas to improve. You may think that your team is motivated and working at its best rate. A great manager has the ability to take the time to reflect on their past endeavors, measure the satisfaction of its employees and analyze what he could do better. Here are 6 types of management styles. Which type of manager are you?

Types of Management

As each and every one of us has a different skill set and we have our own personalized way in which we perform, various types of management have emerged in the workforce. Some have key skills of a top manager. Here is a list of types of management styles that mean well but lose the art of leadership:

  • The know-it-all
  • The forever planner
  • The doer
  • The overly friendly
  • The authoritarian
  • The perfectionist

The Know-It-All

How to recognize them

The know-it-all managers are the ones who think they always know everything better than their employees, do not accept constructive criticism or any negative feedback and will try to prove that they are always right, even at the cost of sabotaging the project. In most of the situations, these types of managers will have the perfect theoretical knowledge, they can perfectly describe any work-related theory and successfully delegate all their tasks to the employees. However, when it comes to practice, their words do not transform into actions and their employees get to spend a lot of time trying to figure out for themselves how to perform their activities.

How to improve

  • Have one-on-one discussions with employees
  • Have a professional discussion with someone from HR to lay out the situation and ask for advice on how to translate theory into practice
  • Perform a couple of trial and error experiments in the day-to-day activities to find the best way to achieve the goals
  • Listen to your employees and to their ideas as they might surprise you with their ingenuity
  • Never stop learning. You yourself must look for ways on how to develop personally. This is an advantage for you and your subordinates. For example, you can opt to finish a leadership degree from Deakin as online courses provides you with new learnings while keeping your other priorities straight. Or you can join trainings and workshops specifically organized for managers and team leaders.

The Forever Planner

How to recognize them

The forever planners always have everything in perfect order. All tasks and projects are thoroughly planned, deadlines perfectly set and instructions to employees spotless. While this type of manager sets the right expectations, any small obstacle that deviates the normal course of things will get them to rethink and reorganize the entire project. This causes frustration and delays within the department.

How to improve

  • Participate in courses for a more flexible management style
  • Shadow a manager you look up to
  • Read books on leadership
  • Make it a habit to praise every successful stage of a project and the people involved

The Doers

How to recognize them

The doers are the managers that will constantly be busy and will be burdening themselves with more tasks than they can handle. One of the most important things in being a manager is to know how to delegate tasks. The doers understand that delegation will free their time, will empower employees and will improve productivity, however they fail to put it in practice. While they can deliver tasks and complete them successfully, this type of management style will leave them without the necessary time to actually “manage”, ending up being a member of the team.

How to improve

  • Take time-management courses
  • Spend time with a mentor that can help you progress from a performer to a manager
  • Take courses related to management delegation
  • Implement and measure all the actions learned from courses

The Overly Friendly

How to recognize them

In their departments you will always find people relaxed, with no work-related stress, laughing and generally enjoying themselves, but also working from time to time. This type of management puts a lot of emphasis on having a pleasant working environment where people are not afraid of him, where people are excited to come to work and the stress is at a very reduced level.

While the work environment is very employee focused and people feel free to express themselves, the employees don’t perform to their maximum capacity. They know their manager will not push them and will “forgive” them for any mishaps. Tasks may incur delays or get postponed indefinitely. This is a problem in time-sensitive situations.

How to improve

  • Take courses on leadership
  • Request feedback from other managers and implement suggestions
  • Implement a rigorous deadline system and enforce it upon the employees to uphold it
  • Learn how to create a professional work relationship and how to nurture it and don’t be afraid to discipline employees

The Authoritarian 

How to recognize them

In an authoritarian’s department, you will notice complete silence. People have their eyes glued to their computers and work as much as possible to finish their tasks. This type of management style is very strict. Although they successfully delegate tasks to the employees, they do not allow people to make any mistakes them. It is a restrictive environment in which people cannot express themselves or flourish to meet their untapped potential.

Positive feedback comes very rarely and only in special situations very important for the company. Unfortunately, they constantly enforce their own deadlines to projects without verifying first with the employees to check their workload capacity and ability to handle the work in said time. While his department produces very good work, it also has a higher employee turnover rate, as employees seek employment in more stress-free workplaces.

How to improve

  • Continuously self-analyze on any given project by measuring employee drop-out rate
  • Participate in team buildings in order to bond with the employees
  • Focus on the success of your team and their accomplishments instead of the negative aspects

The Perfectionist

How to recognize them

The perfectionist is the type of manager that is constantly worried about getting the task done flawlessly. The rule of 80%-20% will never apply to this manager, as he will always try to give 100% to every project. The employees in the department of a perfectionist often look tired and worried because they absorb the manager’s stress levels.

These managers will always double check the tasks of the employees. More so, they often verify work for mistakes because they have no tolerance for errors. While the projects are done flawlessly, with someone like him at the helm, people become fearful of making mistakes which in turn has a negative impact on their productivity.

How to improve

  • Participate in leadership conferences
  • Learn to accept other people’s mistakes as ways to become better
  • Connect with your employees and create a harmonious work culture

Types of Management Styles

In every company, there are many types of management styles likes the ones described above. It is very important to be able to find which one you are and start the process of self-improvement so you can get to be the best version of yourself.

Great managers are not born. They learn early on from every situation that life throws at them. They realize what to do to change and then take the necessary steps to achieve their goals.

You might also like our article on Management Secrets: 5 Signs of Good Management

You can also get very close to the title of a great manager by participating in meetings, conferences and courses attended by professionals that can guide you towards the right direction and then implement all the lessons learned. Per the quote of Henry Mintzberg about types of management: “Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet”.

The fate of a business organization depends a lot on the person who is at the managerial position. While a good manager has the ability to motivate employees and make them worth their skills but there may be some other who is still a (more or less) dominating personality and not the one who knows about self-assessment.

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