13 May 2008
As technical experts in the construction industry are getting harder to find, it falls upon existing staff to start playing two roles – the technician and the manager. Management can be a tricky thing, where many factors play in affecting the way you make decisions. Such as your company culture, changes in business direction, how much work your team has and the expertise of the other team members.
To help you assess where you fall and which style suits you best, here are five decision-making style profiles:
Director – Autocratic, the Director makes decisions alone, based on knowledge he has gained from past experience or assumed.
Fact Finder – Also autocratic, the Fact Finder collects information they think is needed to make the decision alone.
Investigator – This style is more inclusive, where the Investigator seeks advice from particular stakeholders and considers their opinions while making the decision, although he or she still makes this decision alone.
Collaborator – More inclusive, the Collaborator shares the problem with all stakeholders, but still reserves the right to make the final decision.
Teamer – Most inclusive of all, the Teamer seeks complete agreement when making his or her decision.
Whichever your natural management style, it can be crucial in directing how your team performs – both internally and externally. Different situations can also affect your decision-making and it may become necessary for you to switch styles. Successful leaders learn to do this and the better they can do this, the more their team benefits.
Why? Consider this situation - your team has a deadline tomorrow and the client calls with a disaster. As the manager, you have to make a decision. If you’re normally a Collaborator or a Teamer, you may spend valuable hours contacting stakeholders and reaching a consensus. Coming to the right decision is important, but the time taken in reaching it may have delayed your team from achieving the client’s deadline. The cost of this can be expensive, both in monetary terms and in terms of lowered morale and the consequent loss of faith in your management.
Say you had put on the Fact Finder or Director hat. It’s most likely that you already knew the facts needed to make the decision and just need to confirm a few details, which can be done quickly. Make your judgement with speed, your team meet their deadline and the client is happy. Your team wins and you are their leader.
You can probably think of many more examples. Essentially, managing a team can be tricky and knowing what makes a good leader is the first step. It’s all a process of experience, your own and from others, and the actions that you take in the moment.
Shuba Paheerathan, Kite Events & Conferences
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