Weekly Management Tips
“It is annoying to be honest to no purpose.”
~ Ovid
There are a number of national and international organizations that are still being run by old school managers and executives. These individuals, many of them, are locked in a style of doing business that may have worked ten or twenty years ago. But times are changing – hello! Many of these executives and managers are going to find themselves on the outside looking in and wondering how did it happen, when did it happen, why did it happen to me or to us. Let me describe for you what I mean by “old school” management style. See if the shoe fits for you. The old school manager or executive is;
-A top down autocrat while giving lip service to bottom up responsibility, decision making, goal setting and problem solving.
-They are arrogant, closed minded, and often aloof and inaccessible. They believe to win means beating someone else.
-They are concerned that other people in their organization don’t get too much; recognition, compensation, responsibility and/or freedom.
-They believe that people should sacrifice their families, health and personal agendas for the sake of the organization.
-They are very competitive and would sell their children for a customer.
-They are price and profit driven.
-They use people up.
-They often feel they are invincible.
-They use threats, economic leverage and fear to get results.
Whereas the successful manager/executive of the future:
-Listens to his/her employees, customers, suppliers and works at creating partnerships both inside and outside the organization.
-They empower people by pushing decision making, authority, accountability, problem solving, goal setting and risk taking down through the organization.
-They create a strong team approach to projects, programs, objectives and solving problems.
-They encourage cooperation and open honest communication.
-They reward creativity, mistakes that contribute to improvements and honest feedback.
-They see change as an opportunity to grow.
-They see problems as necessary to modify systems, strategies, policies and procedures.
-They are reflective, responsive and accessible.
-They are driven by creating quality of life for their employees, customers and the community.
-They are not selfish with the fruits of their employee’s labors.
-They share openly and fairly.
-They trust and believe in their people.
-They are concerned about values, the environment and relationships.
Quite a contrast, wouldn’t you say. It should be an easy task to determine where you fit. You may not fall 100% into either group, but I’ll bet you have more of one group’s characteristics than the other. The challenge is that if you fall into the old school category, it is time to look around you and notice that the world is changing. If you are in the progressive group don’t assume you have it made. Everyday you will have your attitudes, values, expectations and perceptions challenged. You are not home free yet. You must keep the vigil as you grow your organization, department or division into the next decade. There will be plenty of new obstacles, challenges and problems to test your resolve.
So relax and enjoy the roller coaster ride into the future.