Strategies for Building Effective Relationships - Assignment Example

Strategies for Building Effective Relationships Every company needs a participative leader to ensure that employees and management are able to strike the right balance and bring about productivity. Effective use of human capital happens only when the team management and leadership are able to understand the best practices that encourage and interest employees to perform their best. The present situation is one that requires certain amount of clear thinking in order to ensure that the downside that the company is seeing is turned into a great positive response. The Present Condition and Its Commonality No firm can realize its sales goals unless there is internal satisfaction inside the team (Kim, 2002, p.231). Therefore, in order to have a rebranding strategy and to see it succeed, the company needs an internal reboot, rather than just a mere brand make-over. My endeavor shall be to ensure that past records of rough behavior or disagreements are erased from the working memory of peer managers and sub-ordinates. A new project lead faces the brunt and dissatisfaction of employees left behind by the previous manager and my task would be to ensure that the interpersonal relationships amongst all these sections of the team are established. Here is a step by step process of how we would go about it. Why Do WE Need Any Change? Before we begin understanding how to go about rebuilding relationships within this company, it would be more important for us to understand why we need to do so. If the revenues on the already launched products have been going down over the past three years, then even before we plan a new launch, we need a rehash of ethical and management practices to bring back the unity and quality. Once all the employees of the company are on the same page, it becomes easy to plan a new launch and see it succeed, since every employee would collaborate and come up with ideas that the company benefits from. To check and correct product performance, we need to check the quality of products being released in the market, the audience niches targeted, and the market predictions. And to get all these things working, we need a great team. My Approach: Summary In my new position as a project manager in my uncle’s company, I am looking to follow a three step approach at reviving the company’s spirits and sales. Firstly, there needs to be a whole lot of interactive exercises which cross out behavioral differences and make the team players more transparent to the existing problems or notches in the working of the different sections of the company. Secondly, we need an ultra dynamic team that recognizes the risks, potentials, and vulnerabilities of the strategies decided henceforth. This team would include members from the supervising and the managing teams, and create the platform where views of all the members are given equal importance. Thirdly, we need to zoom in on the key points where production and management can be beefed up. The last approach focuses on optimizing technical procedures involved in processing and production and would require a great deal of optimization (Kim, 2002, p.234). The three procedures are strikingly different from each other and involve the use of different interpersonal skills. The entire model of action that I have shared here is a direct example of participative leadership in companies and groups. The procedures involved are focused on heightening the chances of employee satisfaction and warmth. If there are any new performance glitches, the proposition of correcting them becomes easy in the participative model since, the level of conviction and trust has already increased manifold number of times. Although, participative leadership is highly recommended in public companies and Government bodies, an ailing private company needs it most, when it realizes that the next managerial step can be realized only when the benefits of project are fully understood and driven by employees involved. Here is a sequential presentation of the participatory model of leadership that I propose amongst the members of my team. Peer managers are more than welcome to join the processes as this will only lead to better understanding amongst different teams. My Goals of Participatory Leadership Management Change Towards More Positivity: Most private company managers hit a point of saturation when it comes to churning new ideas and keeping the employee base motivated. When this happens, usually managers turn into a critical mode that calls to action more than necessary number of explanatory procedures from employees and sub-ordinates. This is where the very first seeds of discontent are planted in the employee base. When the management realizes this mistake, it automatically takes a positive control of things and brings in a change in its modus operandi (Kim, 2002, p.232). Therefore, the very first step in keeping the team together and focusing on the overall goals of the company, is met by the management’s change in attitude. This is crucial to the success of any plan proposed now on. Strategic Planning and Role Clarity: Keeping every employee involved in the processes on the plan is important. However, what is more important is to keep the employees vey informed of the individual roles and their individual contribution to the strategic plan. The management makes a start by itself defining and understanding the clear position of roles and developing a plan that the employees can understand quickly. The next stage is to make sure that through collaboration and active contribution, the employees are able to develop the same understanding and stick to their roles in plan. Effective