All managers have a preferred management style. Four main styles have been defined: directive, persuasive, associative and empowering. However, it is possible - and even highly recommended - to adjust your approach to suit the teams and circumstances. Follow the guide!
Why think about your management style?
What's the point of knowing your management style? For yourself, of course, but also for your teams and, ultimately, for the company. There are several advantages to thinking about your management style. It means looking at the different possible ways of motivating employees, and therefore indirectly influencing results. There is also a societal challenge. Not everyone is managed in the same way, and we now also have to take account of the expectations of the new generations.
Quality of life at work, autonomy, the possibility of teleworking, not forgetting the question of meaning: managers need to be able to adapt to employees and personalities that are, by definition, diverse and heterogeneous. To meet the objectives set by the company, you need to be able to adapt your management style.
Specialists in the field identify four general management styles: directive, persuasive, associative and empowering. Every manager has a preferred style. The good news is that no one's style is set in stone. But to manage others effectively, the first thing is to know yourself. In other words, you need to know where you are starting from…
How can you identify your preferred management style?
How would you define your style? Direct, persuasive, associative or empowering? In general, everyone intuitively knows their preferred management style. If someone is in doubt, I invite them to ask themselves some questions. When entrusted with an assignment, are they more inclined to demand results or to focus on the quality of relationships within the team? Do they see themselves more in a quest for control or a process of cooperation?
Behind the four recognised types of management, two different approaches emerge. Overall, the directive and associative styles are more focused on the task and the results to be achieved, whereas the other two, persuasive and empowering, focus on the way forward, the atmosphere in the team and the idea of letting the team express its feelings.
What are the 4 different types of management?
In absolute terms, no one style is better than the others. The idea is above all to know how to modulate your management style to suit the circumstances. Because each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
1- Directive management
This is the vertical model par excellence. It assumes that the manager is necessarily legitimate, that he or she always has the right way of doing things and has the best analysis of the situation. It has its advantages. It allows you to move quickly - or gives the impression that you can, anyway. He can quickly get a team up and running. But it also has its disadvantages. It's not called autocratic or authoritarian management for nothing. It entails a risk of authoritarianism, a lack of listening skills and even an inability to delegate.
2- Persuasive management
In comparison, persuasive management can be identified by the need to express one's convictions and get the team to adhere to them. In general, these people are highly committed and able to explain their decisions. They listen more to their staff, are not afraid of conflict and want to convince. At the same time, our expert points out that cooperation can sometimes be a little biased. They know they have to listen, but sometimes they find it hard to take into account other opinions that differ from their own.
3- Associative management
This type of management is also described as participative. It has a more horizontal dimension that encourages teamwork, cooperation and collaboration. Decision-making is shared, eliminating the subordinate relationship between management and the team. This style has the advantage of taking everyone's views into account and making the most of everyone's skills. However, this approach is less relevant when there are conflicts to manage. Cooperation has its limits when it comes to refocusing an element or a team.
4- Empowering management
This style, also called delegative, is driven by the idea that everyone knows what they have to do. It's sometimes referred to as ‘’letting things happen‘’. It works very well in environments such as research or certain IT professions with expert and autonomous profiles. Conversely, there is a risk that teams will lack a framework. If the outlines of tasks are not properly formalised, this can lead to misunderstandings or conflicts.
Why adapt your management style to the situation?
Each person, and above all each circumstance, has its own management style. It's worth trying to evolve once you've mastered the issues, and even the urgencies, specific to each situation.
Ideal situations for directive management
In the field, directive management refers to a certain urgency. Typically, it's the kind of management you'd expect from firefighters at an accident scene, with orders and no discussion. For our expert, this type of management is appreciated in exceptional situations, such as a health crisis, or over a short period, when a new member of the team needs to be given direction. But beware of the side effects. Directive management can quickly have a negative impact on motivation in a stable or settled environment.
Ideal situations for persuasive management
Persuasive management, on the other hand, is appreciated for the energy and enthusiasm it generates, which are essential if a new project is to be launched. This approach is interesting when you have to carry out an assignment over a long period, because it provides the direction and meaning that employees often need. This profile is relevant to difficult projects because it's not afraid of conflict.
The persuasive style likes to rub shoulders with other ideas and convince. But this approach has its limits. In an emergency, when there's no time to debate or listen, there's a risk of stalling and wasting time.
Ideal situations for associative management
On a day-to-day basis, associative management encourages creativity. It's ideal when it comes to getting people to work together, because it takes everyone's visions into account and makes the most of individual skills. It's a good idea to use it during a seminar or if you need to think together about a new subject, such as artificial intelligence.
However, this approach is sometimes difficult to maintain over the long term. By seeking consensus at all costs, management can lack assertiveness. Sometimes you have to get out of it to make a decision.
Ideal situations for empowering management
Finally, empowering management is essential when you're working with people who are experts in their field. It's also useful in all situations where creativity is required. However, this style of working will quickly seize up if you have to work in project mode, for example. This style encourages individualism rather than teamwork. The manager may find it difficult to find his or her place. And then you'll have to change the way you work…
Improve your management style with situational management
Changing your management style to suit the circumstances: is that so new? The idea has always been around. But since the health crisis, it's become a necessity. To improve results, but above all to attract, retain and develop the loyalty of talent.
From then on, the challenge is to be able to switch from one style to another, letting go of one's preferred operating mode. But this is not a new challenge either: we can draw a parallel with the teachings of Process Com, this mastery of different personality typologies which helps to reduce communication difficulties. You need to develop a certain agility, as with the lift principle in Process Com, which enables you to use all the resources at your disposal.
In the field, situational management requires an understanding of how you work, but also a snapshot of each circumstance and a detailed analysis of the team with which you will be interacting. You have to analyse the urgency of the situation, the expected results, the deadlines, but also the expectations of others.
As for progress, this is acquired by learning new tools through training. It is then regularly practised and analysed in the field. I suggest certain rituals. Every fortnight, for example, we can look back at events we've experienced and ask ourselves how we could have been more effective. This exercise can be done individually, or in pairs. Because it's always easier when managers talk to each other and hold up a mirror to each other.
This article was originally published by Cegos France under the title "Style de management : le vôtre est-il efficace ?"
