When you look at your management style as a manager much as you try to hide it your style will usually be to some extent a reflection of your personality and will mirror your moral values. In asking the question “What type of recruitment boss gets the best results?” you have to look at what you class the best results to be. Is it purely financial performance at the cost of everything else, is it good staff retention, is it having harmony and fun in the office or is it a mix of all these things and more.
Is it purely financial performance at the cost of everything else ?
Over the years your management style will change as your personality changes, getting older has seen me take a more holistic approach, taking into account individual needs and recognising that my way is not always the best way. I have worked with or come into contact with a wide variety of other management styles and one particular question often asked by owners of recruitment businesses is “Do my staff like me and respect me?”. To me this is important, I try to act appropriately, while still trying to be fun in the office but as businesses grow they become about the staff and not about you.
You will never get everything right as a boss but if you get the basics right and if your moral compass is pointing in the right direction then you have a good starting point. What is important is being able to step back, be critical and constantly review the way you manage and checking that it is still in line with what your business is trying to achieve. It is also worth remembering that there may come a point where you may not be the right person for the job and that replacing yourself in the equation might be the smart move to make.
James Torkington
Founder - first2group
