Getting the Most from Management Teams - Article Example

Getting the Most from Management Teams Article by William J. Holstein Source:www.businessweek.com Link: http www.businessweek.com/managing/content/may2008/ca20080530_775110.htm Fred Adair, a Boston-based partner at Heidrick & Struggles and co-author of a study involving 124 CEOs and more than 570 other top executives, is of the opinion that most of the CEOs and their teams require outside coaching services to overcome the gap in perception between CEOs and their team. According to Adair, there is a significant gap between CEO's perception andteam members'perception as whatis going on.Generally, CEOs and other members of the teamplace importance on the same thing: building a common culture, formulating strategy, solving problems, and leading change. However, the gap is mainly due to the reason that the CEOs have a far rosier view of the team performance than other members of the team. On the other hand, the team members are not able to be frank and outspoken due to their own inhibitions. It is common knowledge that good communication ishighly essential for effective leadership. A CEO has to understand how to make real conversation with his team members. But, creating a high-performance team is about a lot more than just communicating.Thoughtful CEOs realize the fact that the key contributor to overall effectiveness of the team is the team process and the right structure. Team process involves aspects such ashow the teamworks together, its decision-making patterns, how it manages conflict, andhow effective the team is in responding to changes in the environment. Structure includes the composition of the team, definition of roles, decision rights, and rewards that shape individual behavior in a team context. There is yet another important step every CEO needs to take. A CEO must analyze as to what he/she is good at when it comes to leading his/her team. What a CEO cannot do, he/she should get it done through others. For instance, a CEO who is not efficient in communication may seek outside help for the same. After all, a CEO is not promoted to such a position because he/she is an excellent coach, but due to other qualities such as achieving the desired business results, understanding external markets, being aggressive in introducing new products or expanding into new geographies. Seeking help from others may mean seeking help from consultants, may it be an external or internal consultant, but someone outside the team. Somebody who is not on the team is a great aid in making the team perform better because they have no stake in the content of any of the discussions and hence can view thingsfrom an impartial perspective. This article can mainly be related to the various steps involved in effective team building. These steps can be summarized as follows: Ensure the team goals are totally clear and completely understood by each team member. Ensure clarity in who is responsible for what and avoid overlapping authority. Build trust with team members by creating an atmosphere of honesty and openness. Recognize interpersonal issues early and deal with it in full. Ensure there are no blocked lines of communications and you and your people are kept fully informed. Involve the whole team in the decision making process. Not limit one to merely negative or positive aspects; practice fairness. Learning from George Washington's Leadership Reported by: Francesca Di Meglio Source: www.businessweek.com Link: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/apr2008/bs20080422_057896.htm George Washington was notonly the first US President, but also anexcellent leaderwith amodern style of leadership. Mark McNeilly, author of'George Washington and the Art of Business: The Leadership Principles of America's First Commander-in-Chief,' in his book examines Washington's career and also points out the qualities of Washington that made him such an outstanding leader. Washington had traits like self-discipline, strong character, physical and moral courage, persistence, and integrity. Washington also was highly innovative. For example, he looked for innovative ways to improve his farms. Washington was a people person. Though a president, he had the ability to speak straight with American people. But above all, the one outstanding quality that sets Washington apart is that he always put the country before himself. People could trust him to stand above the politics and always keep the interest of the country in mind. Washington really had a vision for where the U.S. could go and what it could become, and hebelieved inthe idea of moving beyond parties. Mark McNeilly opines that this isone unique quality of Washington that leaders of present day lack. Washington adopted a very modern approach when it came to leading his team. He was known among his peers to ask his top advisers for advice and suggestions on how to proceed. Then he would analyze the information and make the final decision. Washington also analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of his team to get them to perform to their greatest potential. He had to sort out who was capable and who was not and put them in positions that took advantage of their skills. Then he gave them the latitude to go off and do what they needed to do. Washington's style of leadership can be advantageously incorporated not only in today's political world, but also in the business world. Keeping in mind Washington's style of leadership, one can list out the following qualities as those required for effective leadership: Visionary outlook: One needs to have a vision in order to lead others towards it. Honesty and integrity: Theseare the most valuable assets of a leader in order to be trusted by others. Dedication: It means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. This is the quality through which a leader can lead by example. Openness: A leader needs to have an open mind towards new ideas that are provided by the team members. Assertiveness: It is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. The right amount of assertiveness can help a leaderachieve desired results. Creativity and innovation: This quality gives leaders the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new directions. The Art of Motivation Source: www.businessweek.com Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982075.htm This article probes into what keeps the employees of Nucor Corp. motivated. Nucor's performance has been nothing less than sensational. This can be largely attributed to the dedication shown by the highly motivated work force. Nucor's unusual pay system is the single most daring element of the company's model. An experienced steel worker at Nucor is guaranteed a much lower pay than the industry average. But there is a bonus tied to the production of defect-free steel by an employee's entire shift which can triple the average steelworker's take-home pay. Not only is good work rewarded, but bad work is penalized. Managers don't just ask workers to put a big chunk of their pay at risk. Their