Effective Management Techniques
You have read Dominique’ article, Top Ten, on an effective management technique from the Steve Jobs school.
Do you have such well-honed and highly effective management techniques that you would like to share?
Here are a couple I received from the network:
Bruce Everiss: MBWA. Management By Walking About. Just regularly walking round the company/department chatting to people. You have your finger on the pulse, everyone knows who you are and you learn loads from impromptu discussions with staff at all levels. It was part of the HP way practiced by Bill Hewlett and Bill Packard and gets promoted in the book “A Passion For Excellence” by Tom Peters.
Ian Davis: I discovered a technique that creates incentive, builds allegiance and reduces churn rate all at the same time. I have used for years in every management role I’ve had since 1992. I call it “The Roadmap To Accomplishment”.
What I do, is I sit down with my direct reports and help them define “where they want to be” professionally, in 18 months. For one person, it might be a management position, for someone else it might be a position in another department or even another company. For others, it could be to achieve a higher level of performance at what they currently do.
After, we define the 18 month objective, we agree upon quarterly goals designed to get him or her where he or she wants to be. I require my subordinate managers to do the same with their people. Whoever reaches their quarterly goal gets a reward, usually time off or a dinner for two at a nice restaurant. The reward gets bigger each time for those who consistently meet their quarterly goals more than twice in a row. Although everyone’s goals and objectives are kept confidential, I do track each person’s progress on a large grease board for everyone to see. I also send out annoucements praising those who hit their goals.
I found this to be an excellent team building tool. Besides helping people achieve a major objective, it has resulted in long term friendships and ongoing professional relationships that continue today.
Please contribute yours below.
Management techniques varies from people to people depending on what a person is trying to manage and management is not only about setting the goal and measuring the achievements against the goals.
Managing the success of the path through which the goal is achieved is extremely important. Understanding each and every persons strength in the ‘team’ and use them in proper way is one of the important factor of success.
In most of the activites the goal needs to be discussed and realized in great details. Most of the time the aparent obvious short term goal (e.g. want to have a new version of the product released in next 6 months) doesn’t make a team extremely motivated if this is seen as a standalone excercise with only take away is that product release. The question comes what next? What stays back with the team once the goal is achieved besides satisfaction or increase in ‘confidence’? The knowledge or at times a newly found technique or a new idea or a team is establised who can do work together for planning and executing very complex work going forward. There could be several such things which stay back after the ‘goal’ is achieved. It is extremely important for the manager to understand that and recognise such activities during the execution process and make his team aware of the fact with true value.
I have felt during managing a team that such discussions and realizations as a team help tremendously in building a team and managing it.
Santanu,
Yes, a manager’s commitment to the team’s longer term development is quite critical. Every individual on the team is a “person” first and last. And that “person” has ambitions, feelings, a personal life, as well as strengths, weaknesses, and talent.
Thus, the journey itself matters a lot as well. That version 2.0 product that the team is working together on, perhaps, can be even more successful, if the team just went off for a weekend on the beach to bond and have fun!
Sramana
Actually they went to beach on weekend twice! Once the complete impact analysis of the new features for version 2.0 were done and design was complete and then the next time when it was code complete and integration testing about to start. Now they are waiting to hear the first client feedback after the release before they plan the third one!
And this time people are telling that company will sponsor the family as well !