Current management theory and practice

[JTQ]

Management by wandering around seemed to be the prefered method where I worked.

My supervisor usually didn't know where I was or even what I was supposed to be doing.

Made my job pretty easy and his too. Mostly they just reviewed my work and that was good enough.

I worked in an engineering/design/construction group and most people had professional licenses including me.

MBWA.... aka.... The HP Way.

Good book.
https://www.amazon.com/HP-Way-Hewlet.../dp/0060845791

Tom Peters - Management by Walking Around

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Peters

[RoyGBiv]

Tom Peters - Management by Walking Around

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Peters

Packard was way ahead of Peters

[JHC]

I’m not sure that the military understands and teaches it best anymore, but you’re absolutely right about the ground combat part. I have a slightly different theory on why, but in very broad terms, infantry and SOF leaders are far better than any others in the Army, both in quantity and quality. It’s very sad how little attention is paid to developing leaders in non-combat oriented branches and is arguably the biggest problem in the Army IMO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks great observations. My confidence is based on my slice. That slice is dominated by one lad who’s an 11B E6 and the other who is an FA O3 in command in a Cav squadron. There are definitely FAILS. Almost all due to selfishness in the personality department (I’m obsessed with servant leadership so allow for my filters). But fuuuuuk the private sector is a train wreck (which I joined in ‘84 😁 )

[rob_s]

I appreciate the responses guys.

It's interesting to see several people say that they don't think there's a current overall theory, but if you read through the thread responses you can find trends.

biggest trend I see is the leader vs boss vs manager concept(s), as well as a repeated mention of "accountability". I think a lot of it can be summed up with the concept of "treating employees like adults".

I'm 44. Almost 20 years into to an "adult career" with a few years prior to that working your typical kid hourly jobs. I say that because the "treat employees like adults" thing hasn't always seemed to me to be the prevailing theory (or maybe that's just the commercial construction industry). It used to be much more boss/manager centric, more dictatorial, lended itself more to micro-management.

20 years ago there wasn't a Jocko, or a Simon Sinek, etc. There certainly were people in that space (management theory and self-help books) but the message was different, or not as common.

Because I'm in commercial construction, I was responsible for managing people almost immediately at the outset of my career. often managing people that were not in my chain of command (i.e. designers and subcontractors). In fact, I've argued for a long time that post-graduate work in construction should exclusive focus on management and business, as you really don't *need* a master's degree in 2x4s. For most graduates into our industry, it's all OJT in terms of learning how to manage or lead people, or frankly just to get them to do what you want them to do, sometimes at odds with what they would prefer to be doing (example, getting an architect to answer your questions when he'd rather be drawing, or getting a framer to increase his production when he'd rather be napping or drinking, etc.).

Pursuing becoming a better leader at that time also wasn't very common in our industry. Maybe it was elsewhere. Nobody really talked about it, and most seemed to rely either on natural ability or belligerence and yelling. when I was first promoted to Project Manager, the first book I read was One Minute Manager. Still the best book I've read on the subject over 15 years later.

[BehindBlueI's]

I'm 44. Almost 20 years into to an "adult career" with a few years prior to that working your typical kid hourly jobs. I say that because the "treat employees like adults" thing hasn't always seemed to me to be the prevailing theory (or maybe that's just the commercial construction industry). It used to be much more boss/manager centric, more dictatorial, lended itself more to micro-management.

My dad, along with two of his buddies, had been senior foremen for a big union construction company in the 80's. Dad and EC ended up coming back "home" when their fathers got too sick to manage the homestead (both with cancer, and about 3 years apart in very late 80's/early 90's) and eventually starting their own company. EB eventually came home, too, but as far as I know stayed working for other folks until he retired.

Dad and EB both had the "treat workers like adults" mentality. If you required micro-management you didn't have a job after that day. I never saw Dad yell at anybody, bluster, threaten, etc. Even if he was firing somebody it was as amicable as possible and low-key. He never fired anybody in front of other workers.

EC was the opposite. Constantly yelling, leadership via threats, firing in front of crews to show "that's what you get", etc. EC folded shop pretty quickly, and we got hired to complete some of his projects and redo a few others that weren't up to code. That was just before I left for the Army. Dad didn't talk about it much with me at the time, EC was his friend and I was just a kid, but he did point out that EC was a bit "child like" in his temper-tantrum style of leadership and that's why he couldn't keep a crew. Years later he would tell me when they were working for Newburgh EC rotated guys pretty often, couldn't get anyone to volunteer for OT, and just assumed he constantly got slugs. He couldn't grasp that he might be the problem when Dad and EB didn't have nearly the turnover, had no trouble filling OT slots, and were more productive.

