Matrix management is dead? Nope – some people are dealing with two managers, as if one wasn’t enough. There are problems with that, of course, outlined here with a few solution ideas too.
Two new views on how to organize workers and give them more opportunities for independent thinking and innovation are summarized in two articles – and these ideas are beginning to change workplaces. Especially as more workers are working at home, the idea of having them operate as “responsible adults” (as one article says) is changing the work of managers. We hope they are listening.
Step Two in “Managing for Accomplishment” is Managing for Production: setting up the structures and agreements that establish (a) success metrics, (b) a workable performance network (you’ll learn what that is if you don’t already know) and (c) agreements for coordination and communication in that network. Without this, production is delayed due to missteps – the reason so many projects exceed their timelines.
I didn’t know what a micro-manager really was until I got one of my own. My sympathies to the oppressed. Most work – whether producing products, serving customers and/or delivering communications – requires thought and attention, and is best with an occasional dose of creativity and innovation. A micro-manager can quash all that by dictating every move. If you think you might be suppressing your people this way, have a talk with them to find out what changes they would like to see.
Managers are expected to have other people “produce results” as well as to “develop” them and their performance. Here’s an easy way to get both at once.
It’s time to stop the “leaders are special people” conversation and pay attention to what is actually happening throughout the hierarchy of organizations. Putting a halo on the people at the very top, or on people of certain “types” or “styles” is not useful. Management is necessary and valuable, and managers are worth hearing, honoring and supporting.
A compliment is always nice to receive. No matter what world it comes from.
Feedback comes in different flavors – appreciation is one of them. But all feedback, if it is respectful and useful, can be valuable.
Managers see their world of work in a very different way than staff members do. What does this tell us about how to improve Manager-Staff communication? The performance review is a good tool that can support a more effective Staff-Manager relationship.
We often make leadership sound like a lofty and desirable role, while making management sound useless and misdirected. Maybe we should think again.
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