Making Management Models Work

Management Today Magazine* contained an interview with Gary Hamel about his book ‘The Future of Management' and quoted him as saying: "What ultimately constrains the performance of your organisation is not its business model, nor its operational model, but its management model."

I couldn't agree more.

1. Leadership is the art of inspiring people to bring everything remarkable that they are, to everything they do.
   
   
2. Leadership falters badly without management.
   
   
3. Management is the science of making it easy for people to bring everything remarkable that they are, to everything they do.
   
   

Two reasons why most management models fail is that:

1. the leaders who decide the model are not inspiring, and
   
   
2. the management of the model makes it hard, instead of easy, for people to bring everything remarkable that they are, to everything they do.
   
   

The foremost reason as to why most management models fail however, is not these two. The big reason is ... being profit driven. Profit is not a reason for being in business; profit is a result of being good at business. Put people before profits and, paradoxically, you will make more money!

11 ways to put people first

1. Know the real reason you are in business (I repeat, it is not profit) and tell your story to anyone who will listen.
   
   
2. Only recruit and retain people who are aligned with this reason and can live in harmony with where you're going, why you're going there, and what you stand for.
   
   
3. Start appreciating people and stop appraising them. If appraisal is still part of your people performance system, I beg of you to get in touch with me or an expert you know and get help to forever remove this stain on human dignity.
   
   
4. Systemise helping people achieve what is important to them. Be genuine about this and you will see immediate productivity improvements. Warning: don't get attached to the productivity improvements! Simply be genuine about helping people, systemise how, and then get out of the way.
   
   
5. Immediately, if not sooner, make social responsibility and environmental sustainability integral to conducting your business.
   
   
6. Never create a strategy for anything without engaging all your stakeholders. Strategy should only ever be developed with the people who will execute it and therefore must be personalised by the people who will execute it. Most strategies fail to get executed simply because those entrusted with doing the work, don't own what needs to be done.
   
   
7. Make 'asking' instead of 'telling' your motto. Live this motto by focusing on asking many great questions and giving very few answers.
   
   
8. Never confuse problems with people.
   
   
9. Leadership and management are fundamentally about:
   
   
   1. Serving others;
      
      
   2. Taking care of our environment;
      
      
   3. Leaving a legacy our money can't buy.
      
      
Never forget this trinity.


10. Put people first at home. We have no right to the honour and privilege of leadership and management at work, if we are not servants in our own home first.
    
    
11. When people fail to achieve agreed goals, don't get hung up about it, or even worse, judgmental; just ask four questions:
    
    
    1. What happened?
       
       
    2. What do you need to do, to get back on track?
       
       
    3. Is there anything I can do to help you?
       
       
    4. Anything else?
       
    
    It doesn't take long for people to get it when we ask these questions without judgement. And, people soon get back on track, or they leave!
    

*United Kingdom, September 2007 edition

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