Can a person be a leader and a manager? Or, can a person be a leader or a manager, but not both?

One of the best-known sources advocating the leader or manager view is Abraham Zaleznik’s Harvard Business Review article “Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?” (1977). Zaleznik wrote that the difference between managers and leaders lies in the conceptions they hold, deep in their psyches, of chaos and order. He wrote, “Managers and leaders are very different kinds of people. They differ in motivation, in personal history, and how they think and act.”

More recently, Warren Bennis has done much to popularize the distinction between leadership and management. He wrote, “There is a profound difference between management and leadership. . .managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing.”

Another view (to which FlashPoint subscribes) is that a person can and should be both a leader and a manager. Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly volatile business environment.

According to John Kotter, management is about coping with complexity and leadership is about coping with change (1990). These two functions shape the activities of individuals who manage in today’s environment. As Peter Drucker wrote, “Organizations that exhibit a high spirit of performance are led by managers who are committed to doing the right thing [leadership] and to getting the right things done [management].”

Henry Mintzberg sums up the need for being a leader-manager by saying “I think people who lead without managing don’t know what is going on; just like people who manage without leading are very discouraging (Mintzberg, 2011).”

What do you think?

References

Drucker, Peter F. Management. Rev. ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

Bennis, Warren. Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader, 4th ed. New York: Basic Books, 2010.

Kotter, John. “What Leaders Really Do.” Harvard Business Review 68, no. 3 (May–June 1990); 103–11.

Mintzberg, Henry. “The Long View.” T+D 65, no. 1 (Jan. 2011): 68.

Zaleznik, Abraham. “Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?” Harvard Business Review 55, no. 3 (May–June 1977): 47–60.

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. He focuses his consulting in the areas of organizational performance, and leadership and management development.

Images: Suvro Datta and Pixomar

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“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.” – Louis Pasteur

I have known managers who were able to set solid performance goals and logical action plans, but struggled to consistently meet the goals they established. In my experience, this struggle can be lessened by applying the characteristics and principles of tenacious management.

Characteristics of Tenacious Managers

Tenacious managers are:

• Rigorous in supporting and holding team members accountable for meeting individual performance goals.
• Relentless in their pursuit of goal achievement (but always ethical).
• Stubborn in resisting setbacks.
• Tough in the face of adversity.
• Courageous in their willingness to deliver praise and corrective feedback.

Principles of Tenacious Management

Tenacious managers do the following:

• Identify three to five high impact SMART goals. Three to five goals are the ideal number on which peak performers can concentrate, according to most research.
• Establish clear performance expectations with staff (why, who, what, when, how).
• Train staff in the specific knowledge and skills required to meet SMART goals (tell them how to do it-show them how to do it-let them do it-provide feedback).
• Be tenaciously consistent in requiring staff to deliver the results they are paid to deliver and to do so within organizational policies and procedures.
• Provide timely, specific, direct (with respect) feedback on performance:
  • Provide training or coaching when a performance gap is due to a skill problem.
  • Immediately discipline when a performance gap is due to a will problem.
• Inspire staff to perform to their highest potential:
  • Lead by example.
  • Be genuine.
  • Know your people and make a real investment in each person’s growth and welfare.
  • Be an energizing force.

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. He focuses his consulting in the areas of organizational performance, and leadership and management development.

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I have the privilege of facilitating a dynamic human performance improvement peer group for the Central Indiana Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (CIASTD). We meet monthly to discuss the concepts and skills needed to practice strategic human resources in each of our organizations. In assessing our readiness to practice strategic human resources, we answered seven thought-provoking questions. I share them here (adapted from Roadmap to Strategic HR: Turning a Great Idea into a Business Reality, Ralph Christensen, 2006).

Answer these questions from your business partners’ perspective. Or, set up a meeting to have them answer the questions directly. Some of the answers may be painful. However, they will be invaluable for helping you identify the perceptions or skill/knowledge gaps that are hindering your practice of strategic human resources!

