Management Paradox

Leading by example is more than a simple statement about how one should manage. It is a manager’s tool that should be utilized to build a dynamic organization that inherits the appropriate organizational culture.

Great or pathetic, the workforce behind a manager will follow his or her lead. They will adopt the same habits and reflect the manager’s disposition back to the organization.

Look around and see those departments or organizational units that work effectively together. Do they and their manager share the same expectations on schedules, workplace absences, organizational accountability, project management practices, and deadline urgencies? My guess is that they do. When managers hold their subordinates to a different standard than themselves it breeds resentment and frustration.

Leading by example does more than simply fosters team building, trust, dependability and communication. When everyone is treated to the same standard and expectations as the boss workplace efficiencies increase and communications are improved. Of course here we are assuming that the manager who is “leading by example” is a competent manager. A manager who is himself/herself reflective of the organizational culture and strategic initiatives.

Organizations deploy a variety of information technology and systems to increase productivity and efficiencies. We all, in our daily lives, touch various aspects of technology to do our work and run our lives. It is to our benefit, and the benefit of the organizations we work for (or own) to understand the systems that we use. We should know what we can and cannot do with these systems and how it impacts our ability to be productive. 

It may sound rudimentary but it isn’t the norm. Watch the work that goes on around you and throughout the organization(s) you work for. You will see that most people don’t know any more than the most basic of system functions. In your observations you may even recognize the “stars” of the company who seem ultra productive and can make their systems perform. Typically these people are not IT Department people, but people who have developed an understing the systems they use. They leverage these systems to their fullest potential to become more productive. These are typically the “go to” people in an organization if a system problem or question arises.

This raises two specific questions;

1. Shouldn’t everyone in the organization have this type of understanding about the systems and technology they use? 
2. If they did, how productive could the organization become?

I would like to challenge the business managers in an organization to take responsibility, and not simplyoversee the work being done, to understand their systems and their organizations dependence on them. This includes ensuring that their staff fully understands the systems they utilize, has access to the right training, and is encouraged to become more efficient through leveraging the systems they have access to.

I know from my own experiences that the managers that take this responsiblity for enhancing productivity in their organizations become more productive. The higher the manager is in the organization that takes on this responsibility the more productive the organization will become. There will be less end user error, wasted productive time, and better streamlined workflow.

It is impossible to know everything about your systems. The technical details need to be left to the specialists. What we are referring to here is to take personal responsibility for understanding the usage of the systems you use to create efficiencies. In a day and age where we can squeeze every drop out of our productivity, the irresponsible systems user who doesn’t know how to use the help button is a shining beacon of organizational time wasted and inefficiency.