Management Insights: Leading in the Present Day

An article by:
Trish Stenson, Clinical Director, LifeWorks
Ceridian Canada Ltd.

The “Dilbertization” of management in the weekly comics often makes us laugh and surely most of us can identify with the constant challenges presented in this successful cartoon. Clearly, there is something that resonates when Dilbert confronts the daily challenges of the present day work reality.

Today's manager is confronting incredible challenges with the changing complexion of today's workforce. Managers are learning that old management styles, ones that dictate rather than consensus build, do not resonate well with today's employee base.

 

The list of challenges that today's manager is required to juggle on a daily basis include:

• A multi generational workforce
• Cultural diversity
• Rapid changes in technology
• Restructuring that requires more output with fewer employees
• Increase in disability claims for emotional conditions such as depression and anxiety
• Labour laws that rightfully require constant attention to due diligence
• Shortages in hireable employees for specific types of jobs combined with baby boomers ready to retire
• Transparency requirements that require much more attention to process and adherence to new legal requirements as a result of the numerous accounting and stock scandals that greeted us at the turn of the century

This article is not intended to provide answers to all of these problems but rather it is intended to provide concepts for managers to continue to provide positive and encouraging leadership in an environment than could be categorized as a “perfect storm” in workforce issues and dilemmas.

Old Rules Don't Really Apply or Do They?

There is no room for autocratic, top down, non inclusive styles in the world of a modern manager. Today, we deal mainly in a workplace that is team focused. The manager who can build a solid team environment is the manager who will have the most success.

This being said, today's manager may have within a team, people from different cultures and different generations who have only worked in environments that are top down. How can a manager juggle the needs of everyone and speak in a language that everyone will understand? The key to success is in the way in which the manager communicates. The manager who can keep a focus on the outcome while negotiating through the differences in the team will be a tired but effective conduit for the changes that will drive the team to success.

Individuals on teams must become less individualistic in order to become successful team members. In effect, this means that everyone on the team needs to be guided towards change. For some, it means giving up some old ways of problem solving, for others it means accommodating the learning process of older or culturally different team members. For all, it means learning to respect one another and recognizing each others strengths in order to facilitate a strong outcome.

 

This process of change can be painful and difficult for some. The manager is in the position of having to nudge people along to accomplish this cohesive team approach. Sometimes this does mean confronting old ways and supporting people through change. It means helping people to deal with the loss of the old and it means helping the new to accept the merit of some old ways. The tight rope that the manager walks is either tightened or loosened based on the manager's ability to communicate, support, and understand the emotional dynamics of the individuals on the team. The manager's role becomes one of providing strong leadership by embracing and carefully nurturing a consensus approach. No small order!

In effect the old rules do have a place along side the new. The strongest leader is the one who can motivate people to let go of their personal agendas by embracing points of view and work habits —both new and old— that can best move the project forward and subsequently provide the team with momentum. This type of leader is one who has the emotional ability and emotional maturity to see a comprehensive picture, create a safe and motivating environment that encourages change while respecting both old and new ways.

 

Leadership that can bridge the gap and deliver good and bad news messages without compromising the integrity of a project, or the people who are working on it, is much more than communication. It is coaching, consulting, mediating and facilitating all within a context that allows the team to move forward creatively.

What attributes does a strong manager need? A strong manager needs to be one who can help to build the framework that allows a team to move forward in such a way that they believe that they have accomplished the goal successfully and independently with little or no guidance. A manager is successful when the team considers the manager to be a team player as opposed to a team leader.

 

In a world of unprecedented diversity the most successful manager is a leader who gains the confidence of the team by being an integral part of that team.

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