Monday 21 April 2014

[www.keralites.net] Weak Managers

 



 

Much has been written about the secrets of good management and few will argue that the best managers are inspired, visionary, dedicated, industrious, energetic, energizing and display integrity, leadership, common sense and courage. So where is it that managers commonly fail or falter and lose their precious foothold on the corporation's top rungs? The following, from the career experts at bayt.com, are ten of the most basic management traps and tips to avoid them: 


 

Weak managers set weak goals
As a manager your role is to get specific jobs completed by employees in the most optimal, efficient and innovative manner and in order to do that, you need to set clear objectives. Successful managers set SMART goals - goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. They are able to communicate these goals clearly, simply and concisely to their employees so that none are vague or uncertain about expectations. By all means reach for the stars in your objectives but to do so without supplying employees with the training, resources, flexibility and freedom they need to accomplish their goals and a schedule of regular supervision and feedback is to set them (and yourself) up for failure.

 

Weak managers micro-manage - effective leaders inspire
The days of command and control organizations are long over - today's managers recognize that in order to leverage their skills and maximize their team's output they need to adopt a flexible approach and 'lead' their teams to excellence rather than closely supervise, instruct and control them. The best leaders communicate to their employees a vision and ignite in them the fire, motivation and desire to work towards making this vision a reality. Good leaders unleash their employees to innovate and achieve optimal solutions by communicating top-level goals and objectives and a suggested blueprint for success then leaving the employees to determine how to get there most optimally while ensuring they have the aptitudes, training, resources and work environment necessary to achieve superior results. While a program of regular feedback and supervision is essential, managers should ensure that their management style is not repressive, meddling or overly overbearing. The golden rule is to communicate the 'what' and the 'why' of the work that needs to be done and leave the employees to determine the 'how' without burdening them with strict instruction manuals or prescribed rules and patterns that are largely redundant and inconducive to speed, creativity, progress and innovation.

 

Weak managers are afraid of hiring/cultivating strong leaders
Strong leaders/managers have the self-confidence to hire the best people, take them to new levels and cultivate in them all the qualities needed to make them in turn effective leaders of the future. Weak leaders replicate themselves in their hiring decisions and hire mediocre players, mistakenly believing that an employee with more skills, acumen or industry knowledge than themselves will ultimately undermine them or make them look bad. The best managers are characterized by an ability to stimulate their employees to superior performance and through coaching, training, feedback as well as by example, inspire in them all the qualities needed to make effective managers. A good manager helps employees achieve their full potential and constantly raises the bar so that employees never stop learning, innovating and growing. Coaching, training, career planning and programs for ongoing growth and development of key staff are high on the priority lists of the best managers.

 

Weak managers belittle their employees
Bosses who favour the archaic 'tough' management style where employees are singled out for public reprimand and negative feedback is plentiful while recognition and positive reinforcement are scarce will fail to win the loyalty, respect and commitment of their teams over the long run. Without an inspired, fired up, self-confident employee base these managers set themselves and their teams up for failure. Effective leaders by contrast, respect their employees and give them regular feedback with intelligent constructive criticism and loudly laud special accomplishments in both public and private, while communicating any negative feedback ONLY in private and focusing such criticism strictly on the job performance, not the person's character. Strong leaders recognize and reward a job well done. These leaders inspire their teams to perform at their best and are able to elicit from them a high degree of loyalty and a 'hunger' to raise the bar and continuously excel. In such organisations, employees are not afraid to challenge their boss's ideas or upset the status quo in the interest of innovation and excellence and are encouraged to take risks to elevate the business to a new level. The autocrats and bureaucrats on the other hand sap their employees' self-confidence, drive and energy with their overbearing management style and fail to induce in them any motivation to raise the bar or excel.

 

Weak managers have obsolete skills-strong leaders constantly reinvent themselves

In today's knowledge-driven economies and highly competitive environment, skills, training and education rapidly become obsolete and effective managers know that they must constantly re-educate themselves and update their skills to maintain an edge. While over-confident managers with an inertia to further education fall by the wayside, good managers regularly take an honest inventory of their skills and abilities and upgrade their technical knowledge and soft skills wherever appropriate. They encourage their teams to do likewise with sound career planning and performance appraisal programs and an emphasis on training and self-education.

 

Weak managers have poor communication skills
Good communication includes cultivating and maintaining open channels of communication with the team and others in the organisation, giving constructive, intelligent feedback, eliciting ideas through brainstorming sessions or otherwise, articulating the company vision and mission in no uncertain terms, setting clear objectives and listening attentively with an open-mind to employees grievances, suggestions and any other issues. Effective leaders have an open-door policy that welcomes input, suggestions and feedback from employees and recognize that good ideas and the next best idea/process/innovation can come from anywhere. Strong leaders listen; weak leaders talk. Strong leaders pay attention to their employees and encourage them to express professional opinions and ask for more responsibility; weak leaders think they are above such open-door policies. Employees who are not listened to and are not made to feel important or respected as professionals or individuals are unlikely to innovate or express any exciting new ideas that can move a company forward.

