Effective Management Styles
Being an effective manager means knowing when to use the right management style. Some styles, for instance, are more people-oriented, while others tend to focus on a project or a product. The management style you select will depend on your people’s skills and knowledge, available resources like time or money, desired results, and, of course, the task before you. Your job is to select the management style that works best for any given situation. Managing without a specific style geared to a specific set of circumstances can slow you down and even lead to costly mistakes. You can do your best work by using the following effective management styles: a participatory style, a directing style or a teamwork style. Participatory style It is critical to give each employee an entire task to complete. If that’s not possible, make sure the individual knows and understands his or her part as it relates to the project or the task. When people in a team know where they fit in the big picture they are more likely to be motivated to complete the task. The manager has to get the employee’s input of the task and its significance. This will give them the sense of value and hopefully encourage them to take ownership of their piece of the project. The manager does his best to make sure the employees understand the tasks. If the tasks are divided among groups the manager should coordinate each group’s contribution so that everyone knows where and how they fit in. It is necessary to minimize obstacles and difficulties that arise. Rewards are not only jobs well done but motivation as well. This will maintain the momentum and the employees should know that the manager has faith in their efforts. Directing style Sometimes a situation will call for a direct style of management. Perhaps a tight deadline looms or the project involves numerous employees and requires a top-down management approach. A manager answers five questions for the employees: What? Where? How? Why? and When? Employees need to know what to do, how to do and when to be finished. This style may seem cold and impersonal but the manager still has an opportunity to be a motivating and accessible manager. For example, when you assign roles and responsibilities you should provide helpful tips or share experiences you encountered with a similar project. You shouldn’t be afraid of setting specific standards and expectations with this style. Your communication, therefore, must be detail-oriented, unambiguous and free of buzzwords and jargon. You also need to set clear, short-term goals like “your goal is to complete three reports a day”. This style allows making decisions quickly. Teamwork style If you want to expedite a project and optimize a process for completing that project managing by teamwork is the way to go. When you motivate people to pool their knowledge, the results may exceed your expectations. Often team can tackle problems more quickly than what you can accomplish on your own. The give-and-take can create a process that you can replicate in other projects. Successful teamwork depends on coordinated efforts among the staff, as well as solid communication skills. Reports must be clear and concise. Presentations must convey information that leaves nothing unanswered. Understanding logistics is critical too. Probably, the most important, however, is your willingness to credit the team for its success and independence, rather than your savvy management skills. Indeed, when you get around to employee evaluations you should remember to recognize those who were able to collaborate and maintain a team spirit, especially under pressure.
After you read A. Collocations Match words from the column A with words from the column B. A B 1 reinforce a) decisive 2 motivated b) particular 3 critical c) stimulated 4 evaluation d) estimation 5 tackle (n) e) readiness 6 individual f) equipment 7 faith g) belief 8 willingness h) anticipation 9 expectation i) appoint 10 assign (v) j) evident (manifest) 11 obvious k) strengthen
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