Management Dos and Don'ts
We all make mistakes from time to time. Usually, we can put
things right, apologise, and move on. But when things go wrong at a high level
in an organization, we may need to look for longer-term solutions.
Consultant W. Edwards Deming termed "diseases of
management."
Also avoid some common team-management mistakes, and we look
to utilise Value-Based Management, an approach that could change the way you
plan and manage in the long term.
1. No Consistent Purpose
2. Focus on short-term profits
3. Managing by Fear
4. High Senior Management Turnover
5. Focus on 'visible' figures only
1. No Consistent Purpose
2. Focus on short-term profits
3. Managing by Fear
4. High Senior Management Turnover
5. Focus on 'visible' figures only
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1. No Consistent Purpose
1. No Consistent Purpose
1. No Consistent Purpose
1. Lack of Feedback
Sarah is
a talented sales representative, but she has a habit of answering the phone in
an unprofessional manner. Her boss is aware of this, but he's waiting for her
performance review to tell her where she's going wrong. Unfortunately, until
she's been alerted to the problem, she'll continue putting off potential
customers.
According
to 1,400 executives polled by The Ken Blanchard Companies, failing to provide
feedback is the most common mistake that leaders make. When you don't provide
prompt feedback to your people, you're depriving them of the opportunity to
improve their performance.
To avoid
this mistake, learn how to provide regular feedback to your team. (You can use our
Bite-Sized Training session on Giving Feedback to gain an in-depth understanding
of feedback, and to learn how to provide it effectively.)
2. Not Making Time for Your Team
When
you're a manager or leader, it's easy to get so wrapped up in your own workload
that you don't make yourself available to your team.
Yes, you
have projects that you need to deliver. But your people must come first –
without you being available when they need you, your people won't know what to
do, and they won't have the support and guidance that they need to meet their
objectives.
Avoid
this mistake by blocking out time in your schedule specifically for your people, and
by learning how to listen actively to your team. Develop your
emotional intelligence so that you can be
more aware of your team and their needs, and have a regular time when
"your door is always open", so that your people know when they can
get your help. You can also use Management By Walking Around , which is an
effective way to stay in touch with your team.
Once
you're in a leadership or management role, your team should always come first -
this is, at heart, what good leadership is all about!
3. Being Too "Hands-Off"
One of
your team has just completed an important project. The problem is that he
misunderstood the project's specification, and you didn't stay in touch with
him as he was working on it. Now, he's completed the project in the wrong way,
and you're faced with explaining this to an angry client.
Many
leaders want to avoid micromanagement . But going to the opposite
extreme (with a hand-offs management style) isn't a good idea either – you need
to get the balance right.
Our article,
Laissez Faire versus Micromanagement will
help you find the right balance for your own situation.
4. Being Too Friendly
Most of
us want to be seen as friendly and approachable to people in our team. After
all, people are happier working for a manager that they get on with. However,
you'll sometimes have to make tough decisions regarding people in your team,
and some people will be tempted to take advantage of your relationship if
you're too friendly with them.
This
doesn't mean that you can't socialize with your people. But, you do need to get
the balance right between being a friend and being the boss.
Learn how
to do avoid this mistake with our article, Now You're the Boss . Also, make sure that
you set clear boundaries , so that team members
aren't tempted to take advantage of you.
5. Failing to Define Goals
When your
people don't have clear goals, they muddle through their day. They can't be
productive if they have no idea what they're working for, or what their work
means. They also can't prioritize their workload effectively, meaning that
projects and tasks get completed in the wrong order.
Avoid
this mistake by learning how to set SMART goals for your team. Use a Team Charter to specify where your team is
going, and detail the resources it can draw upon. Also, use principles from Management by Objectives to align your
team's goals to the mission of the organization.
6. Misunderstanding Motivation
Do you
know what truly motivates your team? Here's a hint: chances are, it's not just
money!
Many
leaders make the mistake of assuming that their team is only working for
monetary reward. However, it's unlikely that this will be the only thing that
motivates them.
For
example, people seeking a greater work/life balance might be motivated by
telecommuting days or flexible working. Others will be motivated by factors
such as achievement, extra responsibility, praise, or a sense of camaraderie.
To find
out what truly drives your people, read our articles on McClelland's Human Motivation Theory and Theory X and Theory Y . Then, take our test
"How Good Are Your Motivation Skills?"
to learn how to be a great motivator of people.
7. Hurrying Recruitment
When your
team has a large workload, it's important to have enough people "on
board" to cope with it. But filling a vacant role too quickly can be a
disastrous mistake.
Hurrying
recruitment can lead to recruiting the wrong people for your team: people who
are uncooperative, ineffective or unproductive. They might also require
additional training, and slow down others on your team. With the wrong person,
you'll have wasted valuable time and resources if things don't work out and
they leave. What's worse, other team members will be stressed and frustrated by
having to "carry" the under-performer.
