Yesterday was the US election and today begins a new chapter under new management, part of the election was what management style do you want to be governed under? Since there is no perfect method to do management, but there is a result if you do it well. If you do leadership well the key is after making decisions are made by the leader do you trust the leader? will you follow him/her? will you risk your job to do the things the leader wants done? If the answer is yes, then you have a good leader. If you the answer is no, then you are looking for some other type of management style. In a recent article by Hugh Latif – a management consultant and author of book Maverick Leadership. Mr. Latif examined a 5 topics of leadership which all leaders need to be evaluated:

Leadership, Management Style, Decision-Making, Negotiation and Communication Skills

Leadership

Clinton – A strong, leader who is tough and resilient but with lots of planning and research. A bureaucrat with extensive contracts, a huge network of influencers and scratch-my-back-and-I-will-reciprocate attitude.

Trump – A strong, tough leader, demanding, who looks at the bottom line with show-me-your-results attitude. He is focused, direct and decisive and favors action over planning. He use whatever means are available to achieve the goal.

Management Style

Clinton – Demanding of her staff, wants to know details and delegates execution but not strategy. Ms. Clinton surrounds herself with influential, experienced people who come highly recommended. When she gives trust she demands loyalty and dedication in return.

Trump – The big-picture manager. “This is what we want to achieve and here are the resources, now do it.” He delegates both execution and strategy and waits for results. Mr. Trump surrounds himself with people hand-picked for their qualifications, but who are there mostly for their performance record and ability to get results. He gives trust but you earn it or are replaced.

Decision-Making

Clinton – The research-and-planning manager who uses her advisers and network to help decide the best route. She decides by consensus, but reserves the right to do it her way.

Trump- Decision making is done by Mr. Trump. He often goes with his gut feeling.

Negotiation Skills

Clinton – Negotiates based on facts and figures and with the help of aides and assistants. The staff are there to help her along the way from A to Z. The team closes the deal – stability, previous decisions and going forward are key ingredients. Focus is long term.

Trump – Staff prepare him and open the door so he closes the deal. The focus is winning and moving on, the short term is priority.

Communication Skills

Clinton- Diplomatic and careful with her vocabulary and speech. The priority is looking professional and showing she in command. Emotions and stress are shown in private.

Trump- Direct, say it like it is and focus on the heart of the matter rather than the packaging. He alienates some his style and choice of words, but behind the closed doors, he is respected and will compromise to achieve objectives. Emotions are not hidden.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in all companies there are pluses and minuses with each style. Both styles are better for organizations at different times in the organization, although generally if the company is reasonably stable and profitable – the Clinton style works better because of the emphasis on the long term. In a large government some departments need Mr. Trump’s style and some departments need Ms. Clinton’s style which means whatever way the vote was taken both were right and both were wrong. Maybe there is hope after all.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.