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Mastering Management: A Four-Step Process That Really Works
Mastering Management: A Four-Step Process That Really Works
Mastering Management: A Four-Step Process That Really Works
How do you add value to your organ- track cycling team over the past decade
isation and therefore justify the salary the have become expert at marginal gains.
organisation pays you? They take a particular situation and break
Most managers response to this ques- it down into its component parts. They
tion is that they ensure production targets then look at each of those parts and find
are met and that if they werent around ways to improve them, even though it may
people would not be as productive. Our re- only be a marginal improvement. All these
sponse to this is, improvements, though, add up to signifi-
so what happens when you go to meetings, cant and world-beating results. The same
go on training courses, or go on holiday? can be said of business and the skills and
At this point, many managers look per- processes and techniques that we employ
plexed and lost for an answer. Because, to produce business results.
of course, production doesnt stop when So by focusing on small improvements
the manager is away, although people are the individual will be able to generate over-
naturally inclined to slow their pace if the all large improvements. The key to this is
person in authority, who doesnt manage the following:
very well and hasnt set up an environment
where staff maintain their commitment to Identify the area to be worked on.
achieving goals or targets, is away. Come up with ideas on how it can be
So what is your role and responsibility improved.
and how do you add value as a manager? To Try one of the ideas.
put it simply, getting your staff to be more Use the experience to learn whether the
efficient and more effective is the real idea can be further improved or discarded.
reason why youre paid and how you add Repeat as appropriate.
value to the business. Think of it this way:
Decide the mission, look after your people Most managers find the above illuminat-
ing and the place to formalize this is in the
To put this into context, your task as a appraisals. For most managers, they dont
first-line manager is to take the goals and view the appraisal process as anything
targets agreed with your line manager and more than a paperwork exercise for HR.
to achieve them in the first place and then It is in fact the best place to map out with
to develop your staff so that output capabil- your staff member the areas that you can
ity is improved. work on in the following year. The process
So how can we look after our people of identifying small changes and improve-
so that their productivity capability is im- ments is a daily activity that can be carried
proved? The answer to this question is not out, while also in the process of produc-
a simple one. The starting point of course tion. Your staff member will only get better.
is to ensure that every person in your team One day at a time, which means that they
has clarity about their goals for the day and should have something to work on every
for that week. And, if appropriate, over a day. Im sure you now are starting to real-
longer term. ize that managing people and looking after
The development of individuals skills them is a time-consuming activity. Your or-
and capabilities should also now be looked ganization pays you to add value, you add
at. When all is said and done, the individu- value by facilitating the skills and process
als doing the work are the experts at the improvements of your staff.
tasks that they have to accomplish. How Here is another saying that holds true:
do you help them to become better experts
the managers job is not to solve problems,
is how you add value. We can take a les- but to facilitate problem-solving!
son from the sports arena here. The British