Managers come in all shapes and sizes; they come in all races and creeds and in both genders; with numerous strengths and weaknesses; with each of the temperaments defined by the Myers-Briggs Inventory and in every life cycle that each kind of organization may find itself. If you’ve ever had a job, chances are pretty good that you were inspired by some managers and repulsed by others.
- What makes a good manager?
- What are the different styles of manager? And which are you?
- Which management styles motivate you to be your best? Which do you find stifling?
We’re going to ask and then try to answer some questions about a variety of popular management types. In order to do this, I’ve asked one of my colleagues to join in the discussion, Mary Ellyn Vicksta.
Mary Ellyn is a Creative Innovation Practitioner who helps individuals and teams discover their creative potential, learn tools to enhance their innovation skills, and work effectively as a team.
We’re going to use the Goleman Leadership Archetypes model as the basis for our management types. Why? We could’ve used a number of other models like the Jungian (basis for the Myers-Briggs), the Gravesian or countless others. We’re using the Goleman model because it’s simple and quickly gets to the heart of some characteristics that are often seen in managers.
The Goleman Leadership Characteristics
Visionary
“Inspires, believes in own vision, empathetic, explains how and why people’s efforts contribute to the ‘dream'”
Coaching
“Listens, helps people identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, counselor, encourages, delegates”
Affiliative
“Promotes harmony, nice, empathetic, boosts morale, solves conflicts”
Democratic
“Superb listener, team worker, collaborator, influencer”
Pacesetting
“Strong drive to achieve, high own standards, initiative, low on empathy and collaboration, impatient, micromanaging, numbers-driven”
Commanding
“Commanding, ‘Do it because I say so’, threatening, tight control, monitoring studiously, creating dissonance, contaminates everyone’s mood, drives away talent”
Engage With Us
In this series, we will present a few larger-than-life examples of some good managers and some bad managers. The first such post will be arriving shortly. Undoubtedly you will identify with one or more of the managers we present. Please feel free to jump in and become part of the dialog.
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Posts published in this series are as follows…
- Managers: The Innovator
- Managers: The Arrogant Bastard
- Managers: The Strength Finder
- Managers: The Artful Dodger
- Managers: The Everyday Evangelist
Commentary on “Managers: The Good and the Bad”