” Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional.” ~ Mark Sanborn

IF you have been following the MBA Forum during our review of the Principles of Management you will quickly realise a few things. First, most managers think they are doing a good job at managing. Second, the reality is that, (and there is empirical evidence to show), that most managers do a terrible job. Finally, good management skills, though difficult, can be learnt.

Beck and Harter in their March 2014 article, Why Good Managers are so Rare, summarised extensive research carried out by Gallup, which concluded that the following five characteristics are typically found in great managers:

They motivate employees

They motivate every single employee to take action and engage them with a compelling mission and vision. OK, I admit this one is really tough. It is difficult to motivate every single employee because different people are motivated in different ways. So, who said good things are easy to achieve? It is good though to make sure that the vision and/or mission is a compelling one. It should be a rallying cry for the troops, and to which staff can identify with and relate to. Then there is the process of understanding what makes your staff members tick, so you can motivate them.

They have the assertiveness to drive outcomes

I like to put it this way, “They know how to get things done.” They have the “Can Do” attitude, and hardly use that three letter word that successful managers avoid — “BUT.”

Pioneers, scientists, inventors, and yes — managers, will not make much progress when they rely much on BUT. When “I think that is a good idea…” ends up with “BUT” then potentially innovative ideas, breakthroughs and “Eureka!” moments are dashed to pieces.

Assertiveness does not imply being brash, abrasive or arrogant. I am referring here to the tenacity to get things done, sometimes despite the fact that i) “it was never done like that here before” ii) “we tried it before ten years ago and it did not work” iii) “it cannot be done!”

Poor managers stop at any of these excuses. Thomas Edison, it is said, failed a thousand times before he got the light bulb right. Now that is tenacity! According to Beck and Harter, that shows “the ability to overcome adversity and resistance”.

I personally encountered a situation over two years ago which demonstrated that one need not retreat just because a situation is impossible. It may be impossible to you, but remember, back in the early 1900s, it was impossible (not to mention ludicrous!), to fly a heavier than air machine in the sky. Someone forgot to e-mail that to the Wright Brothers, who blissfully invented the aeroplane, not knowing that it was impossible!

They create a culture of

clear accountability

May I share a secret on the issue of accountability? In some forums (or should it be fora?… anyway), in some areas — instead of establishing and holding people accountable for performing a task without error, guess what is done? Incrementally, more and more people are added to make sure a task gets done. So one person does the task and two, three and sometimes four different people have to vet, verify and validate that the task was done properly.

The irony is that if you know anything about process management and human nature you will quickly realise two things. One — the person initially doing the task will do a shoddy job because he/she knows that so many others will be checking to make sure it was done right.

Secondly, the people at the end doing the checking will barely look at the finished product since so many people have already checked it!

Did you get it?! It means that after five people have been involved, the work is still shoddy! Did I make this up? No, I have seen it, and can give specific examples. So, how do you fix it? Make one person do it and hold that person accountable! Then you will immediately have four staff members to do other tasks … and there you were complaining that you need more staff to do the work!

They build relationships that

create trust, open dialogue, and

full transparency

Some managers cannot be trusted. Some tell lies on their staff, some side with factions against others — fostering open mutiny! Some people cannot depend on the manager to back them in a crunch, but knows that when things get dicey, they get thrown under the bus.

Managers should facilitate open dialogue — which includes that you should listen. By the way, this is one of the simplest, yet most difficult skills to master. Here is a test. If while “listening” to your employee you are fidgeting with your smartphone, responding to an e-mail, signing the last few documents, or you know your response immediately after he/she starts talking — then trust me — you are not listening! When listening, you should be able to also sense subtle changes in emotion, hear what is not being said, and read information that is not verbalised. Then you have started to listen!

They make decisions that are based on productivity, not politics

Remember, decision making is one of the key management roles, but many managers make decisions with the wrong motives.

This reminds me of a case that I use in one of my MBA classes, where a supplier is chosen because of the friendship with the manager, despite the warnings from the technical team who saw the coming disaster from a mile away. Suffice it so say, the manager pulled rank on his team, got the inferior item, and the company suffered.

In an earlier MBA Forum article I mentioned the possible far-reaching potency of managerial decisions. When these decisions are not based on advancing the purpose of the organisation, but are tainted by bias, politics, spite or irrationality, then disaster awaits.

Dr Kenroy Wedderburn, JP, is a part-time lecturer on the MBA programme at the University of Technology, Jamaica. Send your e-mails to drkwedderburn@gmail.com.