5 Tips to Manage through Uncertainty

on February 14, 2013

Today many organisations are in a constant state of change. It’s difficult to avoid, and may come from the external environment as well as major internal structural upheaval. The problem faced by many managers, is how to lead their teams effectively when the future is uncertain. Overcoming the “don’t know so let’s worry” syndrome requires leadership. You see the symptoms. Staff members showing increasing signs of anxiety; the office talk is constantly about what people don’t know peppered with negative stories of what might happen. Left unchecked, this syndrome quickly spreads until it is endemic in proportion and you have a completely unproductive team on your hands or half your team has exited to more secure positions. Leaders address this syndrome in order to keep teams productive and people positive so that the business unit’s challenges now and in the future can be met, and […]

Breaking the X Cycle

on October 10, 2012

Becoming the Manager as Leader and Coach In the 1960’s a management theorist named Douglas McGregor split managers into two neat types: Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X types are the authoritarians, directive, closely monitoring employee performance and managing any process breaches rigidly. Theory Y types are the participative managers. They collaborate with employees to set goals and individual action plans, they focus on the future learning required in order to be effective rather than assessing past efforts and staff performance is managed by coaching against end goals. In certain organisations McGregor’s Theory X manager is arguably the type of boss that is needed. Where there is a need for strong command and control, such as in the Army, Police, Frontline Service Provision or Security organisations, this is generally seen to be an appropriate type of management style. It is often believed that in […]

5 Tips to Manage through Uncertainty

Breaking the X Cycle

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