Examples Of Good Management
Here are some very interesting examples of good management. You might not find all of these present in one manager or within one organization but, the more the better. Management is not about control, it is not about forcing people to do something. Good management involves taking responsibility and taking ownership. Different management decisions can involve different categories or levels of employees, all affected employees should be treated equally.
1) A member of the team walks up to the manager and starts gossiping about another team member. A good manager would quickly understand the issues being talked about, unrelated issues should be left aside. It is not uncommon for managers to have 'favorite' staff and 'not friendly' staff. This differentiation should be avoided at all costs.
2) When assigning work to his team members, a good manager should make an assignment based on the capability of the staff. At some point of time, the manager should be in a position to identify staff who have heavy responsibility but, fairly low remuneration or related benefits.
3) Good management is not just about building cordial relationships between the team members and the manager. It is important that a good manager encourages, team members to be helpful to one another. A manager asks employee A1 to learn an activity or process from employee B1. If there is a problem and B1 for some reason, does not want to teach A1, the manager will need to step in and ensure that the issue is resolved. Any valid reasons provided by B1 should be addressed but, if no reasons exist B1 should be made responsible for the transfer of knowledge to A1.
4) A manager does have the right to have a serious talk with an erring staff member but, this should never be done openly in front of the team. A good manager will never discuss problems that she or he has with any staff, with another team member. The human resources section of an organization should be available to assist in problems related to staff members.
5) It is important for management to give importance to the ideas and feelings of the staff. For example, if the staff are found frequently complaining about the conditions of toilets on the premises, it is the duty of the manager to get those complaints verified and attended to. We once visited a medium sized organization where, 7 out of the 10 toilets available for men, were out of order. The condition of the toilets clearly showed that, they were out of order at least for a couple of weeks.
6) Interviewing and hiring staff is just one part of the process, management should ensure that staff have the necessary tools, knowledge and training to work efficiently. A wise manager will realize that, it is always easier to work with existing staff by giving them the right work environment. Hiring new staff can slow down work for a significant length of time.
7) A good management would have a process in place to appraise staff at all levels. Be willing to advice, explain and encourage staff to do better. Provide staff with sufficient lead time to pick new tasks, processes and technology.
No matter what anyone tells you, the fact is that managers learn and evolve, they are never born in a ready made form. At the end of the day, the staff needs the management and vice versa. Retaining existing staff can often pose a challenge but, it is rarely tougher than hiring new hands to get the job done. Every organization should set up standards for management, this should be done for managers at all levels.
