MANAGEMENT SKILLS
RECLAIMING LOST TIME
Why managers need to take control
BY Jayashantha Jayawardhana
If you ask most managers why they don’t perform as they should, they’ll provide you with a plethora of excuses. Their predictable litany of complaints will cite a lack of time, limited resources and little opportunity – and they will pin the blame on everyone except themselves!
In an illuminating article titled Reclaim Your Job in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), Dr. Sumantra Ghoshal and Dr. Heike Bruch assert: “What gets in the way of managers’ success is something much more personal – a deep uncertainty about acting according to their own best judgement.”
They continued: “Rather than doing what they really need to do to advance the company’s fortunes and their own careers, they spin their wheels doing what they presume everyone else wants them to do.”
After studying hundreds of managers in a variety of settings – including a global airline and large US oil company – they found that 90 percent of them wasted time and frittered away their productivity, despite having clearly defined projects, goals and the knowledge necessary to get their job done.
“Such managers remain trapped in inefficiency because they simply assume they don’t have enough personal discretion or control,” Ghoshal and Bruch note. Theyconsider the ability to seize the initiative as the most essential quality of a successful manager.
In most instances, the demands that managers perceive as givens are actually discretionary in nature. So long as they don’t grasp this, they keep whining about being too busy while their superiors lament that their managers lack initiative.
The writers explain that “the truly effective managers we have observed are purposeful, trust their own judgement and adopt long-term big picture views to fulfil personal goals that tally with those of the organisation as a whole.”
Truly effective managers break out of their perceived boxes; seize control of their jobs and become more productive by learning to manage demands – especially on their time and the resources in their charge; generate resources rather than resigning themselves to shoestring budgets and other constraints; and identify and exploit alternatives by cultivating strategic acumen and taking innovative approaches to a given situation.
So let’s explore how effective managers go about their specific roles in this disciplined approach…
Nearly everyone grumbles about not having enough time to cater to all the demands made on them but in truth, a highly fragmented day is also a very lazy day. Over time, unknown to themselves, many managers fall into the habit of fighting fires, which is much easier than setting priorities and sticking to them.
This way, they delude themselves that they’re being productive. The truth is that managers who carefully set boundaries and priorities accomplish far more than those who are busy – busy doing nothing. To beat this habit, managers must overcome the psychological desire to be indispensable.
In addition to complaining about the lack of time, many managers grumble about a shortage of employees, funds and equipment, and a surplus of rules and regulations. They feel compelled to make do with scant resources. While some grow frustrated and keep beating their heads against a brick wall to no avail, others simply give up.
But managers who craft long-term strategies – and pursue their goals slowly, steadily and strategically – will eventually win the backing they want. They persevere even when the odds of succeeding seem stacked against them.
When it comes to making decisions or embarking on initiatives, many managers tend to turn a blind eye to unexplored choices. They either fail to recognise that they have choices or don’t bother to exploit those they have. And because these managers don’t believe in their freedom to make decisions for themselves and act accordingly, they renounce their options.
By contrast, purposeful initiators build on their personal expertise, which confers confidence, a wider perspective of a particular arena and greater credibility. This in turn helps them acquire the ability to spot, grasp and fight for opportunities as they emerge.
The difference between managers who take the initiative and those who don’t becomes markedly evident during phases of major change when managerial work becomes relatively chaotic and unstructured.
Managers who are obsessed with conforming to the explicit or imagined expectations of others respond to this lack of structure by becoming disoriented and paralysed. Effective managers readily grasp the opportunity to expand the scope of their jobs and choices, and pursue ambitious goals.
The authors conclude: “Above all, effective managers with a bias for action aren’t managed by their jobs; rather, the reverse is true.”
