Have you ever dodged a board duster?

There you were, minding your own business, sat in Maths, daydreaming about your tea, and hoping your mum had Findus Crispy Pancakes waiting for you when you got in and then whoosh, the sound of a board duster flying past your head broke you from your dreams. 

Plenty of you reading this article will be of a certain age where you still have a vague memory of dodging a board duster, not to mention standing in front of class and being slapped across your hand with a ruler!  The good old days. Character building, I believe they called it!

Society has changed a lot over the years and for the better.  No more flinging board dusters!  Parenting has changed from years ago. I remember getting ‘the slipper’ and told to only speak when I was spoken to.  These days, in many households it’s much nicer!

Businesses haven’t missed out on this shift. Management styles have changed from autocratic and dictatorial, to more inclusive and collaborative.  Here’s a quick overview of a few styles that are now common across all businesses.

Collaborative

A collaborative style means helping your team work better together. It’s about creating an inclusive culture and giving your team the tools and support they need to work together and communicate effectively.  Everyone sees themselves playing an important part in the success of the team.  They don’t feel like they are just a number.

Participative

This management style requires everyone to be involved in problem solving and decision making.  Essentially, everyone works together and participates.  Everyone’s opinion counts no matter what level they are at.  To do this there has to be high levels of trust across the team.

Compassionate

At the heart of this style of management is relationships.  This requires high levels of empathy, active listening, patience and understanding so that individuals and the team feel valued, respected and psychologically safe.  As a result, people bring their best selves to work.

What I’m not saying is to live your life in one management style.  That can be dangerous.  The key is to flex your style depending on the individual and scenario.  For example, always being participative can rub some people up the wrong way.  They just want you to make a decision.  Don’t, and they might end up throwing a board duster at you!

Do you need a hand developing the managers in your business?  Why not get in touch for chat to see how we can help