Preferred Management Style for Professionals?



Situational Leadership
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Mohankrishna
Manager, India

Preferred Management Style for Professionals?

What is the preferred management style for handling a team of professionals? Why?
 

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24
Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands
 

Preferred Style for Managing Professionals

According to the situational leadership model, we should adapt our management style to the situation, in particular to the development level of the employees. This development level of the employees depends on 2 main variables: competence in the task (area) and commitment to the task (area).

1. You start by examining their competence. Your team is composed of professionals. Assuming they are operating inside their domain of expertise, they have a moderate or even high level of competence in their task areas. So they fall in category D3 or D4 in the picture of the summary of Situational Leadership and the matching management style is either S3 or S4.

2. Now you consider their commitment to the task area:
If their task commitment/motivation is high, then they should be seen as D4 and the preferred management style would be S4: Delegating. In this situation, both the directive and the supportive behavior of the manager can be and should be low.
- If their task commitment/motivation is variable or moderate, they should be regarded D3, so your preferred management style would be S3: Participating/Supporting. In this situation, the directive behavior of the manager should be low, and the manager should focus on the relationship, supporting such professionals.

Note 1: You can find another angle to how you should manage professionals in the discussion "How can you Motivate Knowledge Workers?" which focuses on giving knowledge professionals a sense of making progress in meaningful work. Ultimately this approach arrives at the same conclusion as the above: TASK AUTONOMY AND PERSONAL SUPPORT.
Note 2: See also this best practice on Team Coaching of Smart Creatives in innovative firms.

 
4
Dil Prasad Shrestha, PhD
Management Consultant, Nepal
 

Consider also the Context when Managing Professionals

In addition to two variables of the employees/ development, there should be a third variable: 3. Th... Sign up

 
5
Erik van geel
Management Consultant, Netherlands
 

Preferred Management Styles for Professionals

@Dil Prasad Shrestha, PhD: I Think it's an interesting aspect you introduce. Leadership is not only ... Sign up

 
2
Alan Kennedy, Canada
 

Managing Professionals: First Expectations and Responsibilities

It seems to me that management of a team of professionals has to begin with an explicit understandin... Sign up

 
7
Javier Elenes
Business Consultant, Mexico
 

Managing Professionals by MBPO

I suggest MBPO, in which an extra letter P has been added to the classic MBO acronym. In such Manag... Sign up

 
3
Karel V
CEO, South Africa
 

Preferred Management Styles for Professionals

In my observations, professional people do not like the command and control, or coercive styles of l... Sign up

 
2
Oshun, Grace Okaima
Lecturer, Nigeria
 

Use Situational Leadership Style for Professionals

I agree with the analysis of the situational leadership style by @Jaap de Jonge. For any job to qual... Sign up

 
3
Briolett, Canada
 

Managing Professionals

Hmmm. A lot of good points raised. My thoughts... - Well educated doesn't equate to intelligent. Th... Sign up

 
3
Dammike Kobbekaduwe, Sri Lanka
 

Preferred Style of Managing Professionals

Professionals have a deeper knowledge in their domain of expertise. However, if they lack common tou... Sign up

 
1
Graham
Teacher, Thailand
 

The Role of Culture in Managing Professionals

Culture plays an important part in all of this. As a foreigner working in Thailand, it is evident fo... Sign up

 
0
Abdullah Sultan
HR Consultant, Saudi Arabia
 

Required Management Skills

Managing a team of professionals requires certain skills. Most important is the skill of identifying... Sign up

 
1
Finn
Qatar
 

Managing Professionals from Multiple Cultures

@Graham: indeed the culture of the organisation, and the environment (region, country) in which it i... Sign up

 
-2
Andrew Blaine
Business Consultant, South Africa
 

More of the Same

Surely the simple answer to the question "What is the preferred management style for handling a team... Sign up

 
6
Gandhi Heryanto
Management Consultant, Indonesia
 

Managing Professional

In the past in traditional management, workers did as they were told by their boss. This could not b... Sign up

 
2
Seelig, Netherlands
 

It Depends on Culture

@Graham: I agree it depends on culture. In individual low hierarchical cultures like the Netherlands... Sign up

 
0
Joseph L Mbolota
HR Consultant, Zambia
 

Don't Ignore the Advice of Professionals

One thing is certain, professionals once assigned a task love to be trusted and respected as such. I... Sign up

 
3
Willie Odemwingie
Lecturer, Nigeria
 

Managing Professionals Requires Giving Freedom

There is no fixed style and there should not be any style cast in stone for managing professionals. ... Sign up

 
1
jacinta wamwaki
Kenya
 

Freedom to Professionals

@Willie Odemwingie: I agree professionals are the gurus in their area of profession. They do not nee... Sign up

 
0
s c narang
HR Consultant, India
 

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2
Nzyoka
Student (University), Kenya
 

Management of Professionals

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1
Wismayer, UK
 

Preferred Management Style for Professionals: Management by Invitation

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1
Pigeot, Germany
 

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4
Jose A. De las Rivas
Management Consultant, Spain
 

5 Conditions for Successful Management of Professionals

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2
Goran Skoog
Management Consultant, Sweden
 

Visionary Management is Required

1. Create a shared vision for the team of professionals, which reflects the personal visions of the ... Sign up

 
3
ANTONIO BARRANCO RUIZ
Director, Spain
 

What is the Preferred Management Style for Handling a Team of Professionals? Why?

