Book Introduction

 

I had read the book " What Got you here won't get you there" some years back and did not get many insights from the book. When i recently browsed the same book, i could quickly relate much of the ideas. The reason could be that i was not ready then to absorb the insights or lack of experience.

This book is meant for working professionals with experience and business heads who would like to know themselves better and how their behavior affects self-growth and relationships with others in the professional environment. Each chapter represents some of the challenges/dilemmas one face in the workplace, and the author recommends his perspectives to overcome them.

The Author, Marshall, is a famous executive  & CEO coaching coach worldwide; he clarifies each concept with his personal experience while dealing with them rather than explaining behavioral psychology from a theoretical point of view.

This book is not meant for a one-time read to absorb the contents but requires in-depth assimilation to get insights on behaviors in the workplace, as i realized. This book needs to be in our library; you will get different insights whenever you read it with your experience.

Recommend to the professionals who would like to prepare themselves for next-level development and to be aware of themselves much more.

https://amzn.to/3Tnlsz2

Happy learning, and have a great week ahead.

Leadership patterns for a positive decision-making environment (contd..)

 

Last week we discussed some of the leadership patterns effective managers/ leaders display to create a positive environment for problem-solving and decision-making in the organization.
 
Some of the patterns listed as i observed from many outstanding managers/leaders. 
 

• Clarity on the problem & delegation level
• Communication & expectation setting on solving the problem
• Switching between micro & macro management of detailing 
• Space for risk-taking & learning attitude to deal with failure 

 
 Having discussed the three patterns, let us understand how leaders create space for risk-taking and failure. 
 
Space for risk-taking & learning attitude to deal with failure :
 
Some managers and leaders, as i  observed, insist people take new initiatives apart from routine activities even though any new initiatives have the probability of 50 % success.
 
My first manager in my career always engaged himself in new initiatives, and half of it turned into failure only. Despite he did experiments and also encouraged others to do something new. More than that, when the initiatives failed and cost the organization, he always defended the team's intent and effort than the results. Hence, he was among the outstanding managers regarded by peers, and people loved working with him.
 
Also, some leaders encourage the team to learn from the failure and perceive it as experience. My friend, an entrepreneur, always uses the phrase " it is part of learning" whenever his effort fails in any new initiatives, and he moves on to the next.

When the leader always insists on learning and encourages the people to experiment, the people would show interest in solving the problem and dare to make decisions without fear.
 
Nowadays, large-size organizations encourage innovation projects by rewarding people for daring to do new experiments. A classic example is the TATA Group's initiative promoting innovations through the "Tata Innovista " program. Through this program, teams are recognized and rewarded every year for success and failure in innovative projects. The Management believes in experimentation and risk-taking.

To sum up,

• It is the leaders/managers who create a conducive environment through their behavior, communication, and process for the people to take the lead on the problem-solving and decision-making enhancement.
• Creating such a conducive environment is what leadership is all about and expected from managers and leaders.

Let us analyze ourselves and become a better version of ourselves as managers/leaders in the organization.
 
Have a great week ahead.

Leadership patterns for a positive decision-making environment (contd..)

 

Last week we discussed some of the leadership patterns effective managers/ leaders display to create a positive environment for problem-solving and decision-making in the organization.
 
Some of the patterns listed as i observed from many outstanding managers/leaders. 
 

• Clarity on the problem & delegation level
• Communication & expectation setting on solving the problem
• Switching between micro & macro management of detailing 
• Space for risk-taking & learning attitude to deal with risk and failure 

 
 Having discussed the first two patterns, let us understand the ability to switch in and out on the management of details. 
 
Switching between micro & macro management :
 
Influential managers/ leaders are aware of the management process and can converge and diverge on the problem-solving process.

                     
 
Some people take an extreme stand on macro management and leave the execution of tasks to others, assuming they empower others. Some people try to get into all the nitty-gritty of the job, thinking they help others get things done. Each stand affects the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of people reporting to them.
 
Consider the case, as i  observed,

One of the business heads is balancing the micro and macro level of management. His style of leadership makes his team get things done with little effort.
 
For example, when he wants to conduct an event, he calls his team, explains his end objective, and leaves it to the team on execution details (Macro management). He is disciplined enough to review the progress. When the team raises some concerns, say cross-functional conflict, he gets into detailing (micromanagement) and clears the path (macro). It looks like he is nowhere connected to the team, and at the same time, he is available for guidance when required. His style is a standard management process, but there is a subtle difference between being in and out of the task and empowering the people. It is an art.

