Let’s imagine that I am the face of management guru. And let’s imagine that this is an ‘essayized’ PowerPoint presentation.
I am passionately speaking, almost singing how in tune I am with the story while simultaneously flipping through slides on the big screen, pacing left and right in an oversized conference room, waving my hands, using a laser to underline the important points… And yes, my tan has slightly darkened because I just returned from Bora Bora. In general, I am the face, that should already be clear.
I decided, namely, to ignore all important social, state, and other events such as tractor rallies or hail bombardments in a storm that the world has never seen (by the way, there are neither tractors nor hail in Bora Bora) and in the style of famous gurus who preach around the world for fat fees, to dispense wisdom. For nothing. I even returned early from Bora Bora for this, which is no small sacrifice.
Knowledge, experience, and passion – these are some basic prerequisites for successful management. Some ‘trivialities’ on which additional skills are carried.
Owner, director, CEO, sector director, team leader… whatever the title of that manager of processes and people, they must have experience, knowledge, and passion. To begin with. They must also be dedicated, creative, intuitive, brave… there’s more. They almost have to have ideal characteristics to be able to quickly and efficiently, as expected of them, digest the ‘stew’ that someone else has been cooking for years with negligence, laziness, and ignorance. In fact, it seems they must be everything – everything that the vast majority, when they hear or read, reacts with ‘Oh, come on…’ and further emphasizes with sarcasm tinged with a mocking voice. Because if one of the epithets is not more concrete and less funny, like ‘good cost cutter’, it is worthless.
One such that is worthless, I have recently heard multiple times – humanity, the skill of working with people. Not at all an insignificant factor that has seemingly vanished from economic discourse, which even the most stubborn still view today as a ‘disruptive’ factor in business. Humanity is increasingly mentioned from various mouths as an increasingly important characteristic of the ‘big boss’. Because a manager who must motivate people to work more for less, to work approximately as well with less as with more, must indeed be skilled and draw the best out of them. Not just anyone can do that. Those who are more skilled, more approachable and humane, socially intelligent, succeed in this without much effort. They probably figured out that a pat on the back, even without a full wallet, works wonders. They probably discovered much more, creating a good and satisfied team. That, with due respect, is not some heavy psychology. As one director says: ‘Managers who respect their employees and establish a connection with them on a human level often end up with an exceptionally motivated and loyal collective. Employees appreciate leaders who are humane and who do not hide behind their own authority.’ I sign off on that. It is true that a loyal one, who will not run off to a worse job just to escape, and a motivated collective will achieve the set goals. They will remain loyal. Of course, goals set on realistic foundations.
