The "Z" Method of ManagementLearn Management Articles on management-info.biz. The "Z" Method of Management article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
When we talk about the successful manager of the today we know that they communicate well, delegate and empower their people. We have read so much about this individual that we know what the 'prototype' looks like, on paper, but I have found that we don't seem to recognize these folks when we run into them live. I think two reasons are responsible for this. * First, we have known them before we read about them, so we are expecting the 'ideal' manager to be someone new to us. * Second, we never give personalities and emotions to the managers described in articles. But the managers in real life have those! Two client companies of ours have managers that are great examples of delegating/empowering manager. These are people who get many times more things accomplished than their peers. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why. They delegate lots of work to their people and are open to new ideas and ways of doing things. They like to venture into to new areas and 'push the envelope.' These folks seem to always be busy with a variety of projects many of which are being completed everyday. Often their peers are 'busy' but really getting little done. Often we see that these delegating managers (DM's) have a strong interest in many aspects of their business and are open to a lot of new ideas. The converse of these people seem to be so narrowly focused that they have no interest in new ideas or different ways of doing things. The DM's have realized one of General Patton's principles of leadership, 'tell people what you want done then get out of the way and let them do it.' There are often many ways of achieving a goal. The DM's are usually so busy doing things that they have no time for complaining about what is or is not happening and nagging his people. I have found that DM's often have many very different activities happening at the same time. We expect this from the CEO because he is responsible for the overall success of the organization and as such has to be sure that all of the departments are working in some harmony. Also, the DM's will often get involved with solving problems in areas that would seem outside his/her 'jurisdiction.' With the smaller more efficient structures in today's business everyone, to some degree, has a role in the success or failure of every department. So if one area is not pulling its weight, someone has to jump in and take charge. However, this should be happening at any level within the organization and indeed is occurring more and more in the corporations. One reason is the hierarchy of the past no longer exists so managers are forced to delegate more. But some people do it very reluctantly. Finite vs Infinite Power The theory of finite versus infinite power has a lot to do with delegation and empowerment so it is very important to understand. If you believe that power is finite then you feel that if you give some of your power to someone else, that is, delegate, then you have less. If you believe power is infinite, when you give some away, you have not lost any, and in most cases you have gained more. That is one of the biggest differences in delegating and non-delegating managers. A Delegating Manager realizes that by empowering others, he or she enhances their department and the entire organization. Managers who believe in the finite theory of power are dying, along with their organizations. Many of us know of companies in this situation right now. This may relate to one of the most important words of this era - Change. Regardless of how you feel about it, Change is a fact of life for all of us. If you don't accept it, the lack of Change will be your downfall. Change just means different, not bad. For example, the automobile industry made a dramatic change in recent years from carburetors to fuel injected engines. It probably displaced a lot of people, but this change benefited us all. A myriad of changes have occurred as a result of the advancement in computer chip technology from desk top publishing to computerized control of most of the functions of an automobile. Some of the definitions of change are also, Innovation, Metamorphosis, Transformation, Correct, and Convert. These are positive terms. The Delegating Manger Empowers their direct reports. Downsizing has made delegation mandatory to some degree in many situations. The DM's however, make this tool work to everyone's advantage. This is really not new, good managers have empowered for years. In conclusion, the Delegating Manager of the present and future is one who communicates well, delegates, and empowers. We all know this from the books that are on the best seller lists. The key for all of us is to recognize these folks in our organizations, look past the irrelevant personality quirks that we tend to get hung up on and join the team. These are the people who will lead us in the future. Bill Truax Bill@BlitzCall.com 800-253-1214 © Copyright 2006 WJ Truax
|
More Articles:1. Communicating with Offsite Workers By Robert Abbott How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who work offsite?Perhaps you have telecommuters reporting to you, or sales reps who work out of offices in other cities. How do you communicate with them?Let's start with the strategic issues: what do you want to accomplish by communicating with them? And, why would they want to communicate with you?Strategic means you'll probably want to deal with issues like productivity, accountability, and predictability. You want to know what the offsit… 2. Understanding How Change Has Changed By Peter Hunter There seems to be an assumption that change is a single traumatic event that is thrust upon us and over which we have no control.In the recent past this was definitely true, in industry there would come a sudden realisation at the end of the financial year that unless we did something radical we were going to the wall.The huge and destructive changes that then occurred fitted this model.In 1936 Kurt Lewin suggested that change be divided into three phases:Unfreezing Change RefreezingThis fini… 3. Creating Successful Team Charters How many times have you been on, or heard about a team that got frustrated? Or felt like they weren't making progress? Or weren't completely clear on what they were expected to do? Or didn't feel like they had support from those above them? If you are like me and most people I know, you are nodding yes to one or more of the questions above. There is one single thing that can alleviate or eliminate these challenges and get the team off to a solid start. That single thing is a team charter. What … 4. Communication: Management's Responsibility By Robert F. Abbott I've just watched, again, an episode in the Back to the Floor television series, which aired on the BBC (United Kingdom) and PBS (United States). Once more, communication turned out to be a key issue, as it often does in business stories.If you're not familiar with the series, it features real-life CEOs who leave their comfortable offices (well sort of comfortable, these days) and go work on the front lines of their organizations for a week. Cameras follow the CEOs and record their interaction… |
||||
