Authentic Leadership

Authentic Leadership

By: Kathy Archer, Senior Account Manager

Managing Management Styles

Managers are scrutinized closely based on their style of management and how they use it to handle various situations. In public relations consulting, it’s important to identify which management style(s) your clients use and to modify your method(s) of communicating to complement their method. Managers are also challenged to be flexible enough to communicate differently based on the situation.

There are numerous philosophies on management styles, including: Authentic Leadership, Autocratic/Authoritarian, Adaptive, Paternalistic, Democratic, Laissez-Faire, Permissive, Direct Democrat, Direct Autocrat, Permissive Democratic, Permissive Autocrat.

Authentic Leadership

On February 12th, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is offering a teleseminar on Building Leadership Style (https://www.prsa.org/PDseminars/DisplayEvent.cfm?semID=296). Designed to help you become more authentic in your leadership style, the teleseminar will focus on learning about the dialogue, instructions, exercises and other principles that drive your behavior. One key objective will be to learn, and to help others learn, to build leadership style around passion instead of fear. The teleseminar will also help participants develop a vision and an action plan for change to further develop and enhance their leadership skills.

This live teleseminar or playback seminar will focus on the following areas:

• How to understand the thoughts and emotions that drive your behavior
• How to build your leadership style around passion, rather than fear
• About other successful leaders who have followed this path
• About the concept of mastery and how it impacts your ability to lead
• How to develop a vision for your future development as a leader

You can register online if you’re interested in this seminar, https://www.prsa.org/PDseminars/registration.cfm?semID=296

Here are some other management styles that leaders can adopt depending on the situation. They are:

Autocratic/Authoritarian

The leader makes all decisions unilaterally in this management style.

Adaptive

The team leader adapts his or her management style to the situation and those working for the team leader.

Paternalistic

The team leader has a dictatorial approach to managing the team.

Democratic

The team members are allowed to participate in decision making.

Directive

Team members are told exactly how to do their jobs.

Laissez-Faire

In this style, the leader’s role is peripheral and staff manage their own areas of the business.

Permissive

This management style permits team members to take part in decision making and also gives them a considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine and work activities.

Directive Democrat

The team leader makes decisions participatively and closely supervises team members.

Directive Autocrat

The team leader makes decisions unilaterally and closely supervises team members.

Permissive Democrat

The team leader makes decisions participatively and gives team members latitude in carrying out their work.

Permissive Autocrat

The team leader makes decisions unilaterally and gives team members latitude in carrying out their work.

According to Wikipedia, “These various management styles can be employed dependent on the culture of the business, the nature of the task, the nature of the workforce and the personality and skills of the leaders.” Furthermore, management gurus Robert Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt have argued that “the style of leadership is dependent upon the prevailing circumstance; therefore leaders should exercise a range of leadership styles and should deploy them as appropriate.”

For public relations practitioners, it’s important to remember that clients appreciate when their account team communicates with a similar management style to theirs. In addition, the internal account team benefits by speaking the same “language” as the client. So, go ahead.

Drinking the agency Kool-Aid just got cooler.