In an interview with The Smart Manager, John Knights, author of Leading Beyond The Ego said that adopting a style beyond the traditional is more suitable in a world of continuous transformation.* The hierarchical, managerial, male-dominated, and authoritarian leadership style of the 20th century has to undergo a drastic change as organizations are becoming more democratic, inclusive, employee-centric, and open to feedback from all ‘rungs of the ladder’.
How drastically times have changed. Most of us would believe that concepts like leadership do not change with time. But the reality could not be farther away from this belief. The scenario has changed significantly in the past few years, as today’s youngsters have different perceptions and attitudes towards work culture, and it will continue to evolve. To be operative in the ‘up-to-date’ workplace, entrepreneurs should understand how to grasp new leadership styles and how they can positively motivate their subordinates.
A great leader should have multiple leadership styles in her toolkit, and she should be adept at diagnosing situations and using the right style at the right time.
Traditionally, most organizations followed the autocratic system—the top management took all the decisions and the employees were hardly involved. Decisions are built based on the manager’s views and understanding, and they have complete control over the team.
However, today, workplaces are found to be more inclusive than authoritarian. It is a friendly atmosphere and there is a healthy bonding between managers and employees. Managers engage with employees, and there is a culture of weekend celebrations, organizing fun activities, and other platforms where employees can interact with each other. Many startups emerging these days are more accepting and goal-oriented than ever before, giving a free hand to the employees to use their creativity. Companies also organize meditation sessions for employees, which help them rejuvenate. Such initiatives go a long way towards achieving employee satisfaction and yield better results in terms of goal achievement. Such a culture was not prevalent traditionally, but is quite common today. The young generation is largely in favor of, and feels comfortable working in, such kind of work environment.
Esta historia es de la edición July - August 2018 de The Smart Manager.
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Esta historia es de la edición July - August 2018 de The Smart Manager.
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Building A Quality Culture
A strong company culture defined by its values, beliefs, and behaviors, has a profound impact on its products and services. More so in today’s VUCA world, where to stay relevant and maintain a competitive edge, it is critical for organizations to build a culture that focuses on quality. Suresh Lulla, author of Quality Fables, elucidates through significant examples how creating a culture of quality is imperative to driving success and productivity.
Customers For Life
The history of General Motors in India can be traced back to the 1920s, when it became the first automotive company to set up an assembly plant in the country. The relationship since then has not been as fruitful as GM would have hoped. GM’s flagship brand, Chevrolet, was introduced in India to build upon the success of the popular Opel marque. However, success has been fleeting at best—an issue that GM India is determined to rectify. It aims to do so by adopting a two-pronged approach: using customer feedback to influence product development, and delivering a superior sales-to-service experience.
The Digital Shift
… technology will radically disrupt HR in the near future. Indeed, it is already changing the way HR works and the role it plays and opening the door to a new type of “digital HR” function.1 The rise of digital and social media is changing the dynamics of HR and creating new ways of hiring, engaging, and retaining employees.
The Story Of Telling
“The best brands are built on great stories,”* this remark by Ian Rowden best captures the strategy of diligent brand building. Much more than attractive logos or the products themselves, what builds a brand is how successfully a story is woven around it. Brand marketers have to be good storytellers indeed.
Complexity Is Simpler Than You Think
Kay Kendall and Glenn Bodinson, authors of Leading the Malcolm Baldrige Way, shatter myths about excellence models such as Baldrige and EFQM.
Proponents of Isolation Never Become Victors
Multilateralism in the political and economic space has always led to frameworks that favor the mighty. WTO was no exception. With agriculture kept out of its purview, it could never become a truly fair and free trading system. China was the only large emerging economy that exploited relative openness in low-cost manufactured goods to take full advantage of the system. Other emerging economies could at best garner minor gains.
A History Lesson (From Year One) for Trump and the Brexit Crowd: Isolationism Has Never Worked!
Professor Stephane Garelli on growing isolationism.
A Win-Win Game
Business is not a sport where some stakeholder has to lose or fare badly for others to do well. Building an atmosphere of trust and transparency between all stakeholders will help companies retain them even during adverse times.
A Sustainable Model
With a total market value of $4.3 trillion and an employment base of at least 1.3 million direct employees and millions of others indirectly employed, platforms have become an important economic force.*Companies today are constantly looking for ways to build platforms—Infosys Ltd announced its plans of monetizing its platforms to make them a $2 billion business by March 2021. But are all platform businesses successful?
Custom Made
…three in four consumers said they receive too many emails from brands, and one-fifth said they could not handle the current volume…69 per cent have ‘unfollowed’ brands on social media, closed their accounts or cancelled subscriptions.*In these times, when the market is flooded with products and services, the most efficent way to engage customers is to offer them customized content. To achieve this, brands need to focus on observing the nuances of individual preferences.
