Do some people have natural managerial skills? The skills that appear to come naturally to a manager are based on his temperament and business training and skills. Therefore, managerial skills come easier to some people than others. However, those skills should not be confused with some kind of inborn quality.
Therefore, most leadership experts would agree that managerial skills do not come naturally. However, learning about the characteristics that are associated with a good management style will inspire certain traits – attributes that seem like inborn qualities.
Therefore, as you travel down the road of management development training, you will not only become accustomed to learning about the various characteristics associated with leadership, you will also become introduced to the various styles.
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Styles of Leadership
Author Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., who is known as the person who coined the phrase and defined the term of “emotional intelligence,” describes six varying leadership styles in his book entitled “Primal Leadership.”
A good manager and leader is able to move adroitly among the styles, adapting the style he needs at a certain moment. All the styles described below become part of the repertoire of being a “natural” manager and leader.
Samples of Management Styles
Samples of styles include the following:
- Visionary
- Coaching
- Affiliative
- Democratic
The Visionary Style
When a visionary style is used, the manager is seeking to move his organization in a new direction. People in the company are encouraged to move toward the objective of seeing their dreams realized. Visionary leaders direct people by articulating where company participants are heading, but don’t indicate to the group how they will achieve their objective. In turn, people are encouraged or experiment or take some risk in following their own pursuits within the organizational setting.
A Coaching Style
A coaching style emphasizes a one-on-one style giving the manager the ability to help a subordinate improve his performance and connect his goals with the goals of the company. Employees who are disciplined and show initiative work well when they are coached. As long as they do not feel they are being micromanaged, staff members who work with a “coach” boss realize professional growth and feel more self-confident.
The Affiliative Style
The affiliative style, as the name suggests, underscores the importance of working as a team. This type of management style is particularly helpful for managers who are working at heightening harmony, increasing morale, enhancing communications or repairing a broken trust.
Mix it up a Bit
However, you do have to be careful about extending group praise as some of the accolades may be interpreted as rewards for poor performance from certain members of the group. Combine this style with coaching so specific employees know where they stand with respect to their abilities.
The Democratic Style
The democratic managerial style is used to draw on an employee’s skills and understanding, thereby creating a group commitment from members of a team. This type of managerial style naturally works in organizations that have not yet established a mission statement or are unsure about the organization’s direction. This style can prove to be disastrous if a crisis erupts and a group must act quickly.
