5 Management Styles of Effective Project Team Leaders
Results-Based Management Style: Results-based management allows teams autonomy in achieving goals, fostering independence and mastery. However, some may feel unsupported, and cohesion can suffer without balance.
Democratic Management Style: Democratic management prioritizes team input for decision-making, boosting trust and cohesion. However, discussions can drag on if there's no clear direction.
Transformational Management Style: Transformational managers inspire growth and adaptability, ideal for dynamic environments and teams. However, high expectations can lead to burnout, so offering balance is key.
Servant Leader Management Style: Servant leaders prioritize team well-being, focusing on loyalty and engagement. Though motivating, it can shift focus away from results if boundaries are unclear.
Transactional Management Style: Transactional management uses rewards for motivation, which is effective for short-term gains but limited in long-term impact. It's important to foster intrinsic motivation so that team members stay engaged.
As digital project managers, we aren’t always “people managers.” But even though we aren’t directly responsible for the professional growth of our team members, our management styles can still have a large impact on how our they work.
In this article, we'll dive into five different management styles that every project manager should know about. But which style is best for your personality and your team's needs?
Keep reading to find out—and as you explore your options, ask yourself:
- Is your current management style the way you want to manage your team?
- Is it the best way for you to lead your team?
Let's dive in!
What Is A Management Style?
A management style is defined as the way you help your team grow, make decisions, and ultimately, get work done. Your style encompasses how you communicate, set expectations, handle decisions, and foster an environment that influences how your team members collaborate and grow. Management style impacts everything from team morale and productivity to how effectively projects are delivered.
Understanding your management style can help you make better decisions about when to lead, when to listen, and when to adapt to meet your team’s evolving needs.
5 Types of Management Styles
The five different management styles we'll explore are: Results-Based, Democratic, Transformational, Servant Leader, and Transactional.
The different styles we'll walk through below are ways to lead that I’ve come across throughout my time as a project manager and product manager.
Jump to the sections, or continue reading for an overview of each style:
1. Results-Based Management Style
Get it done, and I’ll be happy—I don’t care how!
Results-based management means that you don’t necessarily need to know—or even care about—where and how your team is getting their work done. In a results-based environment, direct reports have more autonomy to choose how they approach their work instead of having it prescribed to them.
This type of management style is the one I’m most intimately familiar with, as the company I work for, Crema, has a results-based culture.
A results-based management style is fairly hands-off. It sits on the other end of the spectrum from coercive leadership or micromanagement, where the person in charge tries to get everyone to comply with their mandates. The expectation is set that you trust them to get their work done efficiently. This also means that when team members feel like there’s a better way to get the work done, that you hear them out and perhaps even change a process so that it’s more efficient.
The primary focus of this management style is exactly what you think it is: results.
Advantages
Results-based leadership creates a culture of mutual respect. It’s a hands-off approach that empowers team members to be self-directed and focus on meeting goals independently. This style appeals to self-motivated individuals who value autonomy and mastery, leading to stronger buy-in on company goals and a sense of ownership that drives engagement. By aligning individual contributions with company objectives, results-based management supports higher employee retention and fosters a productive, motivated team culture.
Disadvantages
Not all projects, people, or work environments are suited to a results-based paradigm. Results-based management can leave some people feeling unsupported or feel like they’re lacking clear direction. This can lead to a sense of isolation or siloing as people work more independently.
2. Democratic Management Style
You’re the experts, so discuss what you all think is right—let’s just do that!
This type of leadership is about engaging your entire team in decision-making, rather than making those decisions in an isolated manner.
Democratic managers usually strongly feel that their team is full of smart individuals that can come up with great ideas, no matter their role or place in the company.
Advantages
When done well, democratic leadership fosters a strong team bond built on collaboration and trust, often leading to better results. This approach is highly participative, allowing everyone a chance to contribute to the final decision and feel invested in the outcome.
I’ve seen the democratic style work really well for project teams, because everyone has ownership over the plan and the work getting done.
A democratic approach to management can also be one of the more effective conflict management styles, as it encourages everyone to contribute to the conversation, to participate, and to own their part.
