Managing People Effectively in Business

One topic which nearly always comes up on management training courses is the different ways of managing people to get results. These management styles can usually be placed somewhere in a spectrum where at one end is the manager who feels they have to control every little detail and constantly supervise workers in everything they do and crack the whip, and the other is the manager who believes that employees are more motivated and productive when they are free to work without feeling constrained. This is closely correlated with McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y of management.


Leadership and Managerial Styles and Positions

Management styles and methods will depend upon the industry and activity types

As well as the attitudes and beliefs of the manager, there are also differing types of leadership which are suited to different industries or activity types. These are typically autocratic where the manager pretty much dictates what will happen, persuasive where the manager still makes the decision by themselves but does then seek to get others to buy-in to their way of thinking, democratic where staff participation in decision making is encouraged, and laissez-faire where workers are free to get on with activities according to broad objectives and boundaries. It is impossible to say which, if any, of these four styles of leadership are "right", as each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and will depend upon many factors including the people, the objectives and the type of industry/activity.

There are also different types of managerial positions. For instance, the term "manager" may refer to the CEO of the entire organisation, a senior board member, a head of department, the person in charge of a certain region of the country, a project manager in charge of the project management of a particular task, or a junior manager responsible for just a handful of people. It may be the case that a style of management for one role may not be suitable for another. For example, a CEO may be able to be autocratic and strut around like they own the place, but if a junior manager did it they may find themselves out of a job pretty soon!


How Will Management Courses Help?

By attending a management training course and learning about the differing types of management and leadership styles, you will have a much better understanding of when to apply each one according to the situation in order to maximise results and productivity from your employees.