1. Background
In a large truck and bus concession, the Director General pointed me in the distance, through the glass of his office on the other side of the bay, and said: “Do you see that town?
It has a total fleet of about 10,000 agricultural tractors in operation.
It would be a good business to establish maintenance and repair workshops there that could employ about 50 employees. ” We were in the coffee break on a management development course for the entire management team. He added:
“I have the ships, the brands, we know the technology, even many of the possible Clients and employees. But I lack the Manager to take over the business
Indeed, managerial capacity is what brings prosperity in a company or organization, be it a ministry, university, hospital or foundation, regardless of their initial degree of resources, wealth or poverty. And if that capacity doesn't exist, it ends sooner or later in bankruptcy (usually sooner), regardless of the abundance of resources.
More than 20 years ago I started working as a consultant in conducting managerial development.
I may have listened to around fifteen thousand brief presentations, but structured and prepared by different directors, on a multitude of topics: vision, strategy, differentiation, delegation, empowerment, teamwork, innovation, self-image, coaching, performance evaluation and a long etc.
The first great imbalance that I noticed was between the orientation towards money on the one hand and the orientation towards the person on the other. And the truth is that both aspects at the same time are essential in the company.
The benefit is the “expense that secures the future” (perhaps it should be better called that) on the one hand, and on the other, in a company only people are managed; strictly speaking, nobody runs a company, nor a factory, nor a process, nor a department. Therefore, the economic approach (represented in the drawing of the leadership model by 8 habits with the euro) and the approach towards the dignity of the person (represented by some people) are inalienable.
The second great imbalance that I observed, and which is also obvious, is between the need to have a stable organization on the one hand, and the need to have an organization that changes, innovates and improves, on the other. And also again both aspects at the same time are essential. Stability (represented by a triangle), so that people can feel rooted and own their own lives on the one hand, and on the other, every company is doomed to have to constantly increase its productivity (represented by the Olympic rings) to maintain a uniform profitability; the company that does not do so is subject to a real decapitalization process. If stability is total, the company will languish, but if everything is change, chaos is total.
Well, when three years ago I sat down to compile my experience in a book (“From Fear to Trust” Ed. Díaz de Santos), my intellectual jumble was excessive. As in most companies, it needed to simplify, do something simple and, above all, integrate the approach; close it; that's why I ended up in a leadership circle that in four quadrants raises
8 Key management habits, two per quadrant, as indicated in the figure. I maintain that this scheme puts the Client at the center of the scene, well develops the managerial capacity of any manager and responds to the real polyhedral problems that he faces.
2.- The 8 Habits, keys to Management Capacity
1. Habit of information
It is the habit to capture information, process it, make sense of it, enrich it, use it and distribute it among internal and / or external Clients so that both of us can do a better job.
The information may cover processes, technologies, markets, competitors, trends, situation reports, scorecards, etc. (Not to be confused with communication; information is the pure and simple tool).
2. Habit of strategic vision
It is the habit of managing the imagination. Articulates, enriches and redefines the vision of our company or department. He understands the network of concrete objectives that form his strategy and that are expressed in a way that provokes commitment, enthusiasm and enthusiasm; not simple participation. Therefore, here we specify where we are and where we should be; where we are going and what we are after.
3. Habit of results
It is the habit of wondering, in view of the vision, what results am I responsible for. To focus on what's important and opportunities; to set your own goals; and to evaluate my own performance. Without dedicating myself to pure activity, or doing a little of everything, or solving continuous problems.
It is the habit of organizing oneself.
4. Habit of the delegation
It is the habit of effectively organizing others, empowering them, reaching empowerment and holding them accountable. It means having well-established goals and having confidence in others.
Delegating is the habit of establishing a demanding relationship of trust.
5. Habit of learning
This is a double habit: first, it is that of improving one's knowledge to work better, since it becomes obsolete every 3 years, and, second, that of improving one's character, mentality, behavior, culture, communication; self-knowledge. Both continuous improvements are essential and surely ethically necessary.
6. Habit of communication - negotiation
It is the habit of constantly influencing others face to face, allowing yourself to be influenced by them to create a common vision. It is the habit through which Motivation flows, and that enriches everything. It requires personal contact, causing thoughts, feelings, good moods, great interpersonal sensitivity and harmonious relationships. Win win.
