Management Tactics

How to know what management style tactics to use and when

We often read and learn about different management styles - Authoritative, Democratic and Laissez-faire, and all the sub styles associated with them.  An effective manager can move between these styles, adapting to the internal and external factors –

Internal factors – organisation culture, policies, staff skill set and employee engagement levels etc.

External factors – employment law, competitors, suppliers, trends etc.

Also taking into account the volume/type of work, organisation goals, and the personalities of those being managed.  

Authoritative management styles - these are generally one way communication styles, from the top to the bottom. Management make all the decisions and impose them on the organisation.

Democratic management styles – encourage input from employees but decisions are ultimately made by the managers.  Communication is two way, both up and down the organisation structure.

Laissez-faire – Management leave employees to do their work with minimal supervision or control.  Managers may delegate work, and check it before delivery – but essentially staff are left to get on with it.

There are pros and cons for each style (and the additional sub-styles). We’ll be looking at management styles in more detail in future newsletters.

What about other constraints? What tactics can a manager use if they are short of time, or if quality is important, or motivation, or a combination of two or if all three are essential?  I have found this Venn diagram designed by Chris Croft Training very useful when deciding how best to approach a task and when and how best to involve the team.  It’s a really practical tool to help you decide the best way to get through an individual task, depending on what constraints you have. Thought it was worth a share.

If you’re pushed for time, quality isn’t important and there isn’t anything in the task to motivate an individual or the team then complete as quickly as possible and get rid of it!

If however you don’t have much time, but quality matters, your only real option might be to tell someone how to do it and let them get on with it.  There isn’t much to motivate them, but every now and then that’s just the way things are. You will probably need to request to see the output before it gets delivered.

If you’re short of time, quality isn’t too important but it’s the sort of task that will motivate someone then pass the task to them and empower them to do it (empowering in this instance means you don’t check on them, you just trust them to get the job done). Make yourself available in case they need support.

If quality is the main driver, and you have the luxury of time, you may want to plan for it and do it yourself - especially if there is no development opportunity or motivation for anyone else.

If there is a development opportunity you can choose to share the task or consult with others. (The difference between these is that with consult you make the decision after consulting others, but with share it’s a joint decision.)

If there is a task to complete without deadlines, and quality isn’t an issue, then you can sell the task to someone else or the team. They can determine how to do it and how well.

In all circumstances you can look to delegate the task, but this isn’t just a tactic to get the job off your list and onto someone else’s! It needs doing properly. If done well it will meet all the constraints and is a win-win for everyone.

So there you have it - a useful tool that can be used as a quick reference for working out the best management tactic to use in any given situation!

For previous newsletters on Delegation see Feb 28 - Delegation - How to Free Up Some Time, Mar 21 - How to Delegate Successfully, Apr 1 - What’s Stopping You from Delegating?