1. Do I discuss the details of human resources work in a way that relates directly to the issues of the business?
2. Do I provide meaningful leadership and direction to line management?
3. Do I have the detailed business knowledge that allows me to talk intelligently about the business issues? Do I understand the customers, the technology, the industry, the competitors, the channels, and so on?
4. Do I tie human resources initiatives to the bottom line well enough?
5. Do I use human resources jargon that doesn’t resonate with employees or management?
6. Do I bring enough to the strategic conversation or do I move too quickly to the details of execution?
7. Have I helped others at the business table understand either through concept or experiences why HR should be at the table?

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. He focuses his consulting in the areas of organizational development, and leadership and management development.

Image: Ambro

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Some years ago, while working for a Fortune 100 financial institution, I took over a large collections department. I had a passionate and talented supervisor working for me whose team was struggling to meet its goals. This individual enjoyed great success because his contagious passion, skill as a collector, and dedication to his team inspired his employees to excel. But then the economy turned sour. Business conditions, customer circumstances, and meeting goals became significantly more challenging. The supervisor’s response to these challenges was to pump up the passion to improve performance through sheer force of personality. It didn’t work. While his passion was admirable, it was not balanced by a strong set of fundamental management skills.

This is not an uncommon scenario. Many people promoted into management positions rely on their natural talent and passion for continued success. This works well until the going gets rough.

The great recession has changed the way business operates. Passion and talent are not enough anymore; strong business acumen and management skills are more critical now than ever before. Successful managers in today’s business environment will be those who can channel their passion into skilled execution.

The good news is that anyone willing to put in the sacrifice, time, and effort can become a skilled AND passionate manager. There is no mystery to the process, only hard work. Michelangelo stated, “If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all” (brainyquotes.com). Managers need to become students of business in general and students of their own businesses in particular. This involves becoming an avid reader, researcher, and practitioner of business fundamentals.

In the end, employees, customers, and organizations will benefit from Michelangelo managers who sacrifice in order to find the artful balance between passion and skill.

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. He focuses his consulting in the areas of organizational development, and leadership and management development.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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In part 1 of, The Secret to Gaining Competitive Advantage, we discussed ways organizations seek to create competitive advantage by optimizing employee performance and engagement. We determined that a fundamental contributor to employee performance/engagement is the work environment¹. I introduced a tool to help us identify the variables that influence the behavior of an employee and to help us diagnose any performance problem—The Human Performance System (HPS)². The HPS is comprised of the five components illustrated below.

In part 1 we examined potential input factors that can impact optimal performance and engagement. In this post I will share potential performer, output, consequences, and feedback factors.

To apply this to your organization, think about an employee who is underperforming. Ask yourself the questions below. Any “no” response indicates a potential problem that bears investigation.  

Performer Factors

• Has the required level of knowledge and skill for each position been identified?
• Is a systematic training program in place?
• Do employees have the willingness to perform (given the incentives available)?

 Consequence Components

• Are there sufficient positive consequences to perform (financial and non-financial)?
• Are incentives meaningful, administered fairly, and in proper relationship to the level of accomplishment?
• Are there any disincentives to perform (the employee is asked to complete the work of co-workers because he/she is more efficient)?

Feedback Components³

• Do managers provide feedback on a consistent, regular basis?
• Is manager feedback specific and performance-based?
• Do managers immediately praise employees for progress against goals?
• Do managers immediately re-direct employees when performance gaps are caused by a lack of competence?
• Do managers immediately reprimand employees when performance gaps are caused by a lack of personal commitment?

References 

1. Thomas F. Gilbert, Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance (San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2007). View this book on Amazon.com
2. Geary A. Rummler, Serious Performance Consulting According to Rummler (San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2007). View this book on Amazon.com
3. Ken Blanchard, Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations, rev. ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press, 2010). View this book on Amazon.com

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. He focuses his consulting in the areas of organizational development, and leadership and management development.

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Many of the books I am reading emphasize optimizing employee performance and engagement in order to create a competitive advantage. Ideas presented include providing employees with career development plans, designing engagement programs, offering flexible scheduling, etc. All of these play a role in optimizing performance/engagement. Based on my consulting and operations management experience, I recommend managers and human resource professionals also examine a fundamental contributor to employee performance/engagement—the work environment. 

The work environment has a significant influence on employee productivity and goal achievement¹. Goal achievement impacts an employee’s sense of accomplishment; a positive sense of accomplishment increases job satisfaction and engagement².  

