Current management theory and practice

[fatdog]

Are you a manager/leader/boss of any sort?
yep, for the last 30+ years in the technology space at several companies, only a couple dozen direct reports at this point however

Do you pursue, study, research, discuss, etc ways to be a better leader/manager/boss?

yes, prolifically, for the last 20 years at least, anybody who thinks they are done learning on this subject is in fact "done" since there are so many business, marketplace, societal and demographic changes that wash through our working lives

How would you summarize what you see as current management/leadership theory and practice?

First, management and leadership are two separate subjects, and there are so many views and opinions and contexts, there is simply no “consensus” I see, even within our own organization. Most individuals and most companies blend different philosophies, methodologies, and other elements to form their own culture and behaviors.

Do you think relative generation/age of employee/boss makes for a difference in best practices or approach?

It should not, but frequently does, part of the problem is a manager or leader of any age can become stuck on “how I know it works” or “how I have always done it” and they will decay over time, I have seen it happen to folks in their late 30’s and it is prolific in people over 50

What do you think of the current prevailing theory and practice?

Again, which one, there are so many schools of thought in the business world and in different industries and different organizations trying to manage different workforces to achieve completely different outcomes. There are free-for-all barbarians out there, there are intense bureaucrats out there, and a zillion places in between.

However, I will say that I think all of the management or leadership fads, methodologies, flying around that discount the importance of having a coherent strategy (based on obtaining desired outcomes and avoiding undesirableoutcomes) will fail at some point.

Second the one’s that embrace the importance of strategy, but then fail to address the organization’s culture (which you build and own, you cannot copy it, you cannot simply wish or sloganeer it into being, etc.) and aligning the culture are about to learn the old Peter Drucker saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast”

How closely do you follow it, or how hard do you reject it?

Unless I was covertly aiming for the organization to fail, I will always do two things, embrace the company’s strategy, and do my best to influence the culture in ways that support it.

What would you consider to be your management/leadership style or guiding principals?

1. Help my people understand the company’s strategy and very specifically how it translates to the outcomes, results, end state we are trying to produce, and their essential role in getting us there.
2. Help people understand how we are going to measure and judge “success” in those outcomes. Insure rewards and recognition follow success (not just effort)
3. Help people understand the rules and the processes that we are going to use as our governance to get there, and why.
4. Help people understand the concepts of trust, how they build it, personally, organizationally, and why it will help us all.
5. Try and insure that we have a good balance between process/rules and creativity so long as we never lose focus on those outcomes we are trying to produce….avoid getting too far in to process or controls, which many are tempted by, because it will often kill creativity and innovation.
6. Encourage people to find the balance they need for the long haul, like my first boss told me, you will walk through your working life carrying a bucket in each hand, one will be money & recognition, the other will be “bullshit” or things you don’t like about work. Things will balance over time or you won’t.

Any books, papers, podcast, videos etc that you find to be particularly useful or helpful?

WSJ has lots of good “snapshots” of things on this subject that point me at either books I want to read or training I have interest in. The Franklin-Covey guys have good programs on a wide number of subjects, some a better fit than others for a given organization.

Or, are you a boss/manager/leader that just doesn’t give any of this much thought or attention?

I have seen very few long term successes in either large or small companies who did not think this is important.

If you’re. To a leader/manager/boss, or even if you are but you’re not the top guy, what do you think of your superiors’ approach?

Sometimes he is a prisoner of history and his personal experience, which for all of us has limits and boundaries, and tends to build walls…that is hard to break out of, for anyone.

What do they do well and what could they improve?

He should spend more time with a group of peers, since my boss is the CEO, that would be CEO type folks from other companies, both in and out of our industry, and get a better look at other what others are doing and run more of his ideas past those people for opinion and criticism.

What lessons do/would you take and incorporate into your own approach?

I spend some time with outside peer groups but I sure could spend a lot more….a thought that I appreciate this thread for, the most valuable ideas I have I got some place else...need to rededicate myself to looking outside, because things have been going entirely too smoothly here for a while!

[Borderland]

One of my biggest challenges with being a manager in the government is that I was pretty much stuck with my people. I inherited a branch of 15 people, none of which I had any say. Even though engineers tend to be motivated, I had some dogs. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to fire people in the government, but the process is extremely painful for the manager and takes a long time. By far the most common strategy is to make it uncomfortable for them until they decide to leave and become someone else's problem. When I was able to hire people, I had a very good track record.

Therefore, I tried real hard and spent a lot of energy trying to figure out what people could and couldn't do. Yeah, I should not have had to work so hard, but that's life as a government manager.

We used to see this occasionally. All one had to do was say or do something that offended someone. Management would then initiate a period of documenting everything you did to warrant dismissal. That period would usually last about a year. I knew a fellow worker that didn't come to work for about a year and he still received pay and benefits. He started his campaign to get fired about 2 years before he actually was fired. They even offered him reassignment to another dept before they fired him. HR covered all their bases because they knew his dismissal would be litigated and they would have to reach a settlement which they did.

I knew a great deal about that because the person in question worked with me. I was fortunate because all I had to do was work with him and document his performance. I had nothing to do with his ultimate dismissal.

The biggest problem I've seen is this particular agency had zero hiring standards and once there for a year you had a paycheck or a nice settlement, whichever you wanted.

[AKDoug]

I guess I'll take a crack at this..

Are you a manager/leader/boss of any sort? Yes. I have owned and operated a small business since 2000. We have expanded from being a hardware store and lumber yard to include; tool and equipment rental, greenhouse and lawn/garden, Stihl dealership, and we run a small trucking operation with two semi's and a variety of trailers. I have approximately 20 employees at any given time.

