PPT: Management styles to avoid

-Intro- The transition from an individual worker to a manager can be one of the hardest, if not the
hardest, transition that a person will make in their career. The skills and abilities needed for success are
drastically different when you move into a leadership role. You need to be able to manage not only
your own tasks, but your employees’ workloads and goals, as well as your department’s goals. It’s not
easy and it’s a lot to keep track of.

As you continue to strengthen and develop your own approach and styles for managing people,
today’s training is going to focus on the types of management styles you want to avoid. We want to
draw your attention to what negative leadership looks like so you’re more cognizant of the effects of
not managing well.

Overview:
1. Identify the 4 management styles to avoid
2. Getting Back on Track: where to make adjustments
3. Summary of Main Points
4. How to Improve Managing Style

-slides-
“The Micromanager” traits
 Over-manages good employees because they are unable to relinquish control.
 They scrutinize others’ ideas and they constantly hover over employees which demotivates and
decreases productivity. In fact, 2 out of 5 employees say they don’t have the decision-making
authority they need to do their jobs well.
 Second-guess employees’ decisions and wants the final say on everything.
 By telling people exactly how to do something, they simultaneously take away an employee’s
autonomy and hinder any ideas from developing. Employees don’t grow under this type of
manager.

Getting the Micromanager Back on Track:

 Nobody wants to work where their every move is scrutinized. Ask yourself why you don’t trust
your employees. Are you being constructive or controlling? Detail oriented or obsessive?
Hands-on or overbearing? Be aware of the differences.
 As a manager, try to focus on the results being achieved rather than the process being used.
Don’t jump in and try to advise through every step of the process. Ask yourself what about this
employee’s work performance makes you feel you have to review them? What would it take
for you to be confident that they can get their work down without you? Trust and adjust. Have
lightweight weekly or bi-weekly check-ins. Instead of telling employees what to do, have a
dialogue with them and collaborate. Be present enough to offer support when needed, let
them know your there to coach and guide and then back off.
 Delegate the tasks that don’t require all your attention. You have to change your mindset to
work through others instead of doing everything yourself. You have a team for a reason. Trust
your employees to make the appropriate decisions for themselves, and have them deal with
the consequences if those decisions are unwise.
 Good leaders empower. Bad ones micro-manage. Empower your employees with the ability
to own their decisions and take risks.
“The Absentee Boss” Traits
 The opposite of a micromanager, this type of manager doesn’t know what their employees are
doing. They have little to no involvement with the team.
 They don’t know how to lead, don’t care to, or simply can’t or won’t make time for it. Some
signs include: cancelled meetings, unanswered emails, zero input and zero feedback, and no
daily interaction or check-ins.
 They are people in leadership roles who are mentally absent or disconnected from their staff.
These types of managers are leaders in title alone. They let others make decisions. Simply a
passer of information. Withdrawn or afraid to contribute.
 They enjoy the perks and privileges that come with their title, but they avoid becoming
meaningfully involved with their employees or teams. Not dependable.

Getting the Absentee-Boss Back on Track:

 You need to communicate with the employee often enough to know how they are progressing
and what challenges they are experiencing. Work on periodically touching bases with their
work, projects, achievements, and failures. Strive to know about things, whether good or bad,
happening in your department or team and offer your support. Your employees want to know
where they stand. Keeping everyone up to date, setting realistic goals/expectations, and giving
feedback in real-time will go a long way in helping build trust and confidence from your team
members.
 Get in there and be the type of leader who stands side by side with your team. Show them that
you are willing to take the bullets with them. The Bottom Line: Be responsible and lead by
example.
 When you have the courage to stand up and say, “I’m responsible, the buck stops with me,”
others are willing to stand with you. Your willingness to take responsibility shows extreme
courage that makes others want to rise and forge together as well.