Therefore, it is important to identify aspects of the work environment that can impact an employee’s ability to perform and engage. I recommend an excellent tool—the Human Performance System (HPS)³. The HPS describes the variables that influence the behavior of an employee and can be used to diagnose any performance problem. The HPS is comprised of the five components illustrated below.

In this post I will share potential input factors that can impact optimal performance and engagement. In part 2, I will share potential performer, output, consequence, and feedback factors.  

To apply this information to your organization, think about an employee who is underperforming. Ask yourself the questions below. Any “no” response indicates a potential problem that may need investigation.   

Input Factors

• Are competency models and job descriptions available?
• Does the job allow for the use of a variety of skills and abilities, for the freedom to make decisions, and is it considered important inside the organization?
• Are job outputs and standards linked to process requirements?
• Are job steps/tasks in a logical sequence?
• Have clear performance expectations been communicated (SMART Goals)?
• Are the necessary resources available?
• Have the right people been recruited, selected, and placed?

References

1. Thomas F. Gilbert, Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance (San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2007). View this book on Amazon.com
2. Ken Blanchard, Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations, rev. ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press, 2010). View this book on Amazon.com
3. Geary A. Rummler, Serious Performance Consulting According to Rummler (San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2007). View this book on Amazon.com

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. He focuses his consulting in the areas of organizational development, and leadership and management development.

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So far in our discussion of the ten fundamental principles for business success (see the February 14, 2011 post to review the ten principles), we have delved into the environment in which our businesses operate and the fundamental components of our business’ management systems.  Today we will discuss our organizations’ process systems. 

First, let’s define what we mean by process. A process has three components:

• A desired output
• An input that will be transformed into the desired output
• A system of work that accomplishes the transformation from input to output

Second, a good process will achieve a business result in a way that meets the following three criteria:

• Effective and efficient- A process is a way of organizing work so that the work can be effectively and efficiently performed.

• Effective management- A process is a way of organizing work so that it can be effectively managed. In other words, the work is organized so that management has the ability to plan and track performance and fix problems. The work must be organized so that managers have visibility into the process and some control over its performance.

• Competitive advantage- Processes should provide a competitive advantage. Ultimately, the difference between companies is in the hundreds of activities required to create, produce, sell, and deliver products and services. What separates one company from another is how each chooses to perform these activities (via processes). A company can perform these activities differently, perform them better, or perform them faster than competitors.

This should give us a good idea of the critical importance of strong process design and management in our organizations!   It tells us that:

• Organizations are only as good at delivering goods and services as their processes are
• Individuals ability to work, or improve work, is limited by the processes they work within
• A good performer cannot overcome poor, weak, or confused processes
• Automating processes (including information technology) is a waste of money if it is used to facilitate a poor process²

 Third, every organization is a giant processing system made up of many, many different processes.  Examples of processes include operations management processes, customer management processes, innovation processes, regulatory and social processes, support processes, and hundreds of sub-processes³.

And here is our big challenge- all of these processes must work together in order to ensure optimal performance (and competitiveness). Therefore, it is vital that we understand how each process in our organization operates. AND… we must understand how each process affects every other process in our business.  This means we must look at the performance of our processes as a whole; we must take a systems view of the giant processing system that makes up our business. ¹

Unfortunately, many managers and performance improvement practitioners do not have a detailed knowledge of their companies’ processes. This makes it very difficult to manage or improve performance or to meaningfully impact organizational results^1. When we do not take a holistic view and develop a deep understanding of our processes, our performance improvement efforts can actually cause more harm than good. Pulling any lever in the process system will have an effect on other parts of the organization. It is not uncommon to see a process fix in one area cause a problem in another because we failed to look at the whole system!

Successful performance of the organization requires us to constantly balance, adjust, and work to integrate all aspects of the organizations processes ⁴. Answering, without hesitation and in great detail, the questions below will help get us started on the path to effective process management and improvement.  Next time we will discuss how to gain a strong understanding of our organization’s technology systems.  

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. Bill focuses his consulting in the areas of strategic planning, organizational development, and leadership and management development.  