Because of his switching between macro and micro-management styles, the team feels comfortable working with him and problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities are enhanced among the group, as i witnessed.
 
Balancing macro and micro-management calls for introspection of our thought process towards work and people. However, the ability can be learned.
 
 Have a great week ahead.
 

Leadership patterns for a positive decision-making environment

 

Last week we discussed some of the leadership patterns effective managers/ leaders display to create a positive environment for problem-solving and decision-making in the organization.

 
Some of the patterns listed as i observed from many outstanding managers/leaders. 
 

• Clarity on the problem & delegation level
• Communication & expectation setting on solving the problem
• Switching between micro & macro management of detailing 
• Space for risk-taking  & learning attitude to deal with risk and failure 

 
 Having discussed the "clarity and delegation level" last week, let us understand more about communication 
 
Communication and expectation setting on solving problems:
 
Effective managers are good at setting their expectations from others on solving problems and decision-making through their communication process.
 
One of my colleagues always asks his team members "what can be done "and "what else can be done" when someone approaches him with a problem. He is good at his functional domain and intends to solve the problem; however, instead of giving brief instructions, he prompts others with his communication style and encourages people to think and generate alternative options for solving the problem.
 
No surprise that everyone regards him as one of the best managers as everyone is comfortable working with him, and most of the time, the problems are getting resolved quickly.
 
My observation of his communication style and the impact are as follows  

• The team  is aware of  approaching him with options than merely elevating the problem
• When the team thinks and generates the options, they conclude the suitable options most of the time, and issues are not elevated to his level
• Since the team approaches him with multiple options and when he endorses some options, that behavior reinforces the team's confidence in solving the problem and decision-making capability

This way of expectation setting is far better than taking an extreme stand of solving problems self or expecting the team to come out with the solutions.

The effective manager creates a "positive  and  inclusive problem-solving and decision-making environment through this communication process."
 
Let us discuss other patterns of "Micro vs. Macro detailing" next week.
 
Have a great week ahead!

Leadership patterns in a decision-making environment

 Leadership patterns in a decision-making environment

(Emotional Management for Personal & Professional Growth Series)
 

In continuation of last week's discussion on how different types of managerial styles affect the people's capability in problem-solving and decision-making in the organization, let us understand some leadership patterns in creating a positive environment for problem-solving and decision-making.
 
Managers/Leaders create an environment by their functioning and style, which determines the organization's decision-making capability.
 
Let me summarise some of the patterns i have observed in many outstanding managers/leaders.
 

• Clarity on the problem and delegation level
• Communication and expectation setting on solving the problem
• Switching between micro  &  macro management of detailing 
• Space for risk-taking and  learning attitude to deal with risk and failure 

 
Clarity on the problem and delegation level :
 
Effective manager/ leader is good at developing clarity on what needs to be delegated and what must be solved by themselves. They create clarity based on the intensity of the problem and its impact, timeline pressure, and the team's competency level.

                                                            

 

 For example,
 
In a good case, in one of the organizations, a manager makes the decision every day on what needs to be produced and how much needs to be produced and just delegates the team to comply. He is not delegating the production planning. Since he is only aware of the big picture of change in customer preference, internal capacity, team's influence on each other, and the impact of the delayed decision on business deliverables, he makes decisions himself.No more complexity in the system on decision making.
 
Whereas in another case, one organization always runs with a crisis on the working capital issues, and the business head expects the production head and finance head to take decisions on priority. Since the impact of the decisions would affect the deliveries, the functional heads either delays the decision or are indecisive most of the time. The environment becomes chaotic as each one points out others for their problem-solving and decision-making speed and quality. The cause of the problem is over delegation of critical issues to inappropriate people and expecting fast decision-making and problem-solving.
 
In both cases, the underlying factor is getting clarity on which problem we need to delegate and setting the expectation on problem-solving and decision-making at the team's level. 

 
When we do not have the clarity to distinguish, as a manager/leader we create an environment with unrealistic expectations.
 
Some effective managers/ leaders are good at differentiating the problem, the impact of the problem, and the level of delegation by which they set the right environment for timely decision-making and problem-solving.
 
Let us discuss other leadership patterns next week. 
 

Have a great week ahead.