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1
Tyrell Clifford, Sri Lanka
 

The Style of Managers that Professionals Hate

@Vongani Karel Nkombyane: I totally agree with you. Managers only with experience don't like to list... Sign up

 
1
Andrew Blaine
Business Consultant, South Africa
 

Management of Groups

I find it of great interest that my initial response has been found unpopular. It does not change my... Sign up

 
-1
Seelig, Netherlands
 

Vuxen Level

@Goran Skoog: I understand that. That is typical Swedish. And in my humble opinion a very mature way... Sign up

 
2
Goran Skoog
Management Consultant, Sweden
 

Swedish Management

@Seelig: I guess you're right. Support of team building and teamwork is a hallmark of Swedish manage... Sign up

 
2
Qazi Ata
Consultant, Pakistan
 

Required Leadership Style for Handling Professionals

I have gone through all the available reactions. Every one has commented according to his own workin... Sign up

 
1
Tyrell Clifford, Sri Lanka
 

Preferred Management Style for Professionals

I agree with Qazi Ata, however a visionary leadership style is very important to inspire professiona... Sign up

 
0
Andrew Blaine
Business Consultant, South Africa
 

Visionary Management

@Goran Skoog: Why should these principles be reserved for professionals exclusively? Surely, with a... Sign up

 
1
Seelig, Netherlands
 

Jazz Style Management

@Qazi Ata: That's exactly what Ricardo Semler (Semco) is doing. With one big difference. The workers... Sign up

 
1
Sibusiso Mngomezulu, South Africa
 

Metaphor for Managing Professionals

Imo, the best way to manage professionals is to get them to be specialist in looking for the ball as... Sign up

 
1
Goran Skoog
Management Consultant, Sweden
 

Visionary Management, Always

@Andrew Blaine: Of course you are right. A management built on a shared vision is applicable everywh... Sign up

 
0
Karel V
CEO, South Africa
 

Managing the Human Resources

The Human Resources are known as the most important resources in an organisation. Will the managemen... Sign up

 
2
Vijay Bhatia
Consultant, India
 

Managing Professionals: Sharing the Vision

I agree with Mr @Goran Skoog that the vision has to be shared. However, that is easier said than don... Sign up

 
1
Randy StPierre
Student (University), United States
 

Preferred Management Style

@Briolett: Thank you for your insight on this subject, especially pointing out that not all people t... Sign up

 
2
Maurice Grasso
Business Consultant, Australia
 

Managing Professional Staff & Teams

I agree with most of the comments. The right people in the right jobs know what needs to be done, so... Sign up

 
1
chaovalit
Director, Thailand
 

How to Manage Professionals: Observe, Analyze and Learn

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Phionah Atuhaire
Project Manager
 

Managing Professionals: Give Freedom and Direction

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Vladimir Kuryakov
Consultant, United States
 

Preferred Style for Managing Professionals Depends on the Task

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0
jorge anibal hoyos hoyos
Manager, Colombia
 

Analyze Professionals in their Inner-self

Let me recall General Patton during the Normandia invasion. Nazis knew him as an always go-forward G... Sign up

 
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Eyad
Manager, Jordan
 

Professionals are Performing Easily but are Difficult to be Managed

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Gregory Johnson
Coach, United States
 

Management Style for Managing Managers

@Jaap de Jonge: This is a very delicate dance. The level of self-confidence among the reporting mana... Sign up

 
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Maurice Hogarth
Consultant, United Kingdom
 

Who is the Professional?

@Andrew Blaine: Andrew I agree. I wasn't clear on your first posting but suspected, then your secon... Sign up

 
2
Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands
 

Meaning of Professionals in the Context of This Topic

I suggest in this discussion, the meaning of "professionals" is: Persons who have the type of job th... Sign up

 
1
PeterMaria van Herpen
Switzerland
 

The 'workforce' Consists of Individuals

So, as a manager you have the usually ungrateful task to give each the type and intensity of managem... Sign up

 
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A McClintock
Lecturer, Australia
 

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More on Situational Leadership:
Summary
Discussion Topics
🥇 Commitment in Situational Leadership
👀Preferred Management Style for Professionals?
Is Situational Leadership Innate in Good Managers?
Situational Leadership Activities and Games
Criticism of Situational Leadership Model
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Little Research to Backup Situational Leadership
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🥉 In Situational Leadership, the Leader Determines the Situation
Is Situational Leadership Depending on Generation of Followers?
Practical Situational Leadership Examples
Situational Leadership & Performance Rating
Leadership Style for a New Institution
🔥 Use of Situational Leadership by Teachers
Preferred TEAM Management Style?
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