Process Questions¹²³⁴⁵

1. What are the key processes in your organization?
2. How does each key process support the organization’s structure?
3. How does each key process support the organization’s strategy?
4. How are key processes interrelated and aligned with each other to ensure optimal performance (efficient and effective)?
5. How do  key processes provide the organization with a competitive advantage?
6. What triggering events initiate each process (what causes the process to kick in)?
7. What are the results expected by the customer and other stakeholders for your key processes?
8. What are the main sub-processes (usually 5 +/-2) for each of the key processes?
9. What major variations or factors could cause a change to occur in the process (desired or undesired)?
10. What major internal and external departments or functions participate in the process (in other words, how must people work across functions to ensure the desired output is achieved?)
11. Who are the individual performers responsible for working each process and what are the main steps they carry out in each process?
12. How is each process supported by technology, equipment, forms, documents, or any other means?
13. How do you measure process performance and what are the key performance indicators for each process?
14. What quality management practices and measures are in place?
15. How are the processes currently performing?
16. How effectively are  key processes managed and who is responsible for managing each process?
17. What tools are used to measure process performance (Gantt charts, spreadsheets, reporting systems, Six Sigma tools, etc.)?
18. What process improvement methods and models are in place?

References

1. White Space Revisited (Rummler, Ramais, and Rummler, 2010, p.10)
2. Organizational Intelligence (Silber and Kearny, 2010, p.192)
3. Strategy Maps (Kaplan and Norton, 2004, pp.65-163)
4. Management- Revised Edition(Drucker, 2008, p. xviii)
5. Workflow Modeling(Sharp and McDermott, 2009, pp.137-138)

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 We are discussing ten fundamental principles for business success (see February 14, 2011 post to review the ten principles). If we put these principles into practice in a consistent, disciplined manner, we will realize steady and significant progress toward our business goals. Principle number one is to understand your business. In the March 2^nd post we discussed the importance of understanding the environment in which our business operates. Today we will focus on understanding the fundamental components of our business’ management system.

Let’s start out with three simple concepts about management to ensure we are on the same page:

Management is:

• The process of working with and through individuals and groups and other resources (such as equipment, capital, and technology) to accomplish organizational goals¹.

The fundamental insight underlying all management science is:

• That a business enterprise is a system of the highest order…and one thing characterizes all genuine systems: all the parts are interdependent.
• What matters in any system is the performance of the whole.
• Successful performance of the whole system requires managers to constantly balance, adjust, and work to integrate all aspects of the organization².

 The critical actions of management are:

• Alignment of the organization’s goals, strategies, and priorities with the reality of the external environment (see March 2^nd post).
• Setting expectations for all aspects of the business.
• Ensuring effective and efficient operation of internal processes and systems.
• Closing any gaps between performance expectations and actual performance.
• Supporting performers as they execute the assigned work³.

 Therefore, if we are to:

• Align our organization’s goals, strategies, and priorities.
• Balance, adjust, and integrate our business systems.
• Ensure the effective and efficient operation of our internal processes.
• Accomplish organizational goals…

We need to be able to answer, without hesitation and in great detail, the 16 questions below.  Remember, a very important concept that will guide our exploration of all ten principles is “questions are the answer”.  Answering these 16 questions will help deepen our knowledge and understanding of our organization’s management system.  

 After you read through the questions below, use a 5 point scale to rate your understanding of your business environment (1 signifies no knowledge, 5 signifies very knowledgeable). Then, start working on finding the answers you need! Next time we will discuss how to gain a strong understanding of our organization’s process systems.  

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. Bill focuses his consulting in the areas of strategic planning, organizational development, and leadership and management development.  

Flashpoint is committed to helping building strong organizations and helping client’s connect their business strategies to their people strategies. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Bill (317 735—3875) or Jeremy King (317-221-2617). We would love to learn more about you and your business.

References

1. Blanchard and Hersey, 2001, p.9, Management of Organizational Behavior- 8^th edition.
2. Drucker, 2008, p. xviii, Management- Revised Edition.
3. Rummler, Ramais, Wilkins, 2011, p.54, Rediscovering Value.