 

Weak managers blame
Everybody makes mistakes and strong leaders protect their good people from taking the fall when they err. Good bosses recognize that the occasional slip-ups are inevitable and can be learning opportunities and are ready to take personal responsibility when the team makes a misstep. A good boss realizes that his most promising employees want to succeed, will grow as a result of their mistakes and are unlikely to repeat the same mistakes. They do no set their people up as a negative example for the rest of the organization nor point fingers when the going gets tough. Good bosses are personably accountable for their actions as well as the actions of their subordinates and do not allow a culture of blame to permeate the organisation.

 

Weak managers take full credit for their team's accomplishments
While weak leaders usurp all the credit for a job well done by their teams, the strongest leaders will give the full credit to the team as a whole or the team member responsible for the project. Strong leaders motivate, energize and inspire by giving credit where credit is due and being generous with reward and recognition wherever appropriate. Strong leaders publicly thank their employees for a job well done and recognize that a motivated, successful, energized team will reflect directly on the boss.

 

Weak managers thrive on bureaucracy
Weak leaders are fond of, augment and live well with the layers and bureaucratic shackles that tie an organisation down; strong leaders remove them. Today's effective leaders recognize that in order to compete they must operate like a small company with a high level of speed, responsiveness and flexibility. They realize that to maintain their edge in today's marketplace their organization needs to be responsive to changing market conditions and remove the shackles, boundaries, layers, clutter and obsolete policies, procedures and routines that get in the way of the freedom and free flow of people, resources and ideas.

 

Weak managers are divorced from their teams
Effective managers genuinely care about their employees and take the time to get to know them and to understand their strengths, weaknesses, what makes them tick and their goals and ambitions. They also take the time to learn something about their personal life. While weak managers will maintain an outdated aloofness and a formal distance from their teams, exceptional managers are able to bring out the best in every employee and win their loyalty and respect by understanding their unique needs, motivations and abilities and showing the team that they are important and personally significant. Strong managers are team players and through their constant involvement with their teams communicate to them that they are there for them and supportive of them. Effective managers by building a supportive work environment, build a camaraderie and team spirit that enthuses and excites the team to new levels of performance.


 

Written by Sharon   


www.keralites.net

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[www.keralites.net] 10 Qualities of a Good Manager

 

RECENTLY I wrote about 10 qualities of a good employee, which prompted quite a few people to ask about the attributes of a good manager.
 
There isn't a magic formula for good management, of course, but if you're a manager, perhaps these tips will help you be more effective:
 
1
Choose a field thoughtfully. Make it one you enjoy. It's hard to be productive without enthusiasm. This is true whether you're a manager or employee;
 
2
Hire carefully. You need a strong team, because a mediocre team gives mediocre results, no matter how well managed it is. One mistake is holding on to somebody who doesn't measure up. It's easy to keep this person on the job because he's not terrible at what he does. But a good manager will replace him or move him to where he can succeed unambiguously;
 
3 Create a productive environment. This is a particular challenge because it requires different approaches depending on the context. Sometimes you maximise productivity by giving everybody his or her own office. Sometimes you achieve it by moving everybody into open space. Sometimes you use financial incentives to stimulate productivity. A combination of approaches is usually required. One element that almost always increases productivity is providing an information system that empowers employees.
When I was building Microsoft, I set out to create an environment where software developers could thrive. I wanted a company where engineers liked to work. I wanted to create a culture that encouraged them to work together, share ideas and remain motivated. If I hadn't been a software engineer myself, there's no way I could have achieved my goal;
 
4 Define success. Make it clear to your employees what constitutes success and how they should measure their achievements. Goals must be realistic. Project schedules, for example, must be set by the people who do the work. People will accept a "bottoms-up" deadline they helped set, but they'll be cynical about a schedule imposed from the top that doesn't map to reality. Unachievable goals undermine an organisation. At my company, in addition to regular team meetings and one-on-one sessions between managers and employees, we use mass gatherings periodically and E-mail routinely to communicate what we expect from employees. If a reviewer or customer chooses another company's product , we analyse the situation. We say to our people, "The next time around we've got to win. What's needed?" The answers to these questions help us define success;
 