7. Team habit
It is the habit that properly functions all the various internal processes that fluidize the organization; overturns the fidelity of the department towards the team and the process; achieves greater commitment, integration and synergy, which enhances the intangible and productivity. Be careful, it is the habit of being willing to lose prominence.
8. Habit of innovation
A manager has this habit when both he and each and every one of his collaborators is introducing two to four innovations a year in his work, in such a way that they are committed to continuous improvement in productivity. Productivity, in the final analysis, is a matter of people rather than Technologies.
3.- The spirit that weaves the warp of each Habit
Even if only in a few cases, I see that it may be necessary to negotiate and agree on the meaning of certain words to understand each other. I propose here three definitions that I like:
Skill is the ability to put intelligence and knowledge into play to know how to do something.
Habit is the ability to bring into play the will and responsibility to want to do something.
Suppose a manager has a carrot and stick mentality. You are sent to a Management Skills course to develop, for example, how to motivate, work as a team, set goals and evaluate performance, etc. And suppose your carrot-and-stick mentality hasn't changed. All we have done is make him a worse manipulator. And this is frequent.
For me, habit implies having abilities (not the other way around). Therefore, we should correctly speak of Management Habits and not of Management Skills. That is, the HABIT implies: a) Having a spirit, and b) simultaneously with it, having skills, techniques and knowledge.
Mistakes in life are not made by lack of logic (which is usually enough), but by what we take for granted.
That spirit is beliefs or assumptions.
The potential of a person is given by his character, which is the product of his mentality for his knowledge. At the same time, in a company it is the product of its culture due to its strategy.
Well, the most critical factor of the two could be said almost universally is in the low degree of development of mentality or culture, or behavior, where the spiritual aspect is. Almost never the fault is that the “knowledge” factor is scarce (which is obviously also necessary). It is the leadership that generates the technology; technology does not generate leadership.
So here is our third definition still pending:
Leader is one who creates a state of consciousness in the group, which by increasing trust, communication and commitment, develops people and organization. And it is a matter of spirit. To a much lesser degree, culture (leadership) is a matter of skills or knowledge.
The beliefs and assumptions that are sometimes unconscious premises, are usually strongly rooted, because they have been consolidated over the years, without questioning them and taking them for valid and true. Today, the environment inoculates us with mediocre beliefs that we make our own without a logical and rigorous analysis. And then they totally mark us.
In fact, they determine our way of seeing things, our mentality, our way of being.
Let's look at:
- "The earth is the center of the universe." "The stars are divine in nature." "If you are not a shark, they eat you." "We have always done well like this." "The only important thing is the shareholders.
One already realizes the infinity of premises or beliefs that can be found in all fields of anthropology
Well, all this up to now has been the prologue to analyze the spirit that sometimes presides over, and that should preside over, each of our 8 Habits.
The right assumptions I have sometimes observed in effective managers who get real good results, and the wrong ones, which hinder effectiveness, are unfortunately more frequent. Next, in each of these 8 tables we list 5 significant assumptions in each habit, although there are many more.
I hope these beliefs are well understood, because they are compressed, and over-simplification could make them seem dogmatic.
4. Tables of the Managerial Spirit
Table of the 1st information habit.
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
| Knowledge Management is based on the amount of data provided by Information Technologies through the Intranet and the Internet. | Knowledge Management is based on 1st) that I reflect judiciously on the information I need to do my job well, 2nd) I look for and capture that information (which is not just data), 3rd) I think and reflect to turn it into knowledge and transmit it. |
| "I don't want other departments to know what we do." | I feel responsible for providing the other information of mine that they need to do their job well. |
| I have been working in this market for 25 years. I know my Clients perfectly. They are even my friends. | The knowledge of my Clients is insufficient by definition. I need to know them better and, above all, I need to meet new Clients. |
| "I have power to the extent that I accumulate or control information." | I have power as I educate others. And educating is supplying information. |
| The things that I shut up do not compromise or cause me problems | I am useful as I share information. Especially the greater my responsibility. |
Table of the 2nd habit of the strategic vision
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
| In the company, what matters is making money to satisfy the shareholder (increase the value of the share). | What matters is that shareholders, clients, employees, suppliers and society in general are satisfied. ALL at once. |
| The essence of the management role is in HR, Marketing, Finance and operations. | The essence of the managerial function is to define the ES, the MUST BE, and how to go from one to the other. |
| I manage to design a very good strategy that specifies Products, Services, Markets and Technologies. | I get a good enough strategy in the minds of many. |
| Each one has its own clear and consistent objectives. | It is worth neither my vision nor that of the other. A 3rd strategic vision common to all is required. |
| Our competitive advantage is in the Products, Organization and Technology. | Our competitive advantage is in people's behavior, which is not only cultural, but also strategic. |
Table of the 3rd habit of the results.
