When confronted by globalisation, managers retreat to the security of the known. Pressure on the bottom line, budget cuts and staff freezes put the focus on task, function, process and product rather than people management. Leaders must first look at themselves to identify their values and skills, then to determine the ideals and values they want to project. Over the past 30 years, I ve seen enormous changes in business but the characteristics people want in those who supervise them have stayed the same. If these are the qualities they want in others then they should look to cultivating them in themselves.
Coercive directive approaches don t work.
Economic rationalism put the emphasis back on time and motion efficiency but managers with short-term objectives for shareholders won t get effective, positive outcomes. To develop leadership skills, they need support and mentoring as they move through the levels of management. The key issues are communication, teamwork and people development. I have seen situations where all meetings have been cancelled so the focus can be purely on productivity, where means of communicating with staff is by e-mail and fax. This is the beginning of breakdown and what follows almost inevitably is a restructure.