Valuable Advice from Leading Croatian Managers on How to Be a Successful Executive

Being a capable and respected manager is not a simple task. Such a position often implies, in addition to performing one’s own job, managing others, which sometimes involves making necessary ‘difficult’ decisions, making the job of a manager not seem very attractive. Reliable managers are of exceptional importance to any organization and for creating effective teams, therefore it is important for a manager to be aware of their full potential, as well as the areas and skills that need further development and refinement.

Many managers, directors, leaders, mentors, or even supervisors do their job well, but sometimes they make mistakes in their approach to their employees. Therefore, desirable managerial skills encompass a multitude of interpersonal and communication skills related to the development of emotional intelligence, critical thinking, teamwork, successful task delegation, and the ability to make quick yet effective decisions. All these skills can be practiced, and then the individual leadership style is built upon, allowing everyone to develop their abilities.

When someone first becomes a manager, it is usually because they were good at the job they were doing until then. However, as Alen Premužak MBA – a manager with 22 years of professional experience in leading regional companies points out, a large part of ‘younger managers’ make some typical mistakes, the most common of which are:

1. The promoted person remains focused on the part of the job they were doing until recently, neglecting the other aspects that are now part of their broader managerial environment.
2. Micromanagement instead of building trust.
3. Insufficient focus on team building and inadequate reliance on the team. Instead, the young manager often takes too much on their shoulders, forgetting that the first team is the most valuable source of learning for any manager.
4. Fear of making mistakes. Mistakes are an integral part of the job, and a manager who does everything to avoid mistakes will miss many opportunities.
5. Insufficient awareness of their own mental state and behavioral patterns.
6. They do not build their authentic leadership style but try to imitate someone else.
7. They try to change too many things too quickly. Before them, someone was in that position, doing the job to the best of their ability. If things are not as they think they should be, there may be a valid reason. It is necessary to assess the situation and analyze it, not to try to implement too many changes immediately at all costs. Where there is a fire – extinguish it, and the rest – wait until they are sure they understand the context.
8. Avoiding giving “negative” feedback. Feedback is the only way we can change someone’s perception and should never be avoided. It is important to learn how to give feedback.

As Dr. Veseljka Lovrić, a consultant in the field of human resource management, says, feedback is the key to learning about ourselves and the world around us. It helps us grow and generally become better and more successful managers – either by retaining and building upon what is good or by improving what can and should be different. When asked what feedback should be like, Lovrić emphasizes that it should be unambiguous, concrete, and directional – it should clearly indicate the direction of change or further learning. Only quality insight leads to real behavioral change. However, the process of creating insight can be difficult, uncomfortable, and even painful. Therefore, it can happen that we dismiss feedback as inaccurate or avoid giving it so as not to hurt the other person. Additionally, Lovrić advises that we learn to give feedback in an empathetic way, meaning that we respect the position and perspective of the other person and nurture a space for collaboration and support.

Behind all the aforementioned, it is unquestionable how important the optimization of interpersonal relationships is for managers, and in this regard, Dr. Davor Perkov, a consultant for a number of reputable economic organizations in Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia, primarily highlights the personal integrity of the manager. He believes that this is something that each of us can achieve by doing the right things, being honest in communication, and being credible (aligning one’s actions with words).

As an example, Perkov states: “If you want to be a true leader of your team, it would be advisable to adapt your style and pay attention to the abilities of team members, rather than expecting them to always adapt to you! The greatest gift you can give your colleagues is – your time!”

Regarding the need to adapt leadership styles, numerous studies are available, and when asked which style he recommends to young managers, Premužak responds: “There is no general answer; I would say it is about situational leadership. That is, the style adapts to the specific situation and the person you want to manage or motivate. For example, in a crisis situation, a coaching leadership style should certainly not be applied. Speed and decisiveness are needed then. However, a coaching leadership style is certainly desirable in a situation where some changes are being introduced and there is time to look at the bigger picture. Today, the world is changing too quickly, it has become very complex, and there is no longer one person who has all the answers. Such an environment certainly requires a different leadership style more focused on consensual decision-making, listening, involving others, and participatory.”

Dr. Jasminka Samardžija, a professor at RIT – Croatia and author of the book ‘Interviews with 100 Croatian Leaders on Life and Career Development’, interestingly emphasizes the need for a situational leadership style: “A crisis manager is constructive and characterized by decisive decision-making, effectiveness, and maturity. They laser-focus all their energy on the current situation. However, as the adrenaline rush weakens for the leader and team members, situational leadership becomes a necessity, and the flexibility of the manager and the entire organization becomes a matter of survival. Each team member is a person in their own right with their own needs and advantages. Recognize this because after realizing the unpredictability and impossibility of controlling the situation, frustration and insecurity arise, which can cause irrational and inappropriate reactions. To prevent the team from becoming tired, passive, and disappointed due to the weakening adrenaline rush, and to prevent crises from triggering basic emotional defense mechanisms such as denial or repression, the manager’s task is to strengthen unity and encourage interaction because the reduction of social contacts due to isolation is stressful. Listen to how your team members speak. Who needs support, and who can provide it? Ensure that every member of your team knows their task. While some are ready for a delegative approach, others may prefer a consultative or perhaps directive approach.”