You can
avoid this mistake by learning how to recruit effectively , and by being
particularly picky about the people you bring into your team.
8. Not "Walking the Walk"
If you
make personal telephone calls during work time, or speak negatively about your
CEO, can you expect people on your team not to do this too? Probably not!
As a
leader, you need to be a role model for your team. This means that if they need
to stay late, you should also stay late to help them. Or, if your organization
has a rule that no one eats at their desk, then set the example and head to the
break room every day for lunch. The same goes for your attitude – if you're negative
some of the time, you can't expect your people not to be negative.
So
remember, your team is watching you all the time. If you want to shape their
behavior, start with your own. They'll follow suit.
9. Not Delegating
Some
managers don't delegate, because they feel that no-one apart from themselves
can do key jobs properly. This can cause huge problems as work bottlenecks
around them, and as they become stressed and burned out.
Delegation
does take a lot of effort up-front, and it can be hard to trust your team to do
the work correctly. But unless you delegate tasks, you're never going to have
time to focus on the "broader-view" that most leaders and managers
are responsible for. What's more, you'll fail to develop your people so that
they can take the pressure off you.
To find
out if this is a problem for you, take our interactive quiz, How Well Do You Delegate? If you need to
improve your skills, you can then learn key strategies with our articles, Successful Delegation , and The Delegation Dilemma .
10. Misunderstanding Your Role
Once you
become a leader or manager, your responsibilities are very different from those
you had before.
However,
it's easy to forget that your job has changed, and that you now have to use a
different set of skills to be effective. This leads to you not doing what
you've been hired to do – leading and managing.
- See
more at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/leadership-mistakes.htm#np
Principles of Value-Based Management
In a
Value-Based Management (VBM) approach, your overall goal is to maximize the
value of your organization. This means that the decisions that you make today
are not simply driven by short-term profit. Rather, you consider the
longer-term effects that the decisions will have on organizational
sustainability and profitability, reflected in future cash flows.
VBM asks
people within a company to think like owners, and to make decisions that will
ultimately benefit the owners. Managers and executives must constantly look for
investment and growth opportunities that will create value, and use the
company's capital in ways that ensure long-term success.
A
fundamental principle of VBM is the belief that future cash flow and growth are
the source of a company's value. Looking at accounting-based measures - like
quarterly earnings, earnings per share, and the price/earnings ratio - is not
how advocates of VBM make decisions. This may be difficult, particularly when
there's significant pressure from short-term investors.
VBM is
both a philosophy and a methodology. It recognizes that the decisions that you
make on a daily basis all contribute to the value of the organization.
Therefore, VBM must be pushed throughout the organization; not just in the
boardroom. People at all levels must participate in driving this overall value.
- See
more at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/value-based-management.htm#np
Principles of Value-Based ManagementIn a Value-Based Management (VBM) approach, your overall goal is to maximize the value of your organization. This means that the decisions that you make today are not simply driven by short-term profit. Rather, you consider the longer-term effects that the decisions will have on organizational sustainability and profitability, reflected in future cash flows.VBM asks people within a company to think like owners, and to make decisions that will ultimately benefit the owners. Managers and executives must constantly look for investment and growth opportunities that will create value, and use the company's capital in ways that ensure long-term success. A fundamental principle of VBM is the belief that future cash flow and growth are the source of a company's value. Looking at accounting-based measures - like quarterly earnings, earnings per share, and the price/earnings ratio - is not how advocates of VBM make decisions. This may be difficult, particularly when there's significant pressure from short-term investors. VBM is both a philosophy and a methodology. It recognizes that the decisions that you make on a daily basis all contribute to the value of the organization. Therefore, VBM must be pushed throughout the organization; not just in the boardroom. People at all levels must participate in driving this overall value. - See more at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/value-based-management.htm#np Principles of Value-Based ManagementIn a Value-Based Management (VBM) approach, your overall goal is to maximize the value of your organization. This means that the decisions that you make today are not simply driven by short-term profit. Rather, you consider the longer-term effects that the decisions will have on organizational sustainability and profitability, reflected in future cash flows.VBM asks people within a company to think like owners, and to make decisions that will ultimately benefit the owners. Managers and executives must constantly look for investment and growth opportunities that will create value, and use the company's capital in ways that ensure long-term success. A fundamental principle of VBM is the belief that future cash flow and growth are the source of a company's value. Looking at accounting-based measures - like quarterly earnings, earnings per share, and the price/earnings ratio - is not how advocates of VBM make decisions. This may be difficult, particularly when there's significant pressure from short-term investors. VBM is both a philosophy and a methodology. It recognizes that the decisions that you make on a daily basis all contribute to the value of the organization. Therefore, VBM must be pushed throughout the organization; not just in the boardroom. People at all levels must participate in driving this overall value. - See more at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/value-based-management.htm#np |
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