Practitioner Skills for Managers - Essay Example

Practitioner Skills for Managers The case study on Chris Stefano is a common situation that occurs in organizations making the managers be in a dilemma. The manager, Chris is facing struggles with how to complete a project that is due yet his co-workers are reluctant to volunteer. The experience Chris is going through is one which often occurs. Attempting to get an individual to volunteer in doing a hectic but essential task is often quite difficult. However, the project needs to be completed and make sure that such problems do not occur in future. Thus, we must formulate a solution to the dilemma at hand. Managers need to use dilemmas like the one faced by Chris as learning experiences on how to come up with solutions to a similar problem in future. They can use their past experiences and knowledge to draw lessons to counter problems in a professional manner. The manager needs to be open- minded to new upcoming ideas and approach them with knowledge (Cadwell 2004). Communication Communication and talk are essential in defining a solution to the dilemma situation faced by Chris. In any practice, management involves talking with co-workers and assigning them roles to undertake. Conversations between managers and the junior staff are very vital whether it is being conveyed in a formal or informal way. The most important thing is for guidelines and instructions to be communicated well to employees of an organization. Failure to communicate well in advance can impede operations and undertake of tasks within an organization. There are many ways in which a manager like Chris Stefani can use. The style chosen must be taken to achieve best intentions. The communication should serve a purpose that is specific. In this case study, the communication should be towards dilemma solving. Effective communication will enable timely completion of projects. The manager should structure the discussion in a way that in aims at giving solutions that are goal oriented rather than emotional. In the meeting the organization to deliberate on the progress of the project, Chris was particularly emotional and temperamental. Effective communication enables the organization to take advantage of opportunities and to enhance the overall performance of the team. A manager needs to inspire performance through communication with co-workers. It should be able to nurture team expertise and skills and also have a fruitful outcome rather than conflicting. A communication between the manager and the staff ought to be able to ensure employees work in unison so as to come up with appropriate options. The manager should also facilitate the communication to ensure it is being focused on team effort implementation by informing on performance boosters strategies. A one on one interaction model should be adopted by managers because it enables instant feedback on voicing of opinions by both communicating parties. The manager should perfect in persuasive speeches while communicating per Monroe’s motivation sequence theory (Chan 2002). Meetings Like other managers, Chris Stefano must carry out constructive meetings with co-workers so as to address any crisis or problem that organizations face. Meeting of deadlines on projects, for example, can be attained through participation in regular meetings to iron out emerging issues that may come up. It will ensure workers are assigned appropriate tasks and are instructed on the strategies to use so as to meet deadlines. In most occasions, the managers always exercise control and authority towards co-workers in a meeting. The attitude will prevent honest, free opinions from the meeting participants. Meetings form a platform for consultation, properly conducted meetings increases motivation, productivity saves time enables problems at hand to be solved. Meetings help in eliminating or reducing conflicts. Meetings are useful since they are superior compared to phone calls because it allows capturing of finer details like facial expressions. Meetings should be properly planned to manage situations and teams. Effective meetings make employees more productive and happier hence they are supposed to be regularly conducted. In team building, brainstorming meetings are essential. It enables a consultative problem solving. Meetings might be in the form of workshops or seminars. The important thing is that they are useful towards project and goals planning. Chris as the manager while conducting a meeting ought to sharpen his skills in presentation and be able to delegate duties to other participants in the meeting. Decision-making and problem solving are vital in meetings that Chris will conduct. To, for example, to assign a project early enough to a team that is experienced enough to tackle the seriousness of the issue at hand that is meeting the deadline for the project implementation. In the meeting, the manager should encourage employees participating to participate constructively. Chris in this case study should be in a position to instruct, tell and make decisions that the team agrees with. His role in the meeting should be to provide the required leadership. Meetings are often expensive to organizations primarily outdoor seminars hence the need for them to be held correctly to achieve productivity. Finally, the meeting model should be able to have an agenda, and the attendees list must be reviewed. The clock must also manage the meeting; critical decisions and points must be considered. Most importantly the manager, in this case, must ensure he follows up on the deliberations in the meeting to ensure that they are implemented (Mina 2000). Negotiation Negotiations are quite essential in ensuring employees undertake tasks that they are willing to.It will hence make them more responsible for making sure the project assigned to them, for example, is being done successfully. Chris Stefano should instead of forcing tasks on employees negotiate a common ground with them. Individuals who are good negotiators can be more efficient managers of a project. In the conflict hourglass model, negotiation can be used to prevent conflicts from taking place. The model