[mtnbkr]

often managing people that were not in my chain of command (i.e. designers and subcontractors).

In my line of work, that's a completely separate focus, supplier management. It's more of a business arrangement.

In fact, I've argued for a long time that post-graduate work in construction should exclusive focus on management and business, as you really don't *need* a master's degree in 2x4s. For most graduates into our industry, it's all OJT in terms of learning how to manage or lead people, or frankly just to get them to do what you want them to do, sometimes at odds with what they would prefer to be doing (example, getting an architect to answer your questions when he'd rather be drawing, or getting a framer to increase his production when he'd rather be napping or drinking, etc.).

I'm not familiar with the construction world, but what you say makes sense. If the path to management is as rapid as you state, and that's a normal thing, then more focus on managing people needs to take place. Or...folks getting an advanced degree would be better served with an MBA with focus on personnel and organizational management.

Pursuing becoming a better leader at that time also wasn't very common in our industry. Maybe it was elsewhere. Nobody really talked about it, and most seemed to rely either on natural ability or belligerence and yelling. when I was first promoted to Project Manager, the first book I read was One Minute Manager. Still the best book I've read on the subject over 15 years later.

That's one thing I really appreciate in my current company. There is a big focus on being a good manager. Not only getting results, but being fair, supportive, and able to help grow direct reports professionally. Mentoring and coaching are heavily stressed.

Chris

[okie john]

Pursuing becoming a better leader at that time also wasn't very common in our industry.

It's starting to get attention, but in my experience, most people read books on leadership and management to get their subordinates to behave in a particular way, not to become more effective leaders or better human beings.

Company culture is also HUGE. One of Rumsfeld's Rules is "A's hire A's. B's hire C's" and I agree with it 100%.


Okie John

[JHC]

This is perhaps only remotely related to the OP; or not. But its the first word I've ever seen on this.

"How leaders lose mental capacities—most notably for reading other people—that were essential to their rise"

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...esrT5gBSWnkm_M

[Darth_Uno]

My brother and I own a residential construction company that averages 9-10 employees.

Leadership, to me, is leading by example. This is not just showing up on time and working at a good pace. I don't ask my guys to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Now granted, I'm not the guy out swinging a hammer every day any more, but there's times I'm right out there with them in the cold, heat, mud, etc. So if I tell them to do something they'd rather not do, they at least know that I've done plenty of it myself, and I'm not too good to do it again. It's all part of the job. And even if I'm not on site, they know I'm not telling them to go do a job that sucks while I go back to the office to drink beer.

The other day we had a concrete truck track mud into the street. Nobody else was available so I shoveled it all off. One of my guys joked that I got "demoted". No, it's just part of the job. Some days you're working on a $40,000 custom cabinet package in the AC, some days you're shoveling mud.

This is admittedly a much smaller scale than you'd have in a bigger corporate environment, whether construction or otherwise. I have 9-10 guys that I directly tell what to do every day. While I'm the boss and have to flex that sometimes, I try to make my employees feel like they work with me, not for me.

[JHC]

My brother and I own a residential construction company that averages 9-10 employees.

Leadership, to me, is leading by example. This is not just showing up on time and working at a good pace. I don't ask my guys to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Now granted, I'm not the guy out swinging a hammer every day any more, but there's times I'm right out there with them in the cold, heat, mud, etc. So if I tell them to do something they'd rather not do, they at least know that I've done plenty of it myself, and I'm not too good to do it again. It's all part of the job. And even if I'm not on site, they know I'm not telling them to go do a job that sucks while I go back to the office to drink beer.

The other day we had a concrete truck track mud into the street. Nobody else was available so I shoveled it all off. One of my guys joked that I got "demoted". No, it's just part of the job. Some days you're working on a $40,000 custom cabinet package in the AC, some days you're shoveling mud.

This is admittedly a much smaller scale than you'd have in a bigger corporate environment, whether construction or otherwise. I have 9-10 guys that I directly tell what to do every day. While I'm the boss and have to flex that sometimes, I try to make my employees feel like they work with me, not for me.

If there could only be one rule, I'd vote for that one.