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
| What I have to do is detailed in my job description. It is obvious and obvious. | I often reflect on what I should focus on to make my best contribution, make a difference and make a genuine contribution. It is neither obvious nor obvious. |
| Here I am to work solving the continuous problems that appear. | I'm here to work taking advantage of opportunities and focusing on what's important, not what's urgent. I plan well and do not improvise. |
| I am here to constantly act moving a lot and at full speed, according to the course of events. | I am here to act intelligently setting my priorities, without being carried away by the usual events. |
| Success consists of achieving the objectives. To this end I am aware of the best practices and formulas of excellence. | Success is a state of mind that is self-perfecting (and therefore achieves goals). It supposes self-discipline. The pursuit of easy success is frequent and serious social deception. |
| Inevitably I have to do a little bit of everything. | I integrate all my functions so that they are not each on their own and do not believe dispersion, anguish and bad results. |
Table of the 4th habit of the delegation.
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
| I delegate responsibility, tasks and functions. I keep control. | I delegate authority. I give the collaborator freedom, I put myself in his hands and I become vulnerable. I build trust. |
| As boss, I have the plan well thought out and I direct the collaborator clearly telling him what to do | My collaborator is responsible, and (if he is trained) I only listen to him. He takes the lead in any conversation, sets his goals, says what resources he needs, self-evaluates, and gives himself the advice he needs. He is older and surely knows better than me. In any case, I may suggest something to you. |
| As a boss I am essential as a judge who administers justice and rules what is right and wrong (*) | My Collaborator is free to enter my office and tell me: "We are doing this wrong for this, this and this." I do not allow a collaborator to have a "subordinate mentality". |
| My scarce business resource, logically, is money, technology and knowledge. | My scarcest business resource is the Management Capacity of my Executives and Managers. |
| I do not allow mistakes. | I can allow mistakes. But never negative attitudes; This I do face personally, face to face and until the end. |
Table of the 5th habit of learning.
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
I don't need much more learning. I believe that:
|
In my learning, the first thing I need is to know myself: audit my bad habits, weak points, what things make me react badly and realize how my own behavior influences others. |
| "I am like this" (although sometimes I have to impose myself on others to rid them of their mistakes). | "I act like this", I question myself and develop more knowledge that will enhance my strengths. |
| Productivity is, above all, a matter of technology. | Productivity is, above all, a matter of learning. Whoever acquires knowledge creates a new job. |
| We are the ones who know the most and do not make mistakes. | I push myself and others to tasks so difficult that we have no choice but to make mistakes and learn. |
| I'm only interested in "very practical" training. Also in management habits and skills… but very practical !! and quickly. | I take care of education in virtues: punctuality, honesty, self-discipline, loyalty, truthfulness, integrity, decency,… whose learning is critical and the enemy of haste. |
Table of the 6th habit of communication / negotiation.
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
| "Don't tell me, I don't want to know."
"Come only with solutions!" |
"I am willing to listen and modify my own behavior, which is what communication requires." |
| "I said it very clearly!"
"I'll speak to you more slowly!" |
Communication is an imperfect phenomenon. I will understand before I am understood, so as not to build a Tower of Babel. |
| "This guy is an intruder. You don't see it like me! Don't build a team. ” | Where everyone thinks alike, no one thinks much. What does he see that I do not see and why? |
| I speak to my collaborator and he listens to me. It is important that you do things right. I demand responsibility. | My collaborator speaks to me and I listen to him. I create a deep common understanding. We hold each other accountable. |
| I am very sincere, I do not deceive anyone and I tell the truth. | I am always positive. Absolutely honest communication destroys the relationship. I am sincere and diplomatic at the same time. |
Table of the 7th habit of teamwork.
