“predict what you are going to do.”[19]
In order for a manager to improve their effectiveness in a conflict
situation they can also use “The Five A’s of Improving Your Personal
Effectiveness” Model from Kerns. The A’s are assess, analyze, action plan,
act, and adjust – then repeat.[20] A good manager will always assess the
situation in order to gather all of the details. Once he has all of the
information, he will analyze it and develop an action plan. After
implementation of the plan, he will be able to be flexible with that plan
if something needs to be adjusted. Effective managers use the Five A’s
constantly without even realizing it. This helps a manager approach
conflict with confidence knowing there is a steady process he can rely
upon.
3. Flexibility and Creativity
“Managers exist in a state of steady
uncertainly and their success rests upon
constant exploration of uncharted waters.”
Barry Munitz,
President of Federated Development Company
Houston, Texas
Today changes in the business environment become more rapid and more
complex and of course each manager must solve more problems in a limited
period of time. As Dr. Abraham Zaleznik of Harvard University mentioned:
"No matter how much you plan, when you get to the work place there are
unanticipated problems: And the added constant challenge is that most of
these problems cannot be solved effectively in old, familiar, or
straightforward manners. Hence the quality most necessary for business and
career success these days, and increasingly so in the future, is
flexibility.”[21] But our group consider also creativity to be important
today. These two aspects help manager not to be lost and not to lose in the
modern business world and of course to be effective.
According to the dictionary flexibility is “the ability to change or to be
changed easily to suit a different situation”[22]. What factors made this
aspect so important? Thirst of all the growing volumes of information a
manager should deal with. Second, environment and technologies which
changed quicker and quicker every year and the third point will be
internationalization. According to these three situations we can determine
the following characteristics of the flexible manager:
1. A flexible manager is able “to stay loose and to choose and explore a
wide variety of approaches to problems, without losing sight of the
overall goal or purpose”[23]
2. Shows a resourcefulness in their ability to adapt himself quickly and
easily to developing situation and changing environment
3. He "does not see the environment as something to which they should
passively respond, but as something they should actively shape."[24]
Some authors also associated flexibility with personal openness of the
manager[25]. They pointed out that if managers are open then they can be
influenced by what is happening around them and as a result they react more
flexible to all the changes around them. The one thing is obvious that
flexibility is a key feature of personal growth and an indispensable
condition for being an effective manager.
Let’s now go back to the second aspect – creativity, and let’s see what it
means: “Creativity – producing or using new and effective ideas, results,
etc”[26]. When we think about creativity, we imagine people who are gifted,
talented, and different from others, whose ideas, decisions, and actions
are situated out of the every day’s life borders. In culture, creativity
is associated with such a people like Bach, Van Gogh, and Einstein; in
business with Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple Computers), Jack Welch
(General Electric), and Anita Rodick (The Body Shop).[27] Today creativity
is a way of thinking, the way to integrate you visions and ideas into
relationships and business. This process can be presented as following:
Figure 3: Critical thinking
Brainstorming processes
Free association, etc.
Source: Becoming a Master Manager, By:Robert E.Qiunn,Sue R.Faerman,Michel
P. Thomson, Michael R. McGrath; USA,2003
The use of creativity in the decision making process or in problem solving
allows manager to increase the effectiveness and encourage creative
thinking among employees. An effective manager will use creativity as a
tool of motivation. When employees are encouraged to use creativity in
their problem solving and in everyday work, they are more likely to feel
unique, valued and important for their organization[28]. In this way a
manager can not only develop effectiveness but also create a group of like-
minded employees.
For an effective manager of the future creativity or creative thinking
should become the natural way to think. But to reach this ideal situation
each manager should avoid the following barriers:
1. “A negative value of fantasy and reflection as a waste of time, a sign
of laziness, or even a bit crazy”[29]
2. the ideas that only children may play and fantasise but adults must be
serious
3. the idea that problem solving is a very serious an responsible process
and you must forget about creativity and humour
4. a negative image of feeling and intuition, which are regarded as
illogical an impractical
Although it is very difficult sometimes to change the society’s cultural
barriers and to change the image of creativity, each manager should try
to overcome pragmatic influences and think individually.
4. Developing of managerial knowledge and manager’s teaching role
Every manager must be sure that he or she will develop the competence and
knowledge of those they supervise. Every employee has a potential for
personal and professional development, and a good manager should discover
and develop this potential. We will start with the idea that each person
wants to know more. When a young employee comes to the company he has a
lot of theoretical knowledge, personal ideas and visions. He has read a
lot of books and articles, but he is still asking himself a lot of
different questions. In that moment he needs someone to teach him how to
become successful.
When you are a small child your parents teach you how to walk, and when you
make your first steps in your career you also need a “parent” to teach, to
give support, to empower and whatever else necessary. The effective manager
is always ready to become such a “parent”. He is always open to his
employees and colleagues, he shares his knowledge, and he inspires others
with his own experience and example. During the process of teaching he
always remains patient and supports everyone in every step of the way. And
of course leaders take the time to thank employees for a job well done.
But teaching doesn’t mean only sharing manager’s knowledge with someone; it
also means that the manager takes a role of mentor. The term "mentor" has
been used quite often in recent years. Jacqueline D. Heads, academic
advisor for the Rutgers University College of Pharmacy in New Jersey
defines this term as the following “A true mentor motivates you and impels
you to move to the next level, mobilizes you by advising you on how to get
there, and finally, like a guide, a mentor informally monitors your
progress to make sure you are moving in the right direction,"[30]
But why should we pay so much attention to teaching role of manager or his
mentoring role? The answer is obvious: teaching is a core competency the
effective manger should have. The idea of effectiveness changed the vision
of teaching and today more authors speak not only about teaching or
mentoring but about a developmental manager.[31] That means that instead
of taskmasters and evaluators, managers are most effective as coaches,
motivators, symphony conductors and employee developers”[32] We will pay
more attention to this idea.
Developing happened not at home but mostly at the work place during the
work itself or during the special classes. That is why it will be useful
for each manager to create and to follow a development plan to avoid
pointless talks and wasting of time. The idea of “A+ employees takes A+
managers”[33] seems to our group to be a very interesting and future
oriented idea of cooperation between manager and employees. According to
this idea you should follow these rules while developing people:
. Appreciate uniqueness of the people
. Assess capability of their team members
. Anticipate the future (leads others in the future)
. Align aspirations (create win/win partnerships built on trust and
loyalty)
. Accelerate learning
But in practice the theory is always confronted with reality. One of the
main problems of teaching or developing people is that a lot of managers
are afraid of teaching other people. The main reason for such an attitude
is idea, that if you as a manager will teach someone everything you know
and after that he may become better and smarter then you, and take your
place. Of course it can happen. But then manager should turn back to his
main values and decide what is most important to him: his own career or his
company’s success.
At the same time, if you are going to share your knowledge with someone, to
teach, to develop and to become a mentor you must broaden your own
knowledge. The individual becomes a manager because he was chosen to get
results and to use his knowledge, not because he won a popularity contest.
Employees are not going to listen to a person who has no knowledge in what
he is talking about or gives out false information. People need to believe
