Every organization has problems. The root causes are people, sooner or later.and it's usually sooner.
It's been said that most organizations are over-managed and under-led. We agree.
You have a significant opportunity to move your organization to a higher level of effectiveness and efficiency by turning your managers into leader/managers. In other words, every manager must know not only the fundamentals of managing (doing things right
1), but also know the what, when, why, and how of leadership (doing the right things
2).
The vast majority and the essential members of your organization are knowledge workers. With few exceptions, knowledge workers
must be led, not managed. Furthermore, your critical resources are in your knowledge workers' heads. And they choose, everyday, whether to apply their knowledge and skills or to even show up.
They are asking themselves a key question, “What am I becoming as a result of being a member of this organization?” The answers must be, for them to remain highly committed, “I'm challenged. I'm learning. I'm becoming broader, deeper, and better.”
Ask yourself, “Are my knowledge workers learning how to be both better managers and better leaders?” The answer must be yes. You don't have a choice in the medium-term or, increasingly, even in the short-term.
You may find the work on management by Peter Drucker and the leadership research conducted by Kouzes and Posner
3 compelling, as we do. Their findings and our own years of broad, hands-on experience in numerous industries, companies, and functional areas combine to provide you with a variety of opportunities to significantly increase your leader/manager capabilities.
- Coaching individuals and teams
- Management skills assessments
- Leadership skills assessments
- Organization leadership practices assessments
- Transitioning to first-time manager
- Effective communication practices
- Increasing influencing skills
- Negotiating internally and externally
1 Managers focus on ensuring the right people and processes are in place to create and deliver your products on time, within budget, and with the right quality.
2 Leaders focus on seeking, identifying, and exploiting change to benefit current and future customers.
3 James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge, 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco, 2002.