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
| In order to manage the work, above all, an aggressive, independent, energetic executive is required, as well as being a number 1. A “solitary ranger”. | To manage knowledge, it is necessary, above all, a Leader to transform a Management Committee into a Management Team. Nothing less! |
| "Not my problem. I do my own thing and whoever comes behind will do it. ” | How I see the problem is the problem. I put teamwork before my personal role. |
| Teamwork requires, above all, spontaneity, tolerance, consensus, creativity. | Teamwork requires responsibility, self-discipline, training and commitment to results. |
| When necessary, I practice the "divide and conquer" policy. | The "divide and conquer" destroys knowledge management. Unused knowledge is the second highest hidden cost. |
| The important thing is that each specialist does his job well, and that each one is his own. | Specialists must work as a team to do their job well. Horizontal (cultural) communication is what creates a team and "adds value" to the Client. The tremendous hidden costs of poor coordination come first. |
Table of the 8th habit of innovation.
|
Wrong Assumptions |
Adequate Assumptions |
| This way of doing things is correct. We have always done it this way, it works well and it is not convenient to change it. | Every company must be transforming into a different one. This requires constantly changing the way of doing things. (Cultural change). |
| A good innovator is someone creative, imaginative and with great ideas. | A good innovator is someone who works hot and who is responsible for achieving the application of an idea based on self-discipline. |
I am afraid of making a mistake, I freeze and say:
|
I screw up, I'm not afraid of making mistakes and I say:
When I hear something that contradicts what is "true", I reflect carefully. |
| I put my ideas on a pedestal. I'm pretty cool. | I wonder: who is crazier? The others or me? |
5. Consequences
A. There are beliefs in all aspects of life.
The mentality is a way of thinking and a way of feeling, supported by a whole set of beliefs or assumptions, which determines the way of seeing things, which in turn conditions behavior, which, whatever it may be, is always justified.
Anthropology studies beliefs in all the various aspects of a person's life, for example in science, technology, relationships, social, political, economic life, including suffering, destiny, and religion (*).
Here we have dealt with management beliefs (directives) in which the most typical aspects are business, psychological and ethical; all three at once. The beliefs in the operational aspects could be much more numerous and less important in principle.
B. Beliefs may not be made explicit or may be wrong.
Although beliefs are sometimes taken for granted, they are not made explicit, and it is frequent that the subject manifests the opposite of what is actually ingrained; I had a boss who always spoke to us about quality, but what he always observed and what was governed was the level of stocks and their financing, which, therefore, was what we all really oriented ourselves (the culture).
But the worst thing is having frequent and easy-to-have wrong beliefs, which is why smart and expert managers have made big mistakes. Because one "is sure" of wrong things. An individual, a company or a nation can be wrong.
C. Everything is linked
The set of shared beliefs in a company form its culture, which is the inducer of the strategy, policies, organization, behaviors, etc., which are induced. Change is only possible if ALL changes a little and a new equilibrium point is found.
For example, with a strongly individualistic business approach, it is absurd for someone to believe that one can move towards a teamwork approach only with teamwork courses. Now, first, if the director commits himself, and second, if the strategy, processes and policies are refocused, and, furthermore, some development courses are offered based on these structural bases, an important advance is achieved.
D. Culture is not innocent
Although sometimes it is about apologizing, the culture is not innocent. Each culture implies a degree of responsibility, leadership, commitment, a certain use of freedom and ethics by all employees. In a word, it implies a higher or lower degree of Management.
With a certain culture, one can solve problems or challenges that one cannot with another. In fact, the strategic opportunities focused are one or the other depending on what the culture is like.
E. Today, Culture and Strategy tend to get confused
In the past, in my time as a Financial Accounting professor when I worked as a business strategy consultant, I remember that one of the most typical strategic protection barriers for companies was their technology, expensive to acquire in every way.
Today, with the issue of globalization and market turmoil, that barrier is relatively cheap and has been drastically lowered, so people whose behavior is beginning to be strategic are beginning to appear.
Now, just as technology could be mastered and modified, people were not so much anymore. And the cultural problem begins to be serious, because in addition to being cultural it is strategic.
F. Cultural change
Indeed, today to direct a company is to direct a cultural change (a change in behavior, in the way of working). The future cannot be built with old assumptions, because the old would be repeated.
The more successful you have been in the past, the more beliefs are taxed and the more difficult is change and the future; therefore, the greatest danger originates precisely from the most successful situations.
The underlying problem is that a cultural change is radical, it is not evolutionary and it may seem absurd or excessive risk.
