In the last issue of the Executive Desk, we briefly discussed management and leadership. This month we will explore why good leadership depends upon good management, and that both are necessary for success.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD MANAGERS GONE?
       Why is it that no one aspires to be a good manager these days? While good leaders are essential for galvanizing people and moving organizations forward, managers are not any less important. Managers have to get things done through others.The manager is supposed to plan, organize, coordinate, and control.
       Managers learn to juggle several issues at one time, often falling victim to fragmented communications and hasty decisions—this is the reality.The pressures of the job in the trenches can seem far away from any plan, control, or big picture issues of strategy and vision.What about innovation or thinking outside the box? They are addressed, but only after the fires are put out. At times, though, it may seem that those organizational fires run amok.
       The consequences of long-term intense pressure are fatigue and stress, with the potential for burnout. Managers can fall into the trap of constant busyness without purpose, which leads to fewer results.

MEASURING THE ACTIVITIES OF MANAGERS (INCLUDING EXECUTIVES)
       Effective management requires reflective, systematic planning. Managers work at an unrelenting pace and their activities are short, varied, and discontinuous.They are biased toward action and spend little time reflecting. In a Henry Mintzberg study, half the activities of executives lasted less than nine minutes. Executives meet a steady stream of callers and mail all day long. Many managers leave their doors open to encourage the free flow of information, which in turn encourages interruptions. There is little time for reflection or planning.
       Coach Syl Says: If you spend too much time being interrupted by e-mails and phone calls and spend less time on being reflective, then you need to take back some of your time. Book a recurring appointment on your calendar (either paper based or electronic) with someone who is very important to the success of your organization.That someone is you. Allocate 20-30 minutes at the beginning of each week to reflect and strategize before jumping into the week’s workload. Then, at the end of the week, book another 10 minutes to review. Ask yourself this crucial question, “Am I doing what’s most important?”

DO YOU HAVE A DELEGATION DEFICIT?
       Managers are privy to information that others do not have access to because of their authority and status. Managers show a bias for verbal interactions over written procedures, and many times hold processes in their heads.This means that it is often more expedient (in the short term) to go ahead and do something, rather than take the time to explain or train someone else.
       Managers process information, make decisions, and schedule tasks according to their judgment while relying on their intuition. Because of their preference for verbal interactions, many times their work processes remain locked inside their heads. It is no wonder it’s hard to delegate!
       The pressures on managers are increasing exponentially.

       “Plain old management is complicated and confusing. Be global, managers are told, and be local. Collaborate, and compete. Change, perpetually, and maintain order. Make the numbers while nurturing your people.”
       “How is anyone supposed to reconcile all this? The fact is, no one can.To be effective,managers need to face the juxtapositions in order to arrive at a deep integration of these seemingly contradictory concerns. That means they must focus not only on what they have to accomplish but also on how they have to think. Managers need various ‘mind-sets’.” — Henry Mintzberg, Harvard Business Review, 2003.
       Managers are constantly being told to delegate more, but most managers end up doing the work that could be completed more effectively or efficiently by others. Many times managers engage in routine duties to fill staff vacancies. Other times they deal with important or difficult customers to avoid losing an account. Sometimes they just cannot let go— they suffer from a delegation deficit.
       Coach Syl Says: Do you suspect that you have “delegation deficit disorder?” If you take on work that others could, or even should be doing, stop for a moment and ask yourself this question,“Is there an easier way to do this?”Whenever I coach executives who are overloaded, I ask them to keep a stack of 3x5" index cards on their desk.Then, for one week, they keep track of tasks/activities that steal time away from what they really should be doing. At the end of the week they review the cards and decide which tasks can be delegated to someone else.Try this yourself.