5
To be a good manager, you have to like people and be good at communicating. This is hard to fake. If you don't enjoy interacting with people, it'll be hard to manage them well. You must have a wide range of personal contacts within your organisation. You need relationships - not necessarily personal friendships - with a fair number of people, including your own employees. You must encourage these people to tell you what's going on and give you feedback about what people are thinking about the company and your role in it;
 
6 Develop your people to do their jobs better than you can. Transfer your skills to them. This is an exciting goal, but it can be threatening to a manager who worries that he's training his replacement. If you're concerned, ask your boss: "If I develop somebody who can do my job super well, does the company have some other challenge for me or not?" Many smart managers like to see their employees increase their responsibilities because it frees the managers to tackle new or undone tasks. There's no shortage of jobs for good managers. The world has an infinite amount of work to be done;
 
7
Build morale. Make it clear there's plenty of goodwill to go around and that it's not just you or some hotshot manager who's going to look good if things go well. Give people a sense of the importance of what they're working on - its importance to the company, its importance to customers;
 
8
Take on projects yourself. You need to do more than communicate. The last thing people want is a boss who just doles out stuff. From time to time, prove you can be hands-on by taking on one of the less attractive tasks and using it as an example of how your employees should meet challenges;
 
9
Don't make the same decision twice. Spend the time and thought to make a solid decision the first time so that you don't revisit the issue unnecessarily. If you're too willing to reopen issues, it interferes not only with your execution but also with your motivation to make a decision in the first place. People hate indecisive leadership; However, that doesn't mean you have to decide everything the moment it comes to your attention. Nor that you can't ever reconsider a decision.
 
10 Let people know whom to please. Maybe it's you, maybe it's your boss, and maybe it's somebody who works for you. You're in trouble and risking paralysis in your organization when employees start saying to themselves: "Am I supposed to be making this person happy or this other person happy? They seem to have different priorities."
 
I don't pretend that these are the only 10 approaches a manager should keep in mind. There are lots of others. Just a month ago I encouraged leaders to demand bad news before good news from their employees. But these 10 ideas may help you manage well, and I hope they do.


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[www.keralites.net] ഏപ്രില്‍ 22 - ലോക ഭൌമ ദിനം

 


 

 
ഏപ്രില്‍ 22 ഇന്ന് ലോക ഭൌമ ദിനം 

സ്വപ്ന സുന്ദര ഭൂമിയില്‍ നാം എല്ലാം ജീവിക്കുന്നു എന്നതിനെ ഓര്‍മ്മപെടുതുന്ന ഒരു സുന്ദര ദിനം. 
പരിസ്ഥിതിയുടെ വെല്ലുവിളികളെ എങ്ങനെ അഭിമുഖീകരിക്കണം, അതിനെ എങ്ങനെ പരിഹരിക്കണം എന്നതിനെ പറ്റി ചിന്തിക്കാനുള്ള ഒരു ദിവസം കൂടിയാണിത്.നമ്മുടെ ഭൂമിയെ സംരക്ഷിക്കുക എന്നുള്ളത് എല്ലാ പൌരന്റെയും എല്ലാ രാജ്യത്തിന്‍റെയും ബ്രുഹുതായ ഉത്തരവാദിത്തം ആണ്.ഒന്ന് ചിന്തിക്കൂ, ഈ ഒരു ദിവസം മാത്രമാണോ നാം ഭൌമ ദിനമായി ആചരിക്കേണ്ടത്...?? അല്ല തീര്‍ച്ചയായും അല്ല, സത്യം പറഞ്ഞാല്‍ എല്ലാ ദിവസവും ഭൌമ ദിനമായി നാം കണക്കാക്കുകയും അതിനെ സംരക്ഷിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യേണ്ടത്.ഹരിതഗൃഹ വാതകങ്ങളുടെ ആധിക്യം ,പ്ലാസ്റ്റിക്കിന്റെ അമിത ഉപഭോഗം, മരം മുറി എന്നിവയാണ് ഭൂമിയെ അനാരോഗ്യവതിയാക്കുന്നത്. അര ഡിഗ്രി ചൂട് കൂടുമ്പോള്‍ കടലിലെ ജലനിരപ്പ് ഒരടിയോളം ഉയരും. തീരപ്രദേശങ്ങളെ വെള്ളത്ത്തിലാക്കാന്‍ ഇത് മതി.ഭൂമിയുടെ നിലനില്‍പ്പ്‌ നമ്മുടെതും കൂടിയാണെന്ന് ഭൌമ ദിനം ഒരിക്കല്‍ കൂടി നമ്മെ ഉണര്‍ത്തുന്നു.ഭൂമി അതിന്റെ ഭീകര മുഖം പുറത്തെടുത്താല്‍ മനുഷ്യന്‍ ഒന്നിനും കൊള്ളാത്ത നോക്കുകുത്തിയാകുമെന്നു മറക്കുന്നു. ജപ്പാനിലുണ്ടായ സുനാമി അതിന്റെ ഒരു ഉദാഹരണമാന്ണു. 

