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1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Coordinating
5. Controlling

If you find yourself doing any of these functions at work/school or just as your daily activities; you are thinking and doing as a manager and show yourself as a leader.

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Five Functions of Management & Leading

Every day, managers are tasked with leading and inspiring the people who work under them. This includes planning for team success, and fulfilling what it takes run a business. Five key functions are regarded as the ways that management should lead and interact with team members. From planning to review, the more specific management is, the more effective the business is in achieving goals.

Tip

The five key functions of managing are strategic planning, organizing resources, staffing, directing activities and controlling the company's success.

The Strategic Planning of Actions

Strategic planning is the process of evaluating the goals of the company and then setting a course for success. This function evaluates the existing activities and goals. Managers then schedule activities that will lead to achieving those goals. Leaders tend to be more strategic: they must become problem solvers able to see the big picture while also identifying specific things that affect overall success. For example, if the goal is to improve the time it takes for customers to get their order fulfilled, then an operational strategy is executed to improve product fulfillment.

Organizing Resources to Achieve Goals

The organizing function brings resources together to achieve the goals established in the planning function. Resources include materials, personnel and financial backing. Leaders need to identify what activities are necessary, assign those activities to specific personnel, effectively delegating tasks. Leaders need to coordinate tasks to keep resources moving efficiently toward goals. It is important to prioritize which resources are essential at any given time. For example, if more inventory is needed but the company doesn't have the financial resources to obtain the inventory, then the priority is to tackle the financial need.

Putting the Right Talent in the Right Place

When a business is short-handed, it cripples the company's ability to serve customers, and it also overwhelms existing staff. Management needs to identify key staff positions, and to ensure that the proper talent is serving that specific job duty. Once the right staffing structure is established, leaders need training, professional development, pay rates and monitoring performance. Effective leaders are able to develop talent and identify those ready for promotion.

Guiding and Directing Activities

Directing activities is a key function. Letting staff know what needs to be done, and also by when is a responsibility of managers. However, bosses tell people what to do, while leaders motivate people to contribute in meaningful ways. The directing function requires leaders to do more than simply give orders, even though tasks must be completed for business success. This function begins with supervising subordinates while simultaneously motivating teams through guided leadership communicated in clear ways.

Controlling Success Systems

Controlling systems refers to all the processes that leaders create to monitor success. Sports coaches have a saying, "Winners keep score," meaning that winners know where they are and know what is necessary to achieve a goal. This business function requires leaders to establish performance standards, measure actual performance and compare the metrics to determine anomalies.

For example, a sales leader is focused on more than only the final sales numbers; he considers the leading activities such as the number of minimum pitches and outbound calls. Leaders review the data and make adjustments in processes, policies, training or personnel to address failures based on that data. Winning leaders don't look at poor performance as failures but as opportunities to solve a problem that gets the desired results.

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The five functions commonly used in management and leadership are strategic planning, organizing resources, staffing, directing activities and controlling the company's success. Managers tend to schedule activities that will lead to achieving the company goals; leaders tend to be more strategic.

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To create and be confident in your teachings changes what you are, leader or follower. No one will want to follow you or look up to as a leader if you are not confident in yourself.

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1. Explain the reasons
2. Be open to suggestions
3. Accept Responsibility

Ways to become a better leader so managing people can be effective.

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Learn how to manage people and be a better leader

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The different management styles can affect how the company exceeds and differs.

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Think back on your career and the managers you have had. I am sure that you have had good managers and others who were maybe not so great. When I ask people to list what made the good managers "good," most of the examples they give me are to do with behavior, or style.

One of the interesting things about style is that managers with the most flexibility in style get the best outcomes from their people. Leadership style is not about good/bad, right/wrong: leadership style depends on the task, people and situation to be managed.

According to Hay-McBer there are six key leadership or management styles.

The DIRECTIVE (Coercive) style has the primary objective of immediate compliance from employees:

Effective when:

There is a crisis

When deviations are risky

Ineffective when:

Employees are underdeveloped -- little learning happens with this style

Employees are highly skilled -- they become frustrated and resentful at the micromanaging.