NURTURING MANAGEMENT SUCCESS
       Why is it that so many managers seem to understand the basics of motivating employees for organizational performance yet end up undermining performance? Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton studied this phenomenon for their book, The Knowing-Doing Gap. Knowing what to do is simply not enough; leaders must take action, the right action.
       James Kouzes, co-author of The Leadership Challenge with Barry Posner, describes the five best practices for getting extraordinary things done in organizations.
       1. Effective managers “challenge the process” to make sure it’s constantly improved.
       2.They “inspire a shared vision of the future” that followers deeply believe in and embrace with enthusiasm.
       3.They “enable others to act,” fostering collaboration and strengthening individual capacity to make a new vision a new reality.
       4.They “walk the talk” or “model the way,” setting an example by their own behaviors to show others how the organization can best stay true to its vision and values.
       5.They “encourage the heart” by recognizing individuals for their contributions and then celebrating the community of people who care passionately about the destiny of the enterprise.
       Technology, marketplace, and social changes have trained and developed today’s managers with an overwhelming choice of sophisticated resources. Most managers know more about how to collaborate, how to communicate, how to make decisions, and how to get stuff done than their predecessors ever did. But the majority of the tools, structures, and support they receive are still designed to ensure success of the corporation, not necessarily their own success.
       Companies that wish to retain top managers with the crucial skills and extraordinary talents so necessary to sustaining business results will have to look upon their managers as important resources — nurturing them accordingly.
       According to the Gallup Organization (www.gallup.com), nurturing good managers is even more crucial for building great companies, because a manager is looked upon as the single biggest factor for retaining employees.
       One of the best ways to nurture good people is to provide them with development opportunities through professional coaching. Having a coach is a good way to develop stronger managerial skills and build resilience in a manager.Those companies that provide coaching to their managers see results in performance, not only in the manager/ executive but also in the people who report upwards.
       An added benefit is that the manager/ executive learns how to enhance leadership skills and as a result, employees are happier.We all know what a happier employee means on the employee customer value chain. Higher levels of employee satisfaction lead to higher levels of employee retention, greater productivity, more satisfied customers, and greater revenues.
       Coach Syl Says: To learn more about Employee Retention and the Employee- Customer Value Chain, visit www.SageLeaders.com and request our White Paper,“Love ‘em or lose ‘em.” We reviewed some of the best practices in employee retention.

FROM EMPOWERING MANAGER TO SELF-MANAGING TEAMS
       A truly collaborative mind-set does not involve managing people so much as managing the relationships among people, teams, and projects across divisions and alliances. Getting into a truly collaborative mind-set means getting beyond empowerment. In fact, the word empowerment implies that the people who know the work best must somehow receive power from their managers to do it (remember the delegation deficit?).
       A collaborative mind-set means getting away from the heroic style of managing and moving into a more engaging style. It provides a way for people to manage themselves.
       Engaging managers listen more than they talk; they get out of their offices to interact with people, then they remain in these environments to figure things out. They foster collaboration among others.They are less controlling, allowing other people to be in greater control of their own work.
       Great managers do not force work to be completed. Rather, they help establish the structures, conditions, and attitudes by which work is done.This requires active collaboration.To be collaborative means to be on the inside, be involved, and distribute management beyond managers so that responsibility flows to whomever can take initiative and pull things together. This new style of managing is really about creating self-managing teams.

FROM MANAGER TO THE MANAGERIAL LEADER
       “Manage things... lead people.” – Admiral Grace Hopper
       If the old economy was about command and control, then the new econop35- my is about being a leader people want to follow. It is about having people follow you and still getting the work done.
       “There is a direct correlation between the way people view their managers and the way they perform. Strong leadership is imperative for shaping a group of people into a force that serves as a competitive business advantage.” Mark Stevens, author of Extreme Management.
       There’s an old saying that leadership is doing the right things; management is doing things right.
       So, should you manage or lead? Both.
       The difference between managing and leading is not black and white. They are both required for effective organizational growth.
       To maximize long-term success, strive to be both a good manager and a good leader. Integrate their functions into a blend of Managerial Leadership.
       Managerial Leadership demands a conscious balance between a calculated and logical focus on organizational processes (management) and the time for visioning, energizing employees, and demonstrating genuine concern for people (leadership).
       Nobody said it would be easy.Yet the payoff makes it all worthwhile if you know that you are making a difference and increasing the bottom line.
       “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do, something you want done because he wants to do it.”
       Dwight D. Eisenhower

       Syl Leduc, MEd, MPEC, is President of Sage Leadership Strategies, www.SageLeaders.com, a Phoenix-based consulting firm which delivers proven approaches for Performance Management, Leadership Development, and Employee Retention in long-term care, healthcare, and other fields. Syl has partnered with executives in the development of their leadership skills for the past 17 years. Her practical and pragmatic approach is a blend of graduate level psychology, advanced education in executive
coaching and leadership development, together with real-world experience as an executive in a start-up software company and as a consultant with a major consulting firm. In 2007, Syl was honored with the PRISM award for consulting/coaching the executive team of a non-profit organization: they increased their overall revenues by 53% by focusing on and executing their strategic plan.
       Visit www.SageLeaders.com and receive the White Paper on Employee Retention, “Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em.” To speak with Syl directly, call her at 800-509-6823 or send her an e-mail at, syl@sageleaders.com.