 

 
എല്ലാ ദിവസവും നമ്മുടെ ഭൂമിയെ സഹായിക്കാന്‍ ചെയ്യേണ്ട ചില കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ താഴെ കൊടുക്കുന്നു....

1 . നടന്നോ, സൈക്ലിലോ സ്കൂളിലോ, ജോലി സ്ഥലത്തോ പോകുക, ഇതു വാഹങ്ങള്‍ മൂലം ഉണ്ടാകുന്ന പരിസ്ഥിതി മലിനീകരണം തടയാന്‍ വളരെയേറെ സഹായിക്കുന്നു.
2 . വൃക്ഷങ്ങളും ചെടികളും നട്ടു വളര്‍ത്തുക. വൃക്ഷങ്ങളും ചെടികളും വായു ശുദ്ധി ആകാന്‍ സഹായിക്കുന്നു.
3 ചപ്പു ചവറുകള്‍ അതിനായി വെച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ചവിറ്റുകുട്ടയില്‍ തന്നെ ഇടുക, ഇതു പരിസരം മലിനമാകാതെ സഹായിക്കുന്നു..
4 . Recycle ..!! നമ്മുടെ മനോഹര ഭൂമി വൃത്തിയായി സൂക്ഷിക്കാന്‍ പറ്റിയ ഒരു പ്രധാന ഉപാധി ആണിത്...


നമുക്ക് ഒരേ ഒരു ഭൂമി മാത്രമേ ഉള്ളൂ, അതിനെ നമുക്ക് തന്നെ സംരക്ഷിക്കാം, 
അതിനുള്ള ഉത്തരവാദിത്തം നമുക്ക് തന്നെയാണ്...
എല്ലാവര്ക്കും ഹൃദയം നിറഞ്ഞ ഭൌമ ദിനാശംസകള്‍.....!!!

 

 
 Mukesh        

www.keralites.net

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[www.keralites.net] Happy Tuesday--

 

 

 

 

Fun & Info @ Keralites.net


 

Every Day Is A Good Day
 
Let me share with you a strategy I use 

To avoid being flooded with feelings of 
Gloom, depression and fear. 

Every day is a good day. 
But when I'm experiencing 
A day full of frustrations, 
I don't call it a bad day, 
I call it an "interesting" day.
This habit keeps me 
From being overwhelmed 
With negative emotions.

 

Why does this work?
 Repetitive thoughts 
And words create feelings.  
Those feelings create a positive or 
Negative behavior pattern. 

If I tell myself it's a bad day, 
I began to feel defeated and exhausted. 
If my day has one issue after another,  
If I tell myself it's an "interesting" day 
This keeps my open to gratitude, hope, solutions,
Resiliency,and sometimes even a sense of humor. 

I try to monitor my words when 
I'm feeling in a slump so I can avoid those 
"knot in your stomach - stressful - anxious - 
Sickening - I'm losing it" feelings.

I had one of those "interesting" days recently
And reminded myself to stop, 
Do some deep breathing and re-group.   

If you're having an "interesting" day, 
Let these words minister to you. 
Sometimes the children are screaming, 
The boss is irritating, 
The traffic is slow and 
The bill collectors won't go.  
 
Sometimes you feel strong and confident. 
Sometimes you're full of regrets and 
Wonder where all the time went. 
 
Sometimes you feel like you want to give up.
Sometimes you're too tired to move 
'cause you have so much to do. 
 
Sometimes you're lonely and 
Wonder if love will ever come. 
 
Sometimes you're glad to be alone 
To think your own thoughts. 
 
Sometimes life is easy and sometimes hard. 
 
Today be grateful that you've come this far. 
Breathe in peace, faith and hope.
 
All the answers...I do not know. 
But I'm here to say, count your blessings. 
Don't give up. 
You can make it.

Little miracles happen each day. 
Don't miss them because you're focusing 
On your pain, frustrations and fears. 
 
Constantly work on the five main things 
You need to live in peace and harmony


1) faith, 
2) family and friends, 
3) finances, 
4) good health
 And
5) your life purpose.
 

Without these in your life....
Life can drive you crazy.

 


 


YOUR SMILE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND._._._ .

 

MAKE IT SOME ONE ELSE'S TOO !


BE HAPPY,

 

 

IT'S ONE WAY OF BEING WISE,
 

Have Nice Day Be HAPPYFun & Info @ Keralites.net 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


www.keralites.net

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