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August 21, 2014

Succeeding in New world of Management - I

Continuing from earlier post (what is holacracy....); let’s explore what it takes to succeed in new world order of management.

In a recently  article,“The Skills Leaders Need at Every Level” -Jack Zenger, and Joseph Folkman (HBR blog); top three competencies required by leaders are - Inspires and motivate others, displays high integrity and honesty, followed by solves problems and analyses issues. Add Predictability, a key competency looked by Google during hiring of managers, to complete the set.

These findings are based on current organisation structures. Imagine the world where existing tools and support systems (management structures) are no longer available and complexity of relationship among colleagues becoming far more complex. Leaders (Lead links, team leads etc) will need far superior skills to inspire and motivate teams. 

Leadership is about casting a vision and allowing it to seep into others so they follow the lead. Management is about dealing with situations such that results become tangible. You can manage people but only because you have the authority to do so bestowed upon you. But you can lead from anywhere, by example, influencing others regardless of your position or authority, they follow what you say. Leadership is best by example. Do what you say in such a way that others can do it too. Management is best an expertise. Do what others cannot so you gain authority over them. Mahatma Gandhi said, “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”

Let’s not even spend time reemphasizing value of Integrity and importance of passion. World is never perfect and constantly changing. This in turn creates problems as well as opportunities. Businesses thrive by solving these problems for their customers. To quote Indira Nooyi, Chairperson PEPSICO, We look for people who are able to understand and work around geo political environment quickly and surround themselves with great talent. Who are agile, can work with scarcity of commodities (read resources) and make something out of nothing.”

Google looks for predictability as key attribute in future hires because predictable leaders provide best environment for innovation and risk taking. People feel most empowered when they know what to expect from their leaders in a given situation. “Variation is enemy of Quality”. Six Sigma and other methodologies focus on providing tools to eliminate variation in order to improve quality and productivity. Same applies to people, irrespective of product, services or leadership behaviour; final evaluators of quality are always people in some way or other.

“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.” - William Temple. We would have seen or heard about mid air refuelling. When a fighter jet or any other plane has to be refuelled in air, irrespective of its capability and flying altitude it has to descend at lower altitude to receive fuel from tanker. Similarly, smart leaders connect with people gathering information and knowledge. Being able to appropriately use every small bit of information gives them advantage over situation. To quote Mahatma Gandhi - “It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.” 

I signoff part I quoting Einstein  “A true genius admits that he/she knows nothing.”


TO BE CONTINUED ....


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With best regards,
Pankaj

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