Management style

[Dave A]

An interesting question posed by Michael Wade here:

Manager A will carefully review all documents that have been prepared for signature by staff. "Happy" will be changed to "glad" and every nuance will be weighed before a signature is attached.

Manager B will glance over the documents and, unless something significant jumps out, will sign because he relies upon the staff having considered the details.

Each style has pros and cons. Which one most resembles yours?

[Vincent]

Manager B - I rely on the people to get it right and I trust their judgement. I can't do it all for them.

[johnnygirl]

i wouldn't choose either A or B. in my business the employees will sign it themselves. i am all for ownership & accountability at every level.

[Dave A]

For me, I'll check over a couple for someone new and mentor them a bit, but after a while they must get on with it or move on.

Like Johnnygirl above, I have our staff sign off on their own work.

[akhanna18]

to establish a sound business one have to have a good management skills . he should have conviction in their ideas and should have a control and hve to make a profitable stratergies.

[Christob]

If I may revive an old post !!!

I do feel that it all depends where the business and the specific staff member is, some will need coaching and some will not, the ideal is that they can do the work themselves and you dont have to check up on it.
What effect does it have on the culture in the organization (not using it in a buzz word sense) and also how will it affect the strategy of the business and also the brand image, placement in the competitive market sphere that you are in etc.

Doesn't matter how small or big you are it is all about perceptions and those are created through every single action, word, gesture basically every single thing that you employees do...

I agree with Dave that coaching and mentoring is the correct way and the employee should be able to do it by themselves. Regular browsing over and ensuring that they are not cutting corners that hurts all the hard work to create the right image, is just as important.

[Alta Murray]

Yeah, also believe in accountability, but then what works in life, also applies in business doesn't it?

I love the 'get on with it, or move on' I guess that is pretty much my management style as well. Don't suffer fools and I only ask once, not twice, once. I think that whatever style you choose, it should be workable, and you should stick to it. Don't be lenient one day and strict the next, that confuses the work force

I can only work with motivated, ambitious go-getters, so I think the key is to know yourself first, and then only appoint those that fit in with your vision and management style. A little late in the day if your business is up and running, and you have to try and figure out your style on the hoof. Okay people please rewind a week, the bosstress made a mistake

I guess I am a tough boss to work for, but I also believe that part of my job description is to see to it that everyone should develop to their full potential, so I do push hard. I also don't believe in spoon-feeding, but do believe in letting people use their own initiative. If something does go wrong, then the buck stops with me, and I will take the flack. So they can sign off by all means, I will keep an eye on the project and make suggestions, but in the end accountability within the business is theirs, but as far as the clients go, it is mine.

With us if you make a mistake, you get mocked to death, and that goes for all of us, so we do have fun, learn and move on. But you don't make the same mistake twice....

Like JP -- he had to develop a salary & wages system for the local hospital's emergency, including Casual Wages. He had ER on his mind, so casual wages came under the heading of Casualties in his system, and is now known as Casualty Pete.

[Yvonne]

A labor consultant once told me that each employee's "style" needed to be taken into consideration, to what we expect in regard to accountability and responsibility,
and put it this way:

If a person is a "cart horse", use him for that! don't expect anything else from him/her.

Don't expect a cart horse to be a "Race horse", and vice versa!

I have often had a chuckle remembering his words as so many instances of problems with staff have been testomony to the truth of that statement!

What type of "animal" is he/she?
What happened to me? I used to be a gentle teddy bear, and now I am a snarling, spitting, angry mountain lion! and strongly suspect that employers come from Mars, and employees come from Venus!

Yvonne

[Marq]

If a person is a "cart horse", use him for that! don't expect anything else from him/her.

mmmm.....A bit of a contradiction to your Teddy bear/Mountain Lion scenario?

I have have seen staff move in both directions - Staff that I have had high expectations of become a disappoint and vice versa.

I believe a good manager is one that has both A & B traits and can understand how the individual staff members work. Some you can trust to get on with it while others need some help and coaching. The idea being to help those that cannot at the moment - get into into a position where they will get it right. If they cannot then the decision is to carry on helping and doing yourself/get someone else to do your part/change their functions/ask them to leave. The key at all times is to know their capabilities and adjust accordingly. The 'trust is a must' scenario could lead to your downfall if you are not on the ball and rely on the staff to 'get on with it'.

Another key is to ensure that the systems and business processes are in place that will ensure a smooth running operation either way. This is an area that is usually not considered, has very little energy or money placed on it and is usually the main culprit not identified as the problem when the cart horse suddenly becomes a mountain goat.

[Alta Murray]

Hi Marq,

Yes, people can only be expected to function in their area of excellence, however that should have been taken care of during the interviewing process. Trying to rectify mid-stride is way too late. There are very good tests that can be done to determine where a person will function best, and if they then evolve within their area of excellence, it is a plus on all sides.

Boy, I can not agree with you more on work flow!! What is up with that, it is the stepchild of the business world and hence business re-engineering then becomes a must if I run a diagnostics on a company. This is elementary stuff as far as I am concerned, bad work flow costs money duh!! Oi-te-toi, if only people will realize that simplicity in your thinking will win the day for you every single time.

But it is like Solomon said, not a direct quote, but God created us as simple beings, but we insist on making ourselves complicated.

To re-cap: Test the person before you employ!! You will not marry blind or buy a car blindfolded, so what is up with this? If something is true, it will rest true in all areas of life, not just business, so if your workflow sucks, then you must be taking the longest congested possible route to your office in the mornings as well. Just stand to reason