
Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” — Abraham Lincoln
No, Management One® has not turned to advising the political hopefuls on the campaign trail.
This article pertains to you, your business and how you run it.
I recently read a survey done by a colleague, Nikki Weiss, that captured the mood which exists in many organizations today. She queried staff members about the management of their organization.
Nikki related, “While many said they liked their immediate manager and other managers in the firm, they reported that, in general,
all managers are too busy doing other things (selling, administrating, reading reports) and do not take the act of managing (developing people) seriously. The surprising and encouraging note in the survey was that the survey respondents craved a culture of accountability, in which managers who proclaim their commitments to standards of excellence and vision statements follow through on their pledges.”
This survey is interesting because it mirrors what I have seen in countless organizations. The staff craves a management process which they perceive as fair, committed, organized and demanding. This is opposite to the perception that the owners and managers have of their own people. The staff wants the managers and leaders to spend more time coaching, teaching and nurturing their performance rather than rushing in to do the job for them.
I have broken down the success of business people into 3 broad needs:
- Make the right decisions –
- Get the decisions implemented –
- Implement the decisions –
Of course there are many pieces and parts to implementing a good leadership, management and work program in a company but most people in independent business have a vast number of areas where improvements at all levels will yield great results.
Are you nurturing and teaching others to make the right decisions? Too often the managers feel they must do too much themselves and step all over the people who should be getting the work done.
Are you empowering others to do more and even make some mistakes? When managers let the workers do their job, motivation, commitment, innovation, fun and results improve!