“My interest in the future is because I am going to spend the rest of my life there”
Charles Kettering

All action that you take must be predicated on the necessity not only to create an effective management relationship, but also to maintain it.

Thus, you need to consider alongside each other:

• The short-term. What will be the immediate impact of this? How will people respond? How will if affect the growing view people have of me as a manager? And will it do the job, get done whatever needs to be done and get it done effectively?

• The long-term. Does this set an unfortunate precedent? Is this an approach that makes sense long-term? Even if this causes upset now, will the logic of it be clear later or will it be promptly forgotten?

While matters of immediate urgency are, in a sense, a priority, always keep the long-term in mind.

Multiple Objectives:

Your job is to get things done – to achieve your objectives. Doing this demands that you win, and keep, the goodwill and support of your team. Therefore, get into the habit of considering:

• The effectiveness of your actions/decisions. Will they achieve the job that needs to be done?

• The way your actions/decisions will be perceived. How will other people react?

Sometimes the response is positive. People approve the decision and applaud you for the line you have taken. In this case you may want to maximise this effect. Sometimes you may feel that the response will be negative, in which case you may need to:

• Reconsider and select another way forward

• Take action, but explain why a particular approach is necessary

• Compensate for the negative reaction. Perhaps you need to do something: you explain it but know it will still rankle, so you find an opportunity to balance it in some way, making it clear that it was exceptional

Nothing Is Forever:

The environment in which you work is, no doubt, dynamic. Change is the order of the day. We may not know exactly what is coming but, during the course of your career as a manager, you can be sure that change will continue and that the pace of change will increase. Never forget this and help – and expect – your people to recognise it too.

As a manager you are effectively an agent for change. You must:

• Constantly review everything (including procedures, systems and policies) to anticipate what needs changing

• Involve your team in this position, both in identifying areas for change and in promoting ideas about how change should be made

• Always be open-minded, and create a culture of open-mindedness amongst your team

Challenging the status quo – asking why?  – and actively prompting change, is a key part of your remit. Keep ahead; managing today using yesterday’s methodology will never keep your team with you

Maintaining Credibility:

• If you act like a good manager, then people will believe you are a good manager. Many things already mentioned have influence here. In addition, bear in mind that:

• You are judged not by the number of times you fail, but by the number of your successes: keep an eye on the ratio

• You are more likely to succeed by sticking your neck out than by always playing it safe (through consideration and care are necessary)

• If you admit your mistakes, people will see that you are human and will help you avoid repeating them (and help themselves avoid making similar mistakes)

• You should never cut off your options until it is unavoidable: you may want the choice later

• You have to operate in a way that creates a persona that inspires respect and confidence: Your success can rub off on others

Build On Success:

The ongoing success of you and your operation involves a cycle of activity:

• Understanding the key things that can create success

• Fine-tuning and building in the experience of how things worked to improve what you do next

• Being conscious of how you do things as you do them

• Monitoring the results arsing from what you do

• Planning and acting in accordance with that

Never rest on your laurels: even the best performance can be improved

Copyright © 2008 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved

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