I was in a reflective mood recently and was saying to myself that I am sure that all managers on this island would agree that it’s only when we get older and more mature that we realize how difficult it is to manage people. In the days gone by, when I was still young and full of innocence, naivety and arrogance, managing to me was a simple matter: with so many strategies, techniques, methods, tools available, su-rely it couldn’t be much more than choosing the appropriate one and applying it systematically? As I got older, and the older I still get, I realize that managing others is a lot more complicated – to say the least! There is never a straightforward, off-the-shelf solution, strategy, technique or tool that works – it’s all grey, tentative and ‘perhaps-based’. The world of managing is full of contradictions, inconsistencies and conflicting demands.

For example, how do you set up a compelling vision that will focus everyone’s attention and energies and, at the same time, ensure that you do not loose sight of the day-to-day exigencies? Where do you draw the line between running the risk of being perceived as an autocrat and allowing mediocrity to take over? How do you act assertively and decisively and at the same time, ensure that you remain sensitive and empathetic? How do you assist these employees who are struggling with their jobs and need your assistance and at the same time, focus on your high performers – those employees who contribute directly to your bottom line? How do you coach a subordinate (which by itself implies getting close to him or her) and at the same time, maintain sufficient distance between the two of you so that you do not loose your subjectivity?

I met recently with a General Manager who empathized with my views: “What do you do when you discover that your Marketing Executive has entrusted one of his subordinates with an important customer feedback project but has since not followed it up? If you stamp your feet, bang on the desk or scream your head off, you’ll be accused of being a derailed tyrant. If you confront him quietly but assertively, he’ll think that you are checking on him. If you ignore it and pretend it never happened, you’ll keep duplicating efforts and wasting precious company resources. If you intellectualize it and disguise it under labels such as “Delegation”, “Empowerment”, “Innovation” and “Experimentation”, then you’ll be lying to yourself. So what do I do?”

Each and every person we manage has his or her own hidden agenda, needs, wants or values. For him, it might be the need for power; for her, the need for recognition. For him, it might be the importance of operating autonomously and for her, the knowledge that her job makes the world a better place. There are no universal strategies, techniques, methods, or tools that work systematically and in all cases. Contrary to what many of the management philosophers and practitioners would like us to believe, it all depends very much on what particular combination will be present at a particular point in time. The best we can hope for is that if it works or doesn’t work, we’ll be able to learn from it all so that we are more ready the next time round.

<B>Prof. E. Charoux

[email protected]</B>