Management Behaviours

The values of today's workforce differ from those of their parents' generation. Employees today are better educated, more ambitious, and more willing to question authority than they used to be. Employees career expectations the role that work plays in their lives, and their relationship to the companies they work for have all undergone a radical change.

Unfortunately many managers have failed to recognize this reality.

In earlier times, employees were seen as inherently uncooperative individuals who had to be closely controlled and forced to be productive in order to meet organisational objectives. Managers were ring-masters, whose job was to crack the whip and coerce an unwilling workforce. A well-managed workforce was an obedient workforce. Women, naturally, were considered largely incapable of good management, because they lacked the strength and personal authority to demand the required levels of effort from their subordinates, or to maintain the climate of compliance that was seen as essential to high performance.

Needless to say, this type of work climate was frequently associated with a blame culture, and the stifling of initiative.

Such outdated and outworn practices are entirely counterproductive today. No organisation that wishes to compete effectively can afford to be hampered by old-style management that fails to capitalize on the talents of their workforce. The modern manager must be an enabler, not than a controller.

This new view of management is based on a new view of the employee. In this new paradigm, employees are recognized as mature adults, who get satisfaction from excelling at their work, are willing to learn, desire to improve, and are able to exercise self-control and judgement.

Here, the manager's role is to energize the employee, and channel their motivations in pursuit of shared organisational goals. The manager structures and allocates work to this end, and devolves as much responsibility to the subordinate as he believes he or she can handle.

Meeting operational targets will always remain the number one priority for managers. But the best managers do more. They make an additional contribute to their organisation by fostering the development of their staff. Coaching and feedback are an essential here. Staff are assisted to succeed by removing problems, and helped to improve by on-the-job coaching and honest feedback. Trust is developed by open communication, motivation is enhanced by recognition for good work. The best managers get to understand the current capabilities and future potential of each of their subordinates, and harness their talents and detailed job knowledge by involving them in problem-solving.

The health and success of an organisation is critically dependent on the quality of its managers. Poor performance by a subordinate is rarely a threat to the achievement of organisational goals. However, a weak manager can damage the performance of an entire work-group, which can in turn threaten the achievements of other workgroups that depend on their outputs.

The ultimate cost of weak management is high employee turnover and loss of equity. But the converse is also true. A high-quality management team will motivate employees to meet or exceed organisational goals and deliver organisational success.