encourages the participants in a project, for example, in this case, to negotiate a common ground to solve the time limit they face in completing the project. Chris in this case study must be able to use negotiation to solve conflicts and resolve disputes between him and his co-workers who seem not to be on one page. He should possess negotiating skills to enable successful implementation of the project by negotiating with the co-workers on who will take up the project. Chris should engage in a negotiation with colleagues based on the model involving active listening, emotional control, verbal communication, collaborative and problem solving (Cohen 2002). Leadership To effectively overcomes the dilemma facing him, Chris should possess excellent leadership skills over his team and co-workers. Good leadership entails human qualities that are deep and not necessarily being authoritative. Today good leaders create a force that is enabling in helping projects of organizations to be implemented in time. Chris should adopt a serving concept in his leadership role. He should serve both the workers and the organization as a whole. Leaders accomplish objectives by influencing his team, according to process and trait of leadership theories. According to the process theory of leadership, one can acquire leadership skills and knowledge while on the other hand the trait leadership theory asserts that leadership is an inborn thing and not made. Thus, Chris should learn leadership skills if he is not a naturally born leader. To successfully overcome the dilemma he is in Chris must stick to the principles of leadership. The principles include: being technically proficient, take responsibility, set an example, keep workers informed, know oneself and seek personal improvement (Rotondo 2002). Team-Building According to the team building theory, team building involves activities done to motivate members of a team and, in the long run, improve the overall performance in organizations. Frank LaFasto asserts that that in team building five dynamics is essential for the success of the team as a whole. Chris can adopt The five dynamics in building his team so as to overcome the dilemma he is in is included. They include: building effective team members, team relationships, group problem solving, offering team leadership and creating a conducive organizational environment for his team. For Chris’s company to succeed, he must figure out ways to constitute a team that works harmoniously together. He can do so by understanding the individual strengths of members of the group, encourage team transparency, come up with ground rules, and provision of incentives. He must also make the team aware that he has their back and supports them fully (Minor 2005). Motivation In the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Chris can get tips on how to motivate his team to overcome the dilemma at hand and complete projects in time. Maslow believes that workers may not towards achieving self-realization without being driven by the needs. The theory outlined a strategy Chris can use to motivate his workforce by inspiring them to have the desire and drive driving them towards satisfaction of their needs. Maslow’s motivation theory charts the way forward on how. Chris, for example, can go along with the change in the needs of his employees. He as the manager can adapt to his employees changing wants and ensure he keeps them motivated. A model to be implemented to motivate the workers should ensure that the manager leads by example, be a coach who is proactive, create a working environment that is positive and build trust (Tracy 2013). Conflict management One of the causes of the dilemma Chris find himself in is; as a result the conflict between him and his co-workers who refuse to volunteer to undertake the said project. Below is a model that outlines the tips that will offer a solution to the existing conflict: 1. Defining the acceptable behaviour of the workers through creating a framework that will govern their conduct so as to minimize conflicts. 2. Hitting the arising conflicts head- on by seeking to establish the areas that are prone to elicit conflict among him and the employees. He should thus avoid these situations that cause of conflict with the workforce and finally 3. Viewing conflicts as an opportunity to gain lessons by making it a learning opportunity. Chris as a manager should be in a position to overcome a disagreement with his co-workers. He can be listening to their divergent opinions and beliefs and reason with them well (Thompson 2004). Conclusion A critical ability throughout today's business managers is the capacity to determine complex issues rapidly and efficiently. Managers face dilemma circumstance or choices with two opposing strengths, each with particular favourable conditions and disadvantages. They must have the necessary skills and strategies that reliably tap the greatest estimation of both forces after some time while minimizing the weaknesses of both. Difficulty in Management helps managers figure out how to distinguish, dissect, and skilfully deal with the dilemma issues confronting them at work. References Cadwell, C. (2004). Leadership skills for managers (4th ed.). New York: American Management Association. Campbell, G. (2009). Communications skills for project managers. New York: AMACOM. Chan, J. (2002). Communication skills for managers (5th ed.). New York: American Management Association. Cohen, S. (2002). Negotiating skills for managers. New York: McGraw-Hill. Ellis, C. (2005). Management skills for new managers. New York: American Management Association. Mina, E. (2000). The complete handbook of business meetings. New York: AMACOM. Minor, M. (2005). Coaching for development skills for managers and team leaders. Menlo Park, Calif.: Crisp Publications. Rotondo, J., & Rotondo, M. (2002). Presentation skills for managers. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Thompson, L. (2004). Making the team: A guide for managers (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Tracy, B. (2013). Motivation. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association. Read More