Communication using Soft Skills: To keep the level of understanding transparent, every member of the team needs to use soft skills to keep the communication effective and short. Crisp communications require the employees and managers to be ultra clear in their concepts of the strategy and therefore, will lead to no loss of time and energy. It is more important to note that when the managers bring in effective communication within the team, the employees automatically fall in line. Therefore, critical discourses can stay behind and the management needs to focus on self-criticism more than just pointing out mistakes in the sub-ordinates. Better Listening Skills Practiced and Taught: When we need good teamwork, we need to be great listeners. A manager creates a better bond with his employees when he listens to them intently first and the makes his point. Even authoritative leaders do not miss out on listening intently for new ideas and scopes from within the team. It is a great way to make the employee feel confident of the manager’s support and understanding, drawing in their conviction and loyalty (Kim, 2002, p.235). The main aim of listening intently should be to understand the person’s viewpoint and keep the conversation focused on the main point. Whether a business performs well or not would depend greatly on how well the management and marketers have listened to the market and the employees. Improved Work Process: Often, the need for clarity and transparency, causes addition of extra steps in the work process, thereby making it slow and cumbersome. Whenever there is a slack in production or sales, the management needs to immediately cut-down of procedural extravaganzas and keep the work process optimized. Use of latest gadgets and applications, and heightened communication would definitely help bring down the slackness in production. Also, improved work process involves better employee retention and reduced absenteeism. Improved Understanding of Overall Expectations: Every employee needs to keep the eye on the main focus of the project. And in the process they must endeavor to improve their understanding of the overall expectations and use it to drive their performance. Outcomes Expected Through Participative Management Steady Increase in the Revenue of Products: With better predictive analysis from managers and employees, the team behind the production will be able to channel resources and human capital in directions that involve the use of better techniques and equipment. Since the changes and decisions are taken in collaboration with each other (Kim, 2002, p.237), both the management and employee base find common goals to bring any new strategy to completion and success. It is important to note here that although the best performances happen only when the correct combination of integrity and originality is present, the overall revenue generated from these products also increases gradually. Better Market Presence: With a great impact on the team’s performance, a company automatically enjoys better market presence and keeps the customers happy with its improved brand. Remember, old customers always come back for more when they see the company has revived its product line and orders. In the game of marketing, it is more important to maintain the market presence, and great team spirit and unity bring about that recognition for any brand. This company needs to revisit its old values and revive the initial taglines and refurbish them to the market, in an all new way. This will automatically prove to the market the creativity and originality of the brand, keeping it alive in the minds of critics and customers. My Role In Bringing This Change: To be able to bring in such a positive impact, my role begins from day one. I have to develop that instant rapport with my peers and not allow negativity to come amongst our major players. At no point can I allow friction to mar the performance of the company’s management. It is highly important to note that when dealing with the sub-ordinates, a cheerfulness at work and exceedingly happy demeanor will keep the team looking forward to interacting and dealing with their manager. Although there is absolutely no compromise intended in performance and strict guidelines (Kim, 2002, p.237), my role would also require that I make my sub-ordinates understand the significance of the guidelines and the need we have for them. Conclusion: A company is best revived when there is a positive attitude from the top to the lowest classes of the employees. When companies have gone through lull phases, the need to bring in effective communication techniques arises. Therefore, in my uncle’s company, I would propose to work in a fashion that heightens productivity and performance through effective communication and sustainable relationship between employees and the management. There is no doubt that every time the company is experiencing profit through such participatory management, the benefits flow out in abundance to employees and the management, since their contribution is recognized, and the employees understand whether or not they deserve it. So, right from the start I need to develop a clear understanding myself of the people I am working with, the work culture snaps that need to be rectified, and the project goals. Keeping these three factors in mind and bringing in effective strategies through collaboration with employees is where the strength of the company can be revived. References: Kim, S. (2002). Participative Management and Job Satisfaction: Lessons for Management Leadership, University of Nevada, retrieved on 27th June, 2014, from: http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/mark.wattier/kim2002.pdf Read More