Leadership and Management Styles

The leadership style of a manager refers to the method, approach, and attitude they adopt when providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating their team.
The management style refers to the patterns of behaviours and use of skills and abilities that a manager uses in carrying out their managerial duties.

Different Leadership Styles

Autocratic leadership: The manager maintains total authority and control over decision-making, often without input or challenge from others. This can be effective in certain situations but may stifle creativity and discourage team involvement.
Democratic leadership: Also known as participative leadership, encourages team involvement in decision-making. Decisions are shared and based on majority rule. This can increase job satisfaction and team ownership but may take longer to reach decisions.
Laissez-faire leadership: Also known as free-rein leadership, the manager gives the team the freedom to make decisions, providing guidance only when needed. This can foster creativity and innovation, but may lead to lack of direction and control if mismanaged.
Transformational leadership: The manager inspires and motivates the team with a shared vision. They encourage personal development and high productivity. This can lead to high job satisfaction and innovation, but may require a high level of management skill.
Transactional leadership: Managers motivate their team through a system of rewards and punishments. They focus on maintaining current operations rather than innovating. It can be efficient in routine work settings but may not foster a creative or motivated workforce.

The chosen leadership style can have a significant impact on many aspects of a business, including employee satisfaction, productivity, innovation, and team dynamics.
No leadership style is superior to the others in all situations. The chosen style should depend on the company culture, the nature of work, the personality of the employees and the manager, and the business’s broader strategic goals.
A successful leader often has to adapt their leadership style depending on circumstances, showing flexibility and responsiveness to changing situations.

Autocratic management: The manager makes decisions without consulting the team. This can lead to quick decisions but may also lead to lack of team motivation and sense of ownership.
Consultative management: The manager involves employees in decision-making, but makes the final decision themselves. This strikes a balance between quick decision-making and team involvement.
Persuasive management: The manager makes decisions alone, but spends time with employees to persuade them of the benefits of the decision. This can encourage team buy-in, but may still leave some feeling excluded from decision-making.
Democratic management: Decisions are made collectively with the full involvement of the team. This can increase job satisfaction and sense of ownership, but may take longer to reach decisions.

The style of management has significant impact on the corporate culture and the motivation, productivity and satisfaction of employees.
Different management styles can also have different implications for decision-making speed, quality of decisions, and degree of innovation in the business.
As with leadership styles, a successful manager often needs to be able to adapt their management style according to the situation and the needs of their team.