Why Management Matters: Moving from founder- first to a culture of empowerment
Why Management Matters: Moving from founder- first to a culture of empowerment
Why then are so many firms poorly managed?
“Generally, subjects did not know how their management behavior compared against accepted practices, or even with that of other firms in their sector”
What kind of a leader / manager are you?
Leadership Test: ‘moment of truth’... who’s got the monkey?
What does ‘empowering your people’ look like?
 | • Let people know they are responsible (and for what) • Make sure they understand the bigger ‘Why’ (make this meaningful for them) • Make them publically accountable (so everyone knows they are responsible for this) • Let people make mistakes • Make sure they fix their mistakes (not you) • Don’t jump in and take over at the first sign that it’s not going well • Involve them in the process • Celebrate their achievements!! |
Company Life Cycle – Different Leadership Needs
What companies struggle with people-wise as they scale
High employee turnover (up to 40%)
Overwhelmed, disengaged employees
Decision bottlenecks, inefficiencies everywhere
Lack of ownership and good problem-solving
Centralised leadershipScale-up requires a new type of leadership:
What empowering leaders need to do more of:
Underlying skills they’ll need to build the right culture:
 | • Cascading the story up & down & sideways • Tapping into different sources of meaning • Listening to the stories of others • Co-creating the story (let people ‘write their own’) |
 | • Listening as much as possible • Getting to know your people • Wanting to know what other people think / want • Interested to see what people will do; willing to let people try & fail |
 | • Understanding what motivates people & tapping into it Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose / Relatedness • Being self-aware and a good role-model • Creating an appreciative space & culture |
Leveraging different Leadership Styles – which needs emotional intelligence and flexibility:
Founder’s Syndrome – what to do with the founder?
“The founder creates the organizational culture, which is an extension of his or her style, personality, and preferences. From the get-go, employees, customers, and business partners identify start-ups with their founders, who take great pride in their founder-cum-CEO status.”
“The founder creates the organizational culture, which is an extension of his or her style, personality, and preferences. From the get-go, employees, customers, and business partners identify start-ups with their founders, who take great pride in their founder-cum-CEO status.”
What happens to founders?
• Year 3 – 50% of founders were no longer the CEO
• Year 4 – only 40% were still in the corner office
• Fewer than 25% led their companies’ initial public offerings
• 4 out of 5 who relinquished CEO position were forced to step aside
• Year 3 – 50% of founders were no longer the CEO
• Year 4 – only 40% were still in the corner office
• Fewer than 25% led their companies’ initial public offerings
• 4 out of 5 who relinquished CEO position were forced to step aside
Working with founders - giving them what they need
Q. What does a founder want / need to be happy?
Q. How do we view founders? How do they view us? Q. How do they react to us? How do we react to them?
Q. What does a founder want / need to be happy?
Q. How do we view founders? How do they view us? Q. How do they react to us? How do we react to them?
• Poor (if any) ROI – we need to measure impact, not completion/compliance
• Ineffective delivery – traditional lectures don’t lead to behaviour change
• Not practical – abstract concepts decoupled from real work, lacking useful tools that can immediately be used
• Missing when needed – lack of ‘just-in- time’ learning support
• Focused on the wrong things – need to focus on organisation/person habits
• Ineffective delivery – traditional lectures don’t lead to behaviour change
• Not practical – abstract concepts decoupled from real work, lacking useful tools that can immediately be used
• Missing when needed – lack of ‘just-in- time’ learning support
• Focused on the wrong things – need to focus on organisation/person habits
Training works when it aligns with how adults learn...
• By doing – give them real opportunities that they can really ‘own’
• From mistakes – let them make mistakes (and celebrate them)...
they’re some of the best learning opportunities
• From successes – give them the opportunity to get it right to feel what it’s like to do it well (and to feel the joy of success)
• Just-in-time – give people tools and support when they need it
• From peers – get people working with /learning from peers
• Teaching others – give people a chance to explain, coach or teach others
Personal habits
Practicing softer skills of managing self and getting things done through others
Practicing softer skills of managing self and getting things done through others
Organisational Habits
Taking practical steps to implement the fundamental, simple practices of good business
Taking practical steps to implement the fundamental, simple practices of good business
Release Date：2018-11-07 12:56
Share to：
Read more articles