Is Your Management Style Affecting Employee Motivation?

Have you ever had a manager who you just didn’t ‘click’ with? It could have been their personality, the way they spoke, or even their sense of humour just didn’t gel with you. But it’s far more likely that it was their management style causing the issues. The friction might have even been enough to make you leave that job further down the line. After all, people don’t leave their jobs, they leave managers.

Management style is one of those things that’s often overlooked by businesses, but can have a huge impact on how happy and productive your employees are. It impacts everything, from focus and engagement to how willing they are to perform above the minimum role requirements. In fact, in 2022 the trend of ‘quiet quitting’ became a major problem for businesses, and it hasn’t gone away! So management style is something that should be fairly high on the priority list for most business owners. Today, I wanted to look at 4 common management styles I see as an HR consultant, and the impacts they can have on employees.

The Autocrat

One of the most common management styles, this is when the manager has the final say in any decisions made for or about the team. There are no discussions or arguments from anyone else involved, and this type of manager often won’t be open to taking suggestions on how to do things differently. As far as they’re concerned, the buck stops with them, so their word is law. And it’s the employee's job to follow it.

While yes, sometimes this kind of certainty and decisive action is exactly what’s needed, it’s not a great long-term management style. Ultimately, it creates a sense of mistrust and resentment between managers and employees. Employees won’t feel their views or experience is respected, and  that they are just performing a job that’s been laid out step by step for them, rather than having any ownership or genuine input into how things are done. All of which can lead to them feeling undervalued, unchallenged and looking for a way out.

The Democrat

If the autocrat is at one end of the spectrum, then the democrat directly is at the other. Rather than the ‘do what I say’ approach, this manager is heavily geared towards collaboration. They’re more than happy to listen to the thoughts and concerns of their team (or anyone) and involve them in the decision-making process. This tends to have a more positive impact on employee motivation and gives employees a sense of ownership and input into their role and their future. It’s a particularly great approach for companies that need to foster innovation, and is often held up as the ‘ideal’ management approach.

However, it doesn’t always work. Sometimes people don’t respond to this style of leadership - certain people like things laid out clearly for them after all - and other times the collaboration is just taken too far. Too much input from everyone and you end up with ‘design by committee’, which very rarely works out in the long term. There are also certain times and even types of business that will struggle with this style. For example, highly regulated industries where there is a lot of risk involved tend to avoid this style, as it can open them up to a lot of problems. And if a business is in a period of uncertainty and change, decisiveness is what’s needed to steer things and avoid confusion.

The ‘Too Relaxed’

Then we have the laissez-faire approach to management. The much more laid-back style, which leans towards employee-led management and provides menial oversight of the day-to-day activities of the team. This type of manager will often encourage employees to make their own decisions and set their own task lists, leading to new ideas, a flexible structure and a team who are often incredibly self-motivated and productive.

Of course, that’s a bit of a double edged sword, because some people aren’t self-motivated. Many people need that higher level of direction in their role to feel comfortable, and can often end up panicking and doing nothing if left to their own devices. This is incredibly de-motivating, and it can leave them feeling as though they don’t matter, since their manager isn’t directly investing time in their direction and growth.

The Pace-Setter

The pace-setting manager tends to adopt the ‘lead by example’ attitude when it comes to running and motivating their teams. This means they set the bar for productivity with their own performance, and expert their teams to keep up with them. While this can be very inspiring for some, employees can quickly become burnt out trying to match pace with the manager. If this goes on for too long they can feel there’s no way to keep up and stop trying to, leading to lower performance motivation. Oops! To really make the most of this leadership style, managers need to pair it with coaching to build employee’s skill and help them perform at higher level.

And that’s just 4 management styles! Ultimately, there’s no ‘right’ way to manage people. Every one of those methods has its pros and cons, but only by blending them and adjusting your approach to the people in your team will you get the best results. Good managers should be flexible with their approach, and be able to recognise when collaboration and self-motivation are the right choice, or when direction and decisive action are needed. All of this falls under a manager’s remit - it’s their job to understand their employees, the industry and the tasks that need to be done, and adopt a management style that can achieve it.

That’s one of the advantages of having an experienced HR professional in your corner. At Helix HR, I’ve seen every management style going, along with the challenges that can arise when people management isn’t quite working as it should. I support business owners and managers by acting as a trusted sounding board, helping them reflect on what’s happening, explore practical solutions and make confident decisions that work for them, their teams and the business. If you’d like to talk things through, get in touch and book your free consultation.