The AUTHORITATIVE (Visionary) style has the primary objective of providing long-term direction and vision for employees:

Effective when:

Clear directions and standards needed

The leader is credible

Ineffective when:

Employees are underdeveloped -- they need guidance on what to do

The leader is not credible -- people won't follow your vision if they don't believe in it

The AFFILIATIVE style has the primary objective of creating harmony among employees and between manager and employees:

Effective when:

Used with other styles

Tasks routine, performance adequate

Counseling, helping

Managing conflict

Least effective when:

Performance is inadequate - affiliation does not emphasise performance

There are crisis situations needing direction

The PARTICIPATIVE (Democratic) style has the primary objective of building commitment and consensus among employees:

Effective when:

Least effective when:

The PACESETTING style has the primary objective of accomplishing tasks to a high standard of excellence:

Effective when:

Least effective when:

When workload requires assistance from others

When development, coaching & coordination required

The COACHING style has the primary objective of long-term professional development of employees:

Effective when:

Skill needs to be developed

Employees are motivated and wanting development

Ineffective when:

When I run a program on the six styles, I like to use an activity to demonstrate the styles in action. The group is divided into six teams and a volunteer leader comes in to lead each team using just one of the styles. I set them a task that takes 30-40 minutes and then we debrief how it felt and what outcomes were achieved. The task is easy, so people are skilled. This is what happens:

The DIRECTIVE leader orders the team around, sets high standards and disciplines those who don't meet the standard. I brief the leader beforehand to change his / her mind several times during the activity and also to take a phone call and leave the room. When the leader is out of the room, the team usually stops work -- concerned about the consequences of continuing without the micromanagement. After the activity the team reports that they are frustrated, angry and disengaged. It is interesting how quickly the team loses enthusiasm and initiative under the directive leader. The leader reports that the style is "high maintenance -- I felt like I had to be everywhere, watching everyone, it was exhausting"!

The AUTHORITATIVE (Visionary) leader sets the vision for the team, clearly and compellingly, then steps back and allows the team to work. The leader steps in from time to time to reiterate the vision if required, but that is all he / she does. The leader reports that the style was "easy -- I didn't have to do much and I could see how the style would free me up to operate strategically". The team report enjoying the activity, and feel enormously proud of the work they have done, often getting out their smart phones to take pictures posing with their creation.

The AFFILIATIVE leader takes time helping the team to bond. They often sit down for a cup of tea and a round table sharing of stories. Often the activity is not even commenced as the team gets caught up in getting to know each other. More task focused team members often look around and get anxious when they can see other teams working. Sometimes one of those people will leap in and take control, effectively "sacking" the leader. The team reports that they enjoyed the sharing and relaxed atmosphere, but that they started to wonder when they would start work. The leader often reports that it was "challenging keeping the focus on team bonding -- they started to get sick of me after a while"

The PARTICIPATIVE (Democratic) leader starts by asking all the team members what they would like to do, then voting on the options. They start in the car park, and I have on occasion seen the team vote to get a coffee and disappear. They are then startled to find when they return that there was an activity to do that they missed! Even when the team votes to come inside and do the activity the progress is slow as everything has to be agreed before action happens. Team members report that they enjoyed being consulted and having a voice in the decision making, but got anxious when they could see lack of progress compared with other teams. The leader reports that "it was easy -- I didn't have to make any decisions".

The PACESETTING leader sets a cracking pace from the beginning. The team operates with high energy, engagement and motivation. The leader sets members tasks, but then takes the task off them if they are "not performing" and gives it to someone else. Despite this, the team members remain engaged, seeing this as a consequence of the high standards set by the leader. At the end of the task the team reports that they enjoyed the experience, are proud of what they achieved, but are exhausted. The leader is often exhausted too, saying "it was fantastic, but really challenging to maintain the pace and focus. I am glad we only had to do it for 40 minutes"!

The COACHING leader focusses on the learning experience. When a team member proves to be particularly good at an aspect of the task, the leader has them demonstrate and teach the others. The team gets absorbed in the learning and people are often surprised to hear that the time is up. They are engaged with and proud of their achievements, even though they often don't fully complete the task. The leader often reports that they "really enjoyed working with the team and I'd love to have had more time so we could finish because we were doing a great job".

It is a fascinating exercise that demonstrates clearly that there is no best style. The most appropriate style will depend on the people (their experience, values, motives) and the situation (stable/changing, new/seasonal team, short/long term focus). The key to being an effective leader is to have a broad repertoire of styles and to use them appropriately.
Rosalind Cardinal is The Leadership Alchemist and Principal Consultant of Shaping Change, an Australian consultancy specializing in improving business outcomes by developing individuals, teams and organizations. You can interact with Ros, learn more about leadership and management, and download a complimentary copy of her e-guide on leading change at her website.

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6 Management Styles and When to Use Them

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Think back on your career and the managers you have had. I am sure that you have had good managers and others who were maybe not so great. When I ask people to list what made the good managers "good," most of the examples they give me are to do with behavior, or style.