Questions to help you understand your business’ management system

1. What is your organization’s mission?
2. What is your organization’s vision?
3. What are your organization’s values?
4. What is your organization’s strategy and value proposition (low cost leader, product leader, complete customer solutions, etc.)?
5. What are your organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)?
6. What is your organization’s customer value proposition?
7. What is the profile(s) of your customer(s)?
8. What are the attributes of your products and services?
9. What is your corporate brand image?
10. What is your organization’s culture?
11. What is the availability of qualified leaders at all levels to mobilize your organization toward its strategy?
12. Are individual, team and departmental goals and incentives linked to attainment of strategic objectives?
13. Is knowledge with strategic potential shared throughout your organization?
14.  What are your organization’s performance goals (strategic objectives, measures, and targets)?
15. What initiatives and operating plans are in place for achieving your organization’s key performance goals?
16. What is your organization’s structure?

• Do people who do similar or closely related work typically report to the same manager or management group? 
• Do managers have a reasonable span of control?
• Is decision making authority placed at the lowest possible level?
• What are the locations and regions your organization operates in?
• What are the hours of operation for each location?
• What cross functional relationships and interdependencies exist across departments or business units?
• Are business and support unit goals and operations are aligned with your corporate vision/strategy?

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This is post number two in the series, For Success, Focus on the Fundamentals. Over the coming months, we will discuss ten fundamental principles for business success (see February 14^, 2011 post to review the ten principles). If we put these principles into practice in a consistent, disciplined manner, we will realize steady and significant progress toward our business goals. Principle number one understand our business. Today we will focus specifically on understanding the environment in which our business operates.

Before we dive into understanding our business environment, we need to cover a very important concept that will guide our exploration of all ten principles- “questions are the answer”. In every post, I will provide you with a list of questions to help you deepen your knowledge in the area we are discussing. It will be your job to find the answers. Finding the answers will take time, effort, and will-power. But remember, business leaders who search out the answers will generally be very successful. Those who do not will be marginally successful or fail.

Silber and Kearny write in their book, Organizational Intelligence (2010, p.44), “History is full of organizations that failed to understand their operating environment or simply failed to adapt to change in their environment. On the other hand, there have been many spectacular successes where organizations have spotted trends in their operating environment and capitalized on these.”

In today’s business world, the operating environment is global! Consider how to answer the questions below for each of the geographic regions your organization operates within. For example, question 1a asks how the threat of military invasion may impact your business operation. Certainly this is not a problem for your Chicago office; it is a very real consideration if you also have an office in Libya.  Question 3h asks about the core values of the predominant culture of a country. This question also applies to different regions within the United States. For instance, how employees are recruited, trained, and motivated may be different in India versus the United Kingdom, or in Manhattan, New York versus Port Saint Joe, Florida.

Remember- you must answer the questions in terms of how they impact your business!! This is not a current events quiz. While it is good to have a general knowledge of business and world affairs, you only get a bang for the buck when you apply your knowledge to helping your organization thrive within the environment(s) it operates within.

After you read through the questions below, use a 5 point scale to rate your understanding of your business environment (1 signifies no knowledge, 5 signifies very knowledgeable). Then, start working on finding the answers you need! Next time we will discuss how to gain a strong understanding of our organization’s management practices.

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. Bill focuses his consulting in the areas of strategic planning, organizational development, and leadership and management development.  

Flashpoint is committed to helping building strong organizations and helping client’s connect their business strategies to their people strategies. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Bill (317 735—3875) or Jeremy King (317-221-2617). We would love to learn more about you and your business.

Questions to help you understand the environment in which our business operates

1      What political conditions are affecting your organization?

• Risk of military invasion
• Government policies in the home country
• Intergovernmental relations and alliances
• Intra-country relations among different ethnic and religious and tribal groups
• Stability of governments and geographic regions
• Legislation that governs business and trade (GATT, WTO, Big 8 Summit, NAFTA, etc.)
• How the government enforces existing laws
• What nongovernmental groups lobby for laws that impact business
• The attitude of the government toward consumer lawsuits