Disadvantages
In democratic management, everyone is encouraged to own and contribute to the decision-making process—but decisions still need to be made. When everyone owns the discussion, it can sometimes feels like no one does. When not managed correctly, meetings can quickly turn into a merry-go-round of ideas without any real decisions getting made.
3. Transformational Management Style
Come on, I’m counting on you to be better. Think bigger, jump higher!
Transformational leadership is about inspiring your team members to pursue continuous growth and reach their full potential by embracing change. This style emphasizes professional development, challenging team members to expand their skills, think creatively, and take initiative. Transformational leaders help build a resilient, forward-thinking team that actively seeks out ways to improve and adapt.
Advantages
This management style is especially effective for employee development—turning a relatively inexperienced team into a high-performing machine in a short timeframe. It’s often seen in startups or fast-paced environments, where the company culture is all about innovation and quickly adapting to new ways of problem-solving. By encouraging continuous improvement and challenging the team to expand their skills, this approach helps foster resilience, agility, and creative thinking.
Disadvantages
The downside of the transformational management style is the risk of creating a high-pressure environment that can lead to burnout. With a constant focus on raising the bar, team members may feel stretched too thin as they strive to meet ever-increasing expectations. Without a balance of support and realistic goals, this drive for continuous improvement can strain team morale.
4. Servant Leader Management Style
How can I help you do your best work?
Servant leadership is about putting your people first and what needs to get done second. Servant Leaders place employee engagement and well-being above results, with the thought that if the team and work environment is healthy, the project will be better executed.
Basically, servant leaders do anything in their power to help their team grow and feel supported.
Advantages
This type of management style is a fan favorite of digital project managers because, frankly, it produces results. When team members feel valued and supported, their performance naturally improves. This approach builds genuine, trust-based relationships, making team members feel like they’re more than just resources—fostering motivation, commitment, and a sense of shared purpose.
Disadvantages
Servant leadership can backfire when the focus shifts too much toward maintaining harmony over achieving results. If boundaries blur and productivity takes a back seat, work may stall. When it comes time to push for deadlines or higher performance, this shift can create tension.
5. Transactional Management Style
Please get it done and stop asking questions—and here’s what you’ll get if you do.
Transactional management is a more top-down approach that tends to use rewards to motivate teams to get work done. This is a leadership style that can be easy to fall into, especially when you have a lot going on.
Advantages
Transactional management can provide clear boundaries—a straightforward setup of cause and effect that can be very helpful for getting short-term gains.
Disadvantages
Because transactional management relies on an explicit exchange (you do this, and I’ll give you that), when one side of the equation disappears, there isn’t much left to uphold the other side over the long-term. Take away the reward (a benefit, perk, reward, recognition, competition, bonus), and commitment to the results soon starts to fade.
5 Popular Management Style Tests
Below I’ve listed several different personality tests to help figure out what kind of person you are, which can relate to how you manage your project teams and projects.
- The Accidental Diminisher Quiz
- The Enneagram Institute
- Leadership IQ – Leadership Style Quiz
- American Management Association Management Style Quiz
- Your Leadership Legacy
Remember: these quizzes aren’t the end-all-be-all. But they may help you better understand the right management style for you, or learn about the management skills and leadership skills you need to develop. On that note, I found this podcast from NPR’s Hidden Brain to be super interesting as to why and how we sort people into categories and why that can sometimes be bad.
What’s The Best Management Style?
There’s no one management style that is the silver bullet, nor is there one approach that will automatically make you a good manager. It’s important that you don’t just look at one management style and say, “That’s the one!”
Effective leadership is a spectrum, and frankly, there’s no one management style that fits the needs of all. The way that you work, the structure of the company you work for, and the type of work that you do will dictate which management style is best for you and your team.
That said, there is research that shows that the best way to manage people is by:
- providing people with respect
- offering emotional support
- accommodating different learning styles
- providing an environment where everyone can participate
- giving constructive feedback
All of these management behaviors can give the team the intrinsic motivation they need to do their best work.
What's Next?
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