Do you pursue, study, research, discuss, etc ways to be a better leader/manager/boss? halfheartedly would be the best description. I have read several books and attended short seminars at trade shows. In most cases, I had trouble applying much of what was being taught to my specific situation. However, I firmly believe that one shouldn't ever stop learning and I imagine that small tidbits gleaned from my various attempts at learning better management made their way to actual practice. I just can't think of an example right now.

How would you summarize what you see as current management/leadership theory and practice? I have been pretty much self employed my whole life. When I've been employed by others it was in small organizations like mine where the boss was a daily part of the action. My only interaction with other management/leadership styles is with my multiple vendors. The best vendors I deal with empower their employees to make decisions and actively mentor/teach their employees.


Do you think relative generation/age of employee/boss makes for a difference in best practices or approach?
I wish it didn't, but it does. When I started I purchased the business at age 30. Most of my employees were older than me and I had to work my ass off to prove myself to them. Subconscious age discrimination is a thing and I've had issues with it throughout my career to myself as well as between employees. I'm not sure what the cure is, but it's something I keep an eye on when it comes to work relations among my employees.

What do you think of the current prevailing theory and practice?

I'm not qualified to answer since I don't know what the prevailing theory and practice is.
How closely do you follow it, or how hard do you reject it?N/A
What would you consider to be your management/leadership style or guiding principals?I lead from the front. There is not a single operation in my business from the back office to shoveling snow that I haven't done. I still can operate a forklift or drive a truck with the best of them and I don't hesitate to get dirty when it needs to be done. If the bookkeeper is on vacation, I am capable of issuing payroll as well. I believe that a large portion of mistakes and miscommunications that occur are directly the result of failure to educate and mentor from the management/leadership side. I also believe that honesty, integrity, and punctuality are of utmost importance to the well being of the company and it's service to the customer.

Any books, papers, podcast, videos etc that you find to be particularly useful or helpful? I'm in the middle of Extreme Ownership. I haven't read another management book in probably five years. I'm not sure if Willink's will help me much as I already practice much of what is in the book. I will still finish it and fine tune what I find necessary.

Or, are you a boss/manager/leader that just doesn’t give any of this much thought or attention? To be honest, I hate taking work life home. Once the list of tasks for the day are done, I tune out and dedicate myself to my wife, family and relaxing. I consider reading about management and leadership to be work, so it doesn't get the attention it probably deserves.

[rob_s]

something pretty interesting I stumbled on

https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publ...ifkmHXGG-_oyf4

Good followers have a number of qualities.

First, judgement. Followers must take direction but they have an underlying obligation to the enterprise to do so only when the direction is ethical and proper. The key is having the judgement to know the difference between a directive that your leader gives on how to proceed that you do not agree with and a directive that is truly wrong.

No one disputes that good judgement is critical to being a good leader. It is just as important in the follower. Show enough good judgement as a follower and you usually end up getting a shot at being the leader. Something of an aside but there is a line that I have always liked about judgement: “Good judgement comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgement.”

Second, work ethic. Good followers are good workers. They are diligent, motivated, committed, pay attention to detail and make the effort. Leaders have a responsibility to create an environment that permits these qualities but regardless, it is the responsibility of the follower to be a good worker. There is no such thing as a bad worker who is a good follower.

Third, competence. The follower cannot follow properly unless competent at the task that is directed by the leader. It is the obligation of the leader to assure that followers are competent. Sometimes things go wrong because the follower is not competent at the task at hand. When this happens, leaders should blame themselves, not the follower. A sign of poor leadership is blaming followers for not having skills they do not have.

Fourth, honesty. The follower owes the leader an honest and forthright assessment of what the leader is trying to achieve and how. This is especially the case when the follower feels the leader’s agenda is seriously flawed. Respect and politeness are important but that said, it is not acceptable for followers to sit on their hands while an inept leader drives the proverbial bus over the cliff. Good leaders are grateful for constructive feedback from their team. Bad leaders do not welcome feedback and here followers have to tread carefully. If the situation is serious enough, consideration should be given to going above the leader in question for guidance.

Fifth, courage. Followers need to be honest with those who lead them. They also need the courage to be honest. It takes real courage to confront a leader about concerns with the leader’s agenda or worse, the leader himself or herself. It is not for naught that Churchill called courage “The foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend”. From time to time, it takes real courage to be a good follower.

Sixth, discretion. A favorite saying in World War II was “Loose lips sink ships.” Sports teams are fond of the expression “What you hear here, let it stay here.” Followers owe their enterprises and their leaders discretion. Talking about work matters inappropriately is at best unhelpful and more likely harmful. Discretion just means keeping your mouth shut. It should be easy but many find it next to impossible. Bluntly, you cannot be a good follower and be indiscreet. Everybody who works at an enterprise has a duty of care; indiscretion is not care, it is careless.

Seventh, loyalty. Good followers respect their obligation to be loyal to their enterprise. Loyalty to the enterprise and its goals is particularly important when there are problems, interpersonal or otherwise, with a particular leader. Followers who are not loyal are inevitably a source of difficulty. They create problems between team members; they compromise the achievement of goals; they waste everybody’s time; they are a menace. Loyalty is not a synonym for lapdog. Rather, its essence is a strong allegiance and commitment to what the organization is trying to do. Followers should remember that their obligation is to the enterprise, not a given leader at a given point in time.

Eighth, ego management. Good followers have their egos under control. They are team players in the fullest sense of the concept. They have good interpersonal skills. Success for good followers relates to performance and goal achievement not personal recognition and self promotion. Sounds too good to be true and often it is. It is difficult but the best organizations tie advancement and reward to performance and goal achievement as hard as that may be to do.