Is Your Management Style Effective?

Employees not performing well? You can blame it on lack of engagement, motivation, or skill. But, as one of the leading staffing services firm serving Kansas City, Morgan Hunter knows if you’re the one in charge, you also need to look at your management style as a potential culprit. Oftentimes, poor performance is the result of poor management. If that’s the case, altering your management style certainly isn’t easy, but it’s a must if you want to be a successful leader.

So how can you tell whether your approach to management is effective – and how do you change course if necessary?

The first step is self-awareness. You need to determine your management style and ask yourself whether you’re really willing to change it if it’s less than effective. Some signs that your management style needs work:

  • You’re hands-off, and afraid to take risks and offer employees constructive feedback and guidance.
  • You simply want to be liked by the team and don’t want to make difficult decisions as a result.
  • You micromanage every aspect of the work and do things your own way, require control over all organizational decisions, and request little input from your staff.
  • You don’t push your team to deliver more and have a “good is good enough” attitude.

Another way to determine whether your style needs a change is to solicit input from your team. For instance, if you’re conducting year-end performance reviews, make questions about your own performance a part of the process. Ask your employees: How can I be a more effective manager? You may be surprised at some of their answers. Though it can be hard to hear, you need to know first where you are making mistakes before you can create a plan for improving.

Once you know what areas need an adjustment, it’s time to brainstorm. In other words, get specific about how you are going to alter your style and approach your daily tasks.

It’s also critically important to consider communication. For instance, if you’re typically a more hands-off manager, then it’s important that you try to be more direct, give more guidance and instruction, and offer feedback to employees on a regular basis.

Finally, after you’ve implemented your new management style, you need to assess it to ensure it’s working. Ask yourself questions like: Have I seen any improvements, what areas still need to change, and why? When you know the answers to these questions, you can evaluate your progress and change course as needed.

If one of your struggles as a manager is staffing your team, Morgan Hunter can help. As one of the a leading staffing services firm serving Kansas City, we have the knowledge, proven processes, and years of experience to help you hire and retain the employees you need, with the right skills and personalities. Contact Morgan Hunter today to learn more.