Simitri Insights
THE CULTURE OF any organisation is essentially a combination of two key components - management and leadership. The style and principles adopted in these distinct areas shape how employees think and act. That affects how they prioritise and execute day-to-day responsibilities and how they behave in their dealings with internal and external contacts.
In our information-saturated age, business leaders “won’t be heard unless they’re telling stories,” says Nick Morgan, author of Power Cues. “Facts and figures and all the rational things that we think are important in the business world actually don’t stick in our minds at all,” he says.
SOMETIMES A LEADER must step in, take charge and call the shots. This directive style of management is vital when a crisis looms or the team shows signs of letting things drift. However, it is not always appropriate. If a strategic planning session has been called, it is more important to listen, stimulate discussion and ideas and give the participants a chance to shine. Directing people to be creative does not work.
To adopt the correct approach, a leader should remember three things when chairing a meeting – people are more committed to ideas and plans they help create; groups can make better decisions than individuals; and people willingly accept responsibility for decisions they have made. Meetings will have a positive atmosphere and enthusiastic attendance if they are guided by these principles. They will also be more likely to achieve results.
IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO. Half-way through the financial year, your boss asks you for an updated forecast of the year-end sales figures. You know exactly what has been booked to date, but now you have to identify what is in the pipeline to complete a projection for the next three months.
Two of your sales executives are close to finalising small deals, but they are already factored in, and you approach the third team member for news of the big account he has been working on.