own take-home depends heavily on results as well. Department managers typically get a base pay that's 75% to 90% of the market average. But in a great year that same manager gets abonusbased on the return on assets. Executive pay is geared toward team building. The bonus of a plant manager, a department manager's boss, depends on the entire corporation's return on equity. So there's no glory in winning at your own plant if the others are failing. Compared with other U.S. companies, pay disparities are modest at Nucor. Where a typical CEO makes more than 400 times what a factory worker takes home, Nucor's chief executive collects a salary and bonus precisely 23 times that of his average steelworker. However, the aspect that motivates Nucor's employees is beyond the direct financial incentive involved. At Nucor the art of motivation is about an unblinking focus on the people on the front line of the business. It's about talking to them, listening to them, taking a risk on their ideas, and accepting occasional failure. It's a culture built in part with symbolic gestures. The employeesof thecompany don't see themselves as worker bees waiting for instructions from above. Nucor's flattened hierarchy and emphasis on pushing power to the front line lead its employees to adopt the mindset of owner-operators. Treating workers like owners has been one of the biggest forces of motivation at Nucor. Nucor's path is hard to follow. It requires managers to abandon the command-and-control model that has dominated American business for the better part of a century, trust their people, and do a much better job of sharing corporate wealth. However, one can learn the following tips of motivation from Nucor: (i) Build a solid foundation for employees so that they feel invested in the company. (ii) Treat them as an important and indispensable part of the company and not merely as employees who can be easily replaced. Nucor's flattened hierarchy system provides the employees a sense of ownership and belongingness. (iii) Ensurethe employees know that they are respected. Nucor's ability to take risks on its employees' ideas is advantageous to it in more than one way. It not only brings fresh ideas into the company, but also shows that it respects employees' ideas and contributions. (iv) Create a suitable incentive system. Employer Branding Article by: Lara Moroko and Mark D. Uncles Source: www.online.wsj.com Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123740504559375085.htmlmod=relevancy In the modern world, branding is not always linked toproducts and services. Companies have now begun to brand themselves as 'Employers' and not just as 'Companies' or 'Organizations'. The current economic slowdown,risingpressure to cut costs and increase productivityhas made the need to get the best people in the right jobs even more crucial. Companies are branding themselves as employers with the hope to attract good workers. When a company undertakes employer branding, the "product" it is selling is the employment experience it offers, and the "customers" of this product are current and prospective staff. Benefits, which may include tangibles such as pay and intangibles such as status and a sense of collegiality, are what back up the employer's brand in the marketplace. In order to brand itself as employer, the company aligns the brand with the company's business plan, meaning the brand is designed to attract and retain the kinds of workers the company needs most. The key to doing that is to borrow a tool from the product-marketing toolbox. Marketers have long divided consumers into groups based on things like their demographics, buying behavior and lifestyle, and then tailored product offerings and advertising messages specifically for them in the belief that it is more profitable to treat certain groups of people differently than to treat them all the same. This is known as segmentation, and it lies at the heart of brand marketing. Segmentation approach also applies in the context of the employee-employer relationship and can be used as a basis for employer branding. Profitability segmentation takes into account that buyers differ from each other in terms of the actual or potential profitability they bring to a company. Similarly, companies try to identify employee groups who have the skills, experience or knowledge that are critical to the areas of a business. This segmentation allows employers to devote more resources toward hiring and retainingprofit-driving employees. Employees can also be grouped according to the benefits they expect out of their career. Some employees want educational assistance and training, while others value opportunities for travel, and some are looking for flexible working hours. This segmentationwouldhelp attract and retain a high-qualitywork force that remains engaged, motivated and effectiveeven in industries known for high turnover. Job seeking employees don't make their decisions in vacuum. They often take the opinion of their family members, friends or colleagues for advice andapproval when choosing between employment offers or while applying for work. Therefore it becomes crucial for companies to reach out to these reference groups. Grouping employees according to their bargaining power is yet another segmentation. In employer branding, bargaining power refers to the power that certain employee groups have in negotiating the terms of their employment because of the rarity of their skills, level of seniority, relevant experience and qualifications. Richer benefits packages may be required to attract employees with greater bargaining power. Given that companies have limited resources to remunerate their staffs, understanding bargaining power helps them better prioritize where they spend their money. A variety of factors can influence the choice of employees. Choice barriers are the hiring and pay policies set up by employers to prevent people from entering or leaving a firm. Companies often segment employees according to education, experience and residency status in order to rule out candidates for certain job roles. On the flip side, things like delayed bonuses and lucrative retirement or retrenchment packages serve as "golden handcuffs," tying employees into a company when they might otherwise be tempted to seek new opportunities elsewhere. These five segmentation approaches help a company get the right employees to join and stay. There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that for many companies, employer branding has become a critical management tool and also a strategic driver of profit. Bibliography Holstein William. "Getting the Most from Management Teams". 30 May 2008. www.businessweek.com. 17 April 2009. "Learning from George Washington's Leadership". 22 April 2008. www.businessweek.com. 17 April 2009. "The Art of Motivation". 1 May 2006. www.businessweek.com. 17 April 2009. < http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982075.htm> Moroko, Lara and Uncles Mark. "Employer Branding". 23 March 2009. www.online.wsj.com. 17 April 2009. Read More