Effective Management

The difference between a leader and a manager is well known. To use an analogy- 'If there is a forest to be cleared, the leader will tell you where to cut, while the manager will tell you how to cut'. An oft heard cliché is, “The leader does the right things, while the manager will do things right”. The roles performed are not exclusive of each other as a person is sometime a leader, and sometimes a manager or both. It is important for a leader to know certain principles of managing effectively.

While there are as many styles of management as there are managers, there still is a unique quality that sets a good manager apart . An average manager plays checkers while a brilliant one plays chess. What’s the difference? Well... In checkers all the pieces are same, they move at the same pace and on parallel paths. Their roles are interchangeable. It is not so in chess. Here each piece is different. You won’t be able to play the game unless you know the way in which each of the piece moves. Great managers know how each piece moves. They know the weaknesses and strengths of each employee, and utilise them accordingly for a well coordinated attack on the task at hand. A leader may say, Well!... What about development? My personal opinion is that it is better said than done. Try to train someone who doesn’t speak much to be an MC for the next social function, and revelation will dawn on you sooner than you may think. A manager’s job is to turn one person’s talent into pure performance. A manager should know that no person, however talented, is well rounded. A manager can only succeed if he is able to identify each person’s unique ability. Capitalising on each person’s unique strength saves time, and time is of essence in today’s fast paced world. It also creates a stronger team as interdependencies are created. People learn to appreciate each other’s unique skills and are not hesitant to ask for help. If you have read the author Stephen Covey, you would know that Interdependence is a higher value than independence.
It takes a lot of time to figure out people’s strength, unless of course you have known them for many years. To know your people well, you should be out of your office at the scene of action, watching, noting people’s reaction to events, listening and asking questions. There is no substitute to this kind of observation. It also does wonders to their morale. 'The more time you sit in the office, less effective you will be', is generally true in organisations where teamwork is important.
Let us now discuss as to what is a strength and what is a weakness.A strength is not necessarily something which a person is good at. It is something which he enjoys doing and brings out the best in him. Likewise, a weakness is not something a person is bad at. It is something, which a person hates to do or tries to avoid doing. Although as a superior you should know both the weaknesses and the strengths of those below you, you should focus more on the strength, as that is what you need to leverage. You should also reinforce the strength by saying something like... “Hey Anjali, You are really good at designing stuff”. This will further increase the self assurance of the person.
At times you may be pushed into a corner. You want to work on people’s strength, but are forced by circumstances to work with someone’s weakness. What to do in such a case? Try the following
· Offer relevant training to the person, allow time for incorporation of skills, and look for the signs of improvement.
· Look for someone with complementary skills and put her on the team
· Try to adopt a process that achieves the aim through discipline ,rather than instinct.
A manager should also be alive to the fact that good performance requires triggers. One employee’s trigger might be tied to the time of the day, while for someone else a ‘Dusting of the non-existent dirt on the shirt, signifying care’ might do the trick. Somebody may require constant feedback, while another may construe it as micromanagement. By far, the most important trigger is recognition. For effective recognition, you must know the audience the person plays by. There was this person in my previous organisation who only used to feel good when appreciated one-on-one, while there was another who needed to be appreciated in front of his peers. And you will find an odd guy who will cherish a written proof of your appreciation, so that he can proudly hang it in his drawing room.
So ,the bottom line is that you should play chess and not checkers with your employees. Never try to push a knight into doing what a bishop does or vice versa. Do not treat everyone alike. Someone might need a kick on his.... (And believe me, he will love you for it), and for someone a kind word is necessary. Play on people’s strengths, if you are to succeed at your jobs, and if you want to achieve more in less time