WHAT KIND OF MANAGER ARE YOU?

6 STYLES OF MANAGEMENT

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

The words “leadership” and “management” are

often used interchangeably.

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

The Harvard Business Review published an article exploring several distinct leadership and management styles.

www.ncu.edu

The study conducted in-depth interviews and took a random sampling of opinions of nearly 4,000managers from a database of more than 20,000 executives worldwide.

SIX STYLES OF LEADERSHIP:

PROS & CONS

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

Coercive

• Demands immediate compliance

• No ifs, ands or buts• Has the most corrosive impact

on an organization

Pros• Very beneficial during a

crisis or in turn-around situations

• To be implemented only when necessary

Cons• Tends to destroy

morale, independent thought and risk-taking

• Erodes motivation

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

AUTHORITATIVE• Most effective style for most

situations• Visionaries who move people toward

a common vision• Help people to see how they fit into

long-term plans

Pros• Employees know their

purpose

• Increases buy-in of the organization’s goals and strategies

• Standards and rewards are known to all

• This approach affords leeway to achieving individual goals

Cons• Ill-suited to teams where

subordinates are more experienced

• Leaders of this type can seem “pompous or out-of-touch”

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

AFFILIATIVE• Beckons the team to follow and is all

about mandates• Seeks to create harmony amongst

employees• During stressful periods focuses on

teamwork in order to motivate them• People, not organizational goals, come

first

Pros• A good “all-weather”

approach that is particularly useful for building team morale

• Improves communication

• Repairs broken trust

Cons• Inefficient especially in

times of crisis

• Can give the impression of lack of leadership

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

PACE-SETTING• Leader uses personal best as

expectation• Everyone expected to follow and

perform at their level best• To be used infrequently

Pros• Everyone expected to

follow and perform at their level best

• Should be used in conjunction with another leadership approach

Cons• Can lead to

micromanaging

• Can cause employees to feel overwhelmed by unreasonable demands.

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

Coaching• Helps leaders identify talents of team

members• Shows them how to tie these strengths to

their professional goals• Rarely used in most organizations• Champions and empowers individual

employees to achieve

Pros• Helps employees

identify strengths and weaknesses

• Short-term failures tolerated with an eye to long-term successes

Cons• An ill fit when

employees are resistant to changing

• Motivational efforts can be perceived with fear or disregard

www.ncu.edu

www.ncu.edu

While this study presents 6 styles, Dr. Peter Bemski, Dean of the School of Business and Technology Management at Northcentral University, suggests there is a 7th style.

www.ncu.edu

The key to being an effective leader is to have a broad repertoire of styles and to use them appropriately.

The 7th Leadership Style:

www.ncu.edu

What kind of manager would you categorize yourself or your boss as?

www.ncu.edu

Did you like this?

Check out our blog for the full article!

www.ncu.edu/blog