It is curious that many times you are unable to see what is in front of your eyes. One does not accept the tremendous implication of the obvious.
Cultural change requires great audacity and courage to challenge the evidence because everything must be rethought and started again. The manager is trapped in his own way of thinking. The evidence, on the other hand, is never enough until you are already one with the water around your neck; and even then it is not evident.
It can also happen that one realizes what should be done, but does not have what it takes.
6.- How to instill in practice the correct Management Spirit?
Given that in the final analysis Management Capacity is not only the scarcest resource, but also the only key to success, I am going to telegraph how it is acquired and how it is not acquired.
And I am going to say it with audacity and impudence, since he who thinks otherwise does not stop doing it.
First, I comment on a number of known course models:
a) Vroom's, which gave rise to a famous Kepner and Tragoe course, adequately addresses the subject from the point of view of participation in decision-making.
b) Blake and Mouton's, is the most basic, simple and still practical depending on how you approach it. Reddin's, somewhat similar, is especially interesting for management-style diagnostics.
c) Fiedler's is a fairly complete model but little operational in practice due to its theoretical complexity.
d) The shamrock of leadership directs towards three aspects simultaneously: the achievement of objectives, attention to the personal needs of each and the pride of belonging to the group; it's good for supervisors and team leaders; perhaps too simplistic for managers. It would be a good simplification of the 8 Habits model.
e) Covey's, necessary to know for his sharp psychological observations; However, it is not focused on managers but on everyone: a housewife, a student, a waiter. f) Finally, although in my opinion it does not work and is quite useless for practical purposes, I quote situational leadership, based on a profusely assembled partial theory, for its wide popularity.
Secondly, surprisingly and from what I have seen in my development work with postgraduate professionals, in the MBAs of Business Schools, at least until now, Management Skill is poorly developed. Topics of Human Resources Management, Marketing, Finance and economic aspects, operational issues, Project Management, etc., that are necessary to know, are extensively covered, but none of these aspects are Management or Management Capacity issues! Of course, there are relationships. As Fayol said well, the managerial functions are to Plan, Organize, Direct and Control; we talk about 8 Habits.
Nor do I believe, thirdly, that the development of Management Capacity can be achieved concretely only through coaching. Coaching is a powerful tool but in its place.
However, it is fashionable; and in the world of Management, fashion has more impact than in Haute Couture. That is why it is necessary to specify a little.
What is the best method of developing Management Capacity? I continue telling my experience: On average, I have achieved optimal results with various management teams and at different levels, following a 4-step scheme:
a) 1st Step:
Elaboration and tailor-made preparation of the entire process, understanding "a priori" the essential problem to be solved.
A merger of companies is not the same as the preparation of professionals to occupy a higher level position, than improving internal communication, working as a team following process manuals, promoting innovation and change, and tackling a problematic of great social responsibility, etc.
There can be cases with a truly complex and difficult situation, although the management team itself is always part of it.
b) 2nd Step: Development in group dynamics, “catharsis” said Aristotle, or sensitization process to overcome the defined problem. There is a collective questioning of what the managerial spirit is and should be in that situation.
There is an experiential improvement of mentality in each participant, which incorporates effective habits, one of which will be that each participant will act as a coach of himself (who is the best coach one can have) for 1, 2 or 3 years, as I have seen. This strong collective drive of each and every participant, which can be achieved in 30 or 40 hours with a maximum of 14 people, certainly cannot be achieved with personalized coaching.
c) 3rd Step. Intimately linked at the end of the previous phase, it consists of defining the style and diagnosis of each one with the help of specialized tests, with which the progress objectives of each participant can be very precisely defined.
d) Step 4. And finally it is when the celebration of a personalized coaching, already very oriented and defined, is necessary, being 2 or 3 sessions of two hours sufficient to guide each participant towards indelible improvement.
I have witnessed in many cases of spectacular developments proceeding rigorously and appropriately.
In general, this has included a return to the origins and propping up the elemental, which is where things fail.
(*) During the last triennium, my study plan has focused on the “anthropology of a leader”. And I would like to advise three useful books for any manager:
"Anthropology: a guide to existence", by Juan Manuel Burgos Velasco. Ed. Word.
"Foundations of Anthropology: an ideal of human excellence", by Ricardo Yepes. Ed. Eunsa, and "The man, spirit incarnate", by Ramón Lucas Lucas, Ed. Follow me.