Mirela Španjol, a business consultant specializing in training in rhetoric, communication, sales skills, and leadership, believes that there has never been a better time for leaders to adopt the principles of transformational leadership than now. In this regard, she emphasizes: “The time of uncertainty, facing new and unexpected situations and business conditions requires leaders to adopt new skills. Until now, high-tech companies, startups, and information companies were the ones that could only lead teams and employees in a new, creative, and innovative way. This exclusive right is no longer reserved just for them. Leaders of the ‘new normal’ can no longer rely on the experience of knowing how to do business as they have done until now. They must quickly and without much preparation jump into the role of transformational leader. A leader who is adaptable to the new situation, flexible in every sense, who can reconcile the fact that they do not know more than the people they lead, but who is still the one who must make decisions despite the unknowns, a leader who includes intuition and knows how to gain the trust of the team despite uncertainty. The time of authority, experts, and routine-driven jobs is behind us.”

Regardless of which leadership style is in question, the focus of the leader and the team should be on achieving common set goals, whereby leaders must be agile and flexible and continuously develop creativity and innovation in business processes. Today, managers are increasingly faced with the task of transforming the organization into an agile one. However, they should keep in mind some key prerequisites for agile working methods, and Romina Ivančić, sales director at Heineken Croatia, highlights the following as key:

• Organizational maturity. This means that on one hand, there is a culture suitable for adopting an agile mindset. On the other hand, processes and ways of working should be mature enough to ‘withstand’ the speed at which changes and results occur in such a working method.
• Managers should not only be familiar with the methodology and nature of this way of working and thinking but also be able to give teams autonomy and empower them.
• Agile organizations should foster an entrepreneurial spirit (autonomous decision-making at the team level with a clearly defined common vision and purpose), questioning the status quo (seeking answers to the question of why we do it this way and openness to changes brought by improvements), and flexibility in work (exploring new technologies and ways of working, learning from mistakes, and continuously improving visible work results).
• The best prerequisite that every agile organization has is trust!

However, regardless of which style the manager chooses, persuasion becomes almost a daily activity. In this regard, Španjol advises new managers:

1. Persuasiveness is based on several elements: knowledge, competencies, personality, and skills, and this is what needs to be worked on.
2. Everything that is a skill can be learned, and as advice to managers, she emphasizes:

• Learn to breathe correctly. You will deepen your voice, gain volume, and deeper voices attract the attention of listeners and sound more powerful, persuasive, and competent.
• Practice a moderate, pleasant speaking pace. If you speak too quickly, you will seem hasty, and the audience will soon lose interest. Speaking too slowly puts the audience to sleep. Record your speech. Speaking 120 – 140 words per minute is optimal. Learn to control any deviations you notice through practice.
• Don’t think about what to do with your hands. Before starting your performance, do not keep them crossed behind your back or relaxed at your sides, as this will make it harder for you to start gesturing naturally. Place them bent at the elbow at hip height, preferably holding a card as a reminder or a pointer if you have a PowerPoint presentation. From this position, you will start natural gesturing, which is good only if it aligns with the content of what you are saying.

In conclusion, it can be said that it is necessary to acquire a broader and integrated picture of all managerial skills through which one can effectively plan, organize, present, and lead a team and organization. As Samardžija herself emphasizes and advises, crises push leaders to the front lines, but do not linger there too long because it is necessary to talk about the future and give future directions to your team, as this strengthens the sense of control and trust that are of exceptional importance for business results. Those present, as well as future ones. The team leads the game, not the other way around. In this regard, all those who wish to work on developing the most important knowledge, skills, and competencies needed for an individual to become a successful manager have the opportunity to join the first generation of participants in Mirakul’s ‘Mini MBA – Leadership Skills – ONLINE’ program, which has gathered leading experts with rich teaching and managerial experience. Expand your overall managerial perspective, develop awareness of your leadership style, and effectively lead your team and organization!

And what do previous participants say about the Mini MBA program organized by Mirakul Educational Center?

 Zoran Škrobonja, Director of INA Maziva – Regarding the MINI MBA Academy, I can only say words of praise. The topics were excellently covered. The program leader, Ms. Jasminka Samardžija, took care of the quality of the lectures throughout and made sure that our lectures were as dynamic and attractive as possible. The lecturers were excellent and well-prepared for the lectures, as was their accompanying material. The group size was optimal, allowing everyone to be equally active. My rating is 5+ and I hope you will have more such interesting seminars in the future, which I would be very happy to join.

Tatjana Maček, Executive Director at Privredna banka Zagreb – I am immensely honored to have had the opportunity to attend the last module of the mini MBA, so this opportunity will likely result in my decision to attend the remaining modules next year, but that will be after the summer. Rating of lecturer knowledge: excellent (+) Content rating: excellent (+) Presentation skills rating: excellent (+). Mr. Premužak (which I publicly stated at the end of the lecture) is not only a pleasant surprise but to me, until now unknown, that a manager of such capacity led a public company in our market. Congratulations to you on choosing a partner! This is how all teachers, professors, and lecturers should look. I come from the financial sector and have quite a rich work experience, I have attended many business schools, international conferences, but I express every praise to you because you do not lag behind the international community at all, if you are not better!

Marijan Alfonso Sesar, Director of the Silver Rehabilitation Center – The experience of participating in the MINI MBA program contributed to my new knowledge in the field of management. The lectures were interesting and innovatively conceived with many practical examples. The participants were people from various spheres of social activity, which was useful for exchanging experiences and expanding the business social network of contacts. I would recommend the education to people in responsible positions as an essential part of further education regarding leadership and management.

Ana Vukelić, Executive Director at Pandent – The Mini MBA program is a short business module that I was looking for to escape from the daily grind of work without spending too much time. Small groups, lots of interaction, and interesting lecturers. The engagement of Jasminka Samardžija and the preparation for each is commendable. Also, the experiences of other lecturers and participants are the most valuable part of such education for me.

For more information about the leadership skills development program, read HERE.

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