 2.    What economic conditions are affecting your organization?

• Global and national economic conditions (inflation, recession)
• Type of economic system in the countries of operation
• Government intervention in the free market
• Comparative advantages of the host country
• Exchange rates, interest rates, inflation rates and the stability of the host country currency
• Efficiency of the financial markets
• Infrastructure quality
• Skill level of workforce, Labor costs, Unemployment rates,  Labor-management relations, Job market trends and Turnover trends, Recruitment trends and techniques
• Business cycle stage (prosperity, recession, recovery)
• Economic growth rate
• Capital availability
• Levels and distribution of wealth globally and nationally
• Rates of savings and debt among consumers
• Consumer spending patterns and discretionary income (individual, corporate, national, and global)

 3.     What social conditions are affecting your organization?

• Projected growth, now and projected, worldwide
• Age distribution (bookers, gen-x, gen-y, etc)
• Family structure (single parents, married, extended, grandparents living in house)
• Gender distribution
• Geographic distribution
• Education levels
• Ethnic and racial make-up
• Core values of the predominant culture of a country
• Core values of the subcultures in a country. How do they clash, and where is there common ground?

4.    What technology conditions are affecting your organization?

• The value of science in the culture
• Fields of science in which “hot breakthroughs” are being made
• The percentage of government and private money available for research and development
• Changes in products and services that incorporate technology
• The lifespan of any technology
• The regulation of technology
• The protection of technological innovation
• Technologies impact on product offering
• Impact on cost structure
• Impact on value chain structure
• Rate of technological diffusion

 5.    What environmental conditions are affecting your organization?

• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Solid waste produced
• Liquid waste discharged
• Energy consumption
• Recyclability
• Clean water consumption
• Overall environmental footprint

 6.    What legal conditions are affecting your organization??

• Antitrust laws
• Pricing regulations
• Taxation- tax rates and incentives
• Wage legislation- minimum wage and overtime
• Workweek
• Mandatory benefits
• Industrial safety regulations
• Product labeling requirements

 7.    What industry conditions are affecting your organization?

• Competition
• Supplier bargaining power
• Buyer bargaining power
• Threats of new competition
• Threat of substitutes

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This week alone, I have read a number of articles urging me to adopt the latest trends or methods in such areas as leadership ethics, production/performance systems, social media, cloud technology, and employee engagement. I believe staying current with business trends is important (as you will see later). However, in my twenty-four years of management and consulting experience, it is not the latest business trend or management method that helps business leaders achieve their goals.  Eighty-percent of success comes from a strong, consistent practice of business fundamentals.

 Billionaire Warren Buffet believes, if we want our businesses to succeed, we need to, “Focus on the fundamentals. Practice them with the ruthless discipline of a master.” Basketball great Michael Jordon agrees. “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” Focusing on the fundamentals is hard work. It takes a great deal of time, effort, concentration and will-power. But, business leaders who diligently execute the basics are very successful. Those who do not are marginally successful or fail.

 Over the next eleven months we will discuss ten fundamental business principles. If you put these principles into practice in a consistent, disciplined manner, you will realize steady and significant progress toward you business goals. The ten principles are:

1. Understand your business
2. Operate from a systems perspective
3. Recognize the priorities of key internal and external stakeholders
4. Employ a systematic and consistent performance improvement model
5. Proactively evaluate business opportunities
6. Target opportunities with the greatest potential for impacting organizational goal achievement
7. Implement pragmatic, results oriented programs and initiatives
8. Execute with excellence
9. Keep up with business  trends (in and outside of your industry)
10. Demonstrate courageous leadership

 We will explore each principle in detail. We will start with five essential factors we must understand about our business:

1. The environment our business operates within
2. The philosophy and strength of our management team
3. The primary and supporting processes of our business
4. The people who make up our business
5. The technology that enables both process and people

My post on February 27^th will discuss understanding our business environment. Until then, think about the ten principles. Are you practicing any of them? At what level and with what amount of skill are you practicing them?

Flashpoint consultants have deep experience and expertise in organizational, leadership, and management development. If you have any questions between now and February 27^th, please feel free to contact me (317 735—3875) or Jeremy King (317-221-2617). We would love to learn more about you and your business.

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. Bill focuses his consulting in the areas of organizational development, workflow and process improvement, training design and delivery, management and leadership development, and coaching.

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