Transactional Leadership – Management by exception

Last week, I wrote about seeing transformational leadership at my internship. Having spent four weeks at Brown-Forman Australia, I have also observed transactional leadership. There is a dimension of this type of leadership called management by exception (active) where leaders monitor their subordinates behavior, anticipate problems, and then correct behavior before serious difficulties arise. My supervisor, Matt, has this type of management style. He does not wait for problems to arise and then try to solve them. Instead, he is able to be prepared for what issues may come up and deal with them in due time. However, there is a balance to this type of management style.

In previous summers, I worked at a retail store (Express) where one of the co-managers could fit this style, but it did not work as well. Her style could be defined as management by exception or micromanaging because she would anticipate that there was going to be a problem too often, to the point where it frustrated employees. Everything had to be done in the store “just so” and she would re-explain some of the store protocols to employees, even if they were doing something right. Matt, on the other hand, wants to correct issues before they become a larger problem but does not continually interfere or constantly check in. I believe that because employees are confident that Matt could help if the situation needs it, but also know that he will not be interrogational, this style works well for the sales department. With employees going to the customer’s venues during the workdays, they are rarely in the office. Matt has to fit the way that he manages to this style that the department has, and I believe it is working well.