Management Musing v1.1

As everyone knows management is about getting things done through other people. Similarly most know that you can’t manage people, you manage process but you must lead people.

In leadership you start by creating followers in your groups. Then you help develop leaders. Most people have leadership skills. They are parents, involved with school groups or church groups, coach sports teams or lead scouts or girl guides. There is a lot of talent available. People are not problems needing solutions they all have talent in hiding that needs to be found and developed.

You won’t get anywhere without respecting other people.

In project management there are a couple of old fashioned truths. The first is “I can bully you to accept a deadline but I can’t force you to meet it.”  Second there is a lot of “publish the innocent and protect the guilty.” I would prefer that we use more of the “if it works it is yours – good work, if it fails it is mine.”

People need to trust management. People put their lives in the hands of their managers. They depend on them for their personal development, their income and their security. How do you stand up in face of this challenge? Management is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people. It is a serious responsibility to be taken very seriously. Your Company, your employees and your families depend on it. The time is now.