Style or Stumble - How Management Style Can Make or Break Your Business

Article on Efficient Management Styles

Author: Wayne Chirisa

The content in this article is of the opinion or perspective of the author.

Over the years I noticed something peculiar in businesses that quietly plateau or quietly implode; often, the warning signs don’t begin with profit margins or product flaws. They start with people. More specifically, with how those people are managed.

Management style, though rarely given the spotlight it deserves, is the invisible current beneath a business's momentum, or its stagnation. I came to understand that it’s not just about whether tasks are getting done, but how those tasks are being led. Because leadership isn’t neutral. It always amplifies or erodes.

You can build the best strategy, invest in cutting-edge tools, and assemble a brilliant team, but if your management style is misaligned with your people or your purpose, you’re rowing against the current.

When Style Becomes a Silent Saboteur

The danger of misapplied management styles is that they often don't show up in day to day operations, they surface in employee behavior, innovation droughts, and team disengagement.

One might see:

• A reluctance to speak up in meetings.

• Talented people quietly walking out the door.

• Decisions getting delayed or diluted.

• A culture that feels heavy, performative, or fearful.

And the root cause? Often, it’s leadership that manages people as functions instead of leading them as humans.

“A management style isn't just a preference, it's a signal. It tells people whether they’re trusted, heard, or merely tolerated.” - Wayne Chirisa

Five High-Impact Management Styles That Drive Efficiency and Energy

Not all styles are created equal. And not all styles suit every phase of a business. But the most effective leaders master the art of contextual adaptability, knowing when to shift gears, raise the bar, or soften the edge.

Here are five powerful styles that today’s most resilient companies adopt, not rigidly, but intentionally:

1) Transformational Leadership: Leading Through Vision, Not Just Metrics

This style mobilizes people around purpose. Transformational managers don’t just assign work, they ignite meaning. They challenge, inspire, and elevate the collective imagination.

“The most compelling leaders don’t just outline the road, they make people believe in the destination.” - Wayne Chirisa

Use this when: You’re scaling, rebranding, or needing cultural renewal.

2) Coaching Leadership: Develop the Person, Not Just the Output

A coaching approach recognizes that performance is personal. These leaders guide rather than command, asking better questions rather than issuing quicker answers. They’re patient, but not passive.

“When a manager becomes a coach, potential stops being theoretical, it becomes visible.” - Wayne Chirisa

Use this when: Building long term talent pipelines or navigating growth periods with younger teams.

3) Participative Leadership: Inclusion as a Strategic Advantage

Also called democratic leadership, this style brings others into the decision making process, not as a formality, but as a practice. It cultivates ownership, deepens buy-in, and leverages diverse perspectives.

“People support what they help create, and the best ideas don’t always come from the top floor.” - Wayne Chirisa

Use this when: Solving complex problems, undergoing restructuring, or building cross functional collaboration.

4) Situational Leadership: The Art of Adaptive Command

No two employees are the same, no two situations are either. Situational leaders adjust their tone, approach, and level of direction based on real-time variables. They read the room, not just the rulebook.

“Leadership agility isn’t weakness, it’s wisdom wearing different shoes.” - Wayne Chirisa

Use this when: Leading mixed-experience teams or operating in uncertain, fast moving environments.

5) Agile/Servant Leadership: Empower, Don’t Overshadow

This increasingly popular style places the leader at the bottom of the pyramid, clearing obstacles rather than creating them. These managers foster autonomy, encourage iteration, and prioritize responsiveness over rigidity.

“In agile leadership, power isn’t in control, it’s in curation.” - Wayne Chirisa

Use this when: Leading innovation teams, product development, or any space where speed and autonomy are critical.

When Management Goes Wrong: Management Styles to Rethink or Retire

Some management styles, while still lingering in certain corners of the business world, are increasingly incompatible with modern organizations:

• Autocratic Leadership may offer clarity in crises, but over time it breeds dependency and distrust.

• Micromanagement signals insecurity and suffocates initiative.

• Laissez-faire Leadership, when misused, becomes managerial absence masquerading as empowerment.

These approaches are not inherently bad, they’re simply outdated for most modern challenges. They manage compliance, not engagement, and in a knowledge economy, disengaged minds are expensive liabilities.

“What you tolerate in leadership becomes your culture by default.” - Wayne Chirisa

The Management Style Audit: Questions Every Leader Should Ask

To avoid letting style become a stumbling block, leaders must reflect with uncomfortable honesty. Consider:

• Do my team members feel psychologically safe to speak freely?

• Am I managing to protect my comfort, or to expand our capacity?

• What does my presence do to the room when I enter? When I leave?

• Do I ask for feedback, or just expect it from others?

“Style is how leadership sounds, culture is how it’s heard.” - Wayne Chirisa

Final Thoughts: Leadership as a Living Practice

Management style is not a personality trait, it is a dynamic tool, one that can be sharpened, softened, or evolved.

The best leaders I’ve observed don’t rigidly identify with one style, they move between them like a jazz musician adapts to the rhythm of the band. They lead not from ego, but from empathy. They don’t just want results, they want resonance.

Above all, every leadership style leaves a footprint. The only question is: Does yours move the business forward, or keep it going in circles?

My Closing Quote: “The future of business will be led not by those who command the loudest, but by those who manage with vision, adaptability, and presence.” - Wayne Chirisa

How Management Style Can Make or Break Your Business

How Management Style Can Make or Break Your Business