Management styles

Styles of management

Effective leadership and management, within either an organisation or a community, critically influences the effectiveness and potential for recovery of those individuals within these settings. 

There are numerous styles of management in evidence when a traumatic incident occurs or the aftermath is felt in the work place or in the local community.

These management styles include:

• Handling with kid gloves: Being overly careful and sensitive in dealing with a person or situation and trying very hard not to upset someone.
• Get back on your feet: Being encouraged to resume normal activities, being chivvied along, being told to face your fears or the thing that has previously caused you harm. Pretending nothing happened.
• Figure it out and get on with it: Being told to find a way to move forward or to leave the situation.
• I’ll save you! Being rescued, being offered endless support with the aim of fixing everything fast and getting back to normal.

Effective leaders

Effective leaders and managers are approachable and supportive helping foster a sense of camaraderie, team spirit or sense of belonging within organisations and communities. Establishing this type of supportive culture can bind people positively together at times of a collective threat.

Leaders and managers can aid this resilience further by ensuring responders, staff or community volunteers are knowledgeable by providing them with training about how to cope with trauma, promoting emotional wellbeing increasing the likelihood of recovery.

Leaders and managers also need to ensure that a clear policy and procedure outlining how staff and the community are to be protected in the event of a traumatic incident. This should include proactive responses aimed at identifying those at increased risk; such as individuals who were first on the scene at an incident, those working long hours without a break or day off and those who may be actively avoiding taking up sources of professional support.

Identifying key risk factors relating to vulnerable individuals and groups also need to be clearly understood by those leading communities and managers of organisations.