Ryan Senter
Management Services Committee Member
Hibbs ElectroMechanical, Inc.
A quick search on management styles will lead you down a rabbit hole of opinion pieces, blogs and even entire books defining various approaches to adopt and others to avoid. In an attempt to sound innovative and sell the next book, I believe some of these self-recognized experts invent new terminology to redefine the same basic practices. However, one thing I agree with them on is adhering to a few specific management styles can improve leadership effectiveness.
A good leader recognizes the importance of employing the right management style at the right time to increase productivity, boost morale, encourage retention and manage crisis.
Defining Your Style
You can find a wide variety of terms used to define management styles, terms such as “autocratic,” “coaching,” “democratic,” “laissez-faire,” “pace-setting,” “participative,” “servant,” “transactional” and “visionary.” Most are descriptive terms giving you a general idea of that style’s characteristics. Some would appear more readily accepted and a few preferably avoided. Depending on your position, you may be choosing a style for yourself, one individual, a small group of individuals, a management team or an entire organization. In any event, you will want to pick a style based on your personal values and business philosophy while keeping in mind that you will need to be flexible in applying multiple management styles as you face new challenges every day.
Open Management Style
We have found there is not a one-size-fits-all and a combination of a few management styles works best for us depending on the task at hand. For example, when recruiting and training new team members, we use a “coaching” management style. Just like with a sports team, a coaching staff recruits players that fit its playing style; a management team must recruit team members that support their business philosophy and management style. We recruit people that not only have to be able to do the job technically but also want to be a good teammate. We also unabashedly acknowledge without judgment that we are not for everyone and everyone is not for us.
During leadership meetings, a “visionary” management style is a more natural fit when we are discussing growth and direction of the company and planning for the future. During these meetings, there is room for open and honest communication, expansive feedback and brainstorming, and a wide range of emotions and considerations. While discouraging undue drama, we promote vigorous debate by not seeing conflict in a negative connotation combined with not believing correction is criticism.
A stark difference from “visionary,” an “autocratic” approach is necessary when your team is facing uncharted waters. People need direction and want to feel confident in their leadership when they are distracted by things going on outside of their working environment. They want something certain, something they can depend on. That something is you, as their leader, to manage them through the crisis with a well-thought-out plan so they can regain focus and get back to doing what they do best.
While none of us have faced a global pandemic before, the same concepts hold true. Nevertheless, be wary of coming out of the gate demanding productivity. First, and most importantly, you must show empathy. Your team members are not going to “buy-in” to your plan before you take the time to listen to their thoughts and understand the hardships they may be facing. To narrow their focus, ask them to tune out the media and negativity for a minute and evaluate, “Are you sick?” “Is your family sick?” “Are you broke?” “Are you hungry?” It is vital to communicate that you are there to support them no matter what their personal opinions may be, and it is equally important for them to keep themselves and their families safe while keeping your customers operating.
The best thing we have done besides be adaptable is to give our team members the opportunity to apply these different management styles themselves, especially shift leaders or anyone who may be responsible for passing on tribal knowledge to the next generation and immersing them in our culture. By learning to apply the management styles internally, they also learn to apply them in their personal lives. Open management does not always come from the top down. A key piece of open management is being able to hold each other accountable.
At this point, you might be asking, “How am I going to keep up with these different management styles and know when to apply them?” We have simplified our melding of styles by remaining grounded in our core values, no matter who we are dealing with or what is going on. We decided what kind of people we wanted to be and developed a business plan around that specific to servicing electromechanical equipment. Whether we sell ice cream or work on electromechanical equipment, this is who we are. Regardless of what new management style may emerge, we will continue to make decisions by doing the right thing for the right reasons.
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