“The Egomaniac” Traits

 This type of manager has a superiority complex, an inflated sense of their own importance,
arrogant. They are the center of attention, and do so by dominating meetings, conversations,
and email discussions.
 They’re not team players, may even take personal credit for team successes and passes blame
for anything that goes wrong onto everyone else. They ask for your input and suggestions, then
present it as his or her own idea.
 This type of manager finds it difficult to collaborate because they consider themselves
smarter and more insightful than anyone else. They are always eager to give their
opinion, even when unsolicited, and they believe they know more than anyone else, no
matter the topic under conversation.
 They don’t listen well because they’re too busy thinking about what they want to say
next.

Getting the Egomaniac Back on Track:

 Try to be confident without coming off as arrogant. Check your ego at the door and work on
practicing humility.
 Ask yourself if you’re more concerned about pushing your weight around than building
relationships. Get feedback from others. Encourage order and balanced dialogue and feedback
from the entire group. Ask if there is something you should be doing differently with your
 managing style. Requires a “balancing act” of getting things done and having a genuine
concern for people.
 Stealing team successes doesn’t build strong teams and you can’t be an effective leader if you
feel that you are better than your team members. Give credit where credit is due. A trait all
good leaders have is making sure everyone is engaged and collaborating together as a team.
The best leaders understand they can never know and do everything and don't pretend that
they do. No matter what your title is, there’s always something to learn.
 Instead of waiting with the intent to say something instead try to listen and learn. Aim to listen
more than you speak, and you’ll get much more done with you team. Start paying close
attention to how you communicate with your peers, subordinates, and superiors. Be more
aware of what you say and how you’re saying it.

“The Marionette” traits

 This person is a passive leader. They avoid being perceived as dominating by staying timid.
They avoid into uncomfortable situations. Non-confrontational, wants to be everyone's friend,
fearful of looking like a bully or the bad guy. Avoids making any hard decisions, or giving any
type of direct critique or constructive feedback.
 They are not proactive and rarely share new ideas. Content with the status-quo, and does not
move initiatives forward.
 Controlled by the desire to look good and do whatever upper management wants. They take
the path of least resistance by agreeing. Not interested in pushing back or asking questions.
They never stand up for their team or question policies. All this person will be able to say is that
they did what was asked of them and stuck it out. They play it safe to preserve their position
and privileges. They just follow orders.

Getting the Marionette Back on Track:

 Be more assertive, confidently and proactively speaking up to solve problems. It’s about finding
the balance between aggressive behavior and a passive approach. Be aware of walking a fine
line between being pushy and pacifying.
 Employees want more direction and want to know what their boss thinks is right or not right.
Even if it's negative feedback, or even if the answer is no. Get comfortable with discomfort.
You won’t have perfect employees and sometimes difficult discussions must happen. Approach
situations with a healthy dose of objectivity.
 Don’t make excuses. Have the courage to think for yourself, be creative, try new approaches.
Put your idea on the table or suggest ways to improve. Understand the value of making your
desires and beliefs known.

Summary of Main Points:

There’s no one-size-fits-all to managing people. The best managers out there are flexible and know
how to adjust. I want to highlight some main points that we just talked about:
 Consistently and frequently communicate
 Listen more then you talk
 Provide continuous feedback, positive and negative
 Make decisions
 Lead by example
 Make others feel safe to speak up
 Give credit for and rewards successes
Finally, How Do We Improve Our Managing Styles?
 Start with yourself – work on having a heightened sense of self-awareness. Try to understand
the approach you’re taking and how the employee is going to react to it. If the employee isn’t
responding well, try to pick up on that and adjust your approach accordingly.
 Think about your department’s needs – you are more of a facilitator, bringing your team’s ideas
and making them work in unison.
 Observe and learn from other managers - Ask for feedback from people you, ask them how
they see you and your leadership. Use the material learned in this training to improve in the
future.
 Take advantage of trainings, do your own research - There are many resources available to you,
including books, articles, web sites, and professional offsite trainings, that can help you improve
how you lead.
 Believe in what you’re doing – Stay positive. Role model positive and civil work behaviors. It
should start and end with the manager, actively set the tone for what is acceptable.
 Be prepared to change - Recognize where you are displaying bad leadership qualities and focus
on correcting those.
-end-