Back to basics

Why good management is as relevant as ever

I keep up to date with current and emerging thinking in leadership and management by subscribing to newsletters and journals that provide a constant flow of ideas and commentary. Naturally, the publications tend to reflect the ever-changing conditions of the time, which means there’s an ebb and flow to the narrative.

Over the past couple of years, the dominant theme has been COVID—how to cope with it, survive it and then move on from it. Much of the writing has been about ways we can manage hybrid working environments, remote workers, worker wellbeing and flexible working hours.

While browsing the most recent batch of newsletters and journals, I struggled to find anything not directly connected to COVID. Not a surprise, but it did strike me that it’s important not to get drawn too far away from the basics of good management.

But what is good management? It’s generally recognised the classic functions of management are based on the work of French engineer Henri Fayol, who developed the following cores:[1]

• Planning. The setting of performance objectives and deciding how to achieve these.
• Organising. Arranging tasks, people and other resources to accomplish these objectives.
• Leading. Inspiring people to work hard to achieve high performance.
• Controlling. Measuring performance and taking action to ensure the desired results are achieved.[2]

As management thinking continued to evolve, especially through the 1970s to 1990s, academic Henry Mintzberg developed the concept of three overarching roles of managers: interpersonal; informational, and; decisional.[3]. Since Mintzberg developed these, it’s widely accepted a fourth role be added, that of manager as coach.[4]

The context in which we now find ourselves doesn’t mean we forget about the four management functions and roles. Instead, great managers will heed these cores and apply them to contextually, perhaps as follows:

• Planning. Long- and short-range planning should consider alternate scenarios and build contingency plans based on extensive employee involvement.
  
• Organising. The virtual world is a place we can inhabit and can accommodate our structures and processes if we adapt them.
• Leading. Demonstrate emotional intelligence and use your influence wisely and ethically. Share a vision with employees that provides positivity and hope.
• Controlling. The benefits of being open and sharing information more quickly and widely are obvious. Your employees are seeking more creativity in remuneration and benefits.

Important lessons from COVID have included the need for managers to develop and maintain positive relationships, especially in virtual remote or hybrid environments. The value of timely, clear and effective communication has been recognised, and great managers focus on this. Indecisive or autocratic management has been exposed as employees seek involvement in timely decisions that take a wholistic approach for the organisation. And great managers have embraced their role as coach by providing meaningful feedback to employees, creating learning environments and broadening perspectives.

We’re still finding our way in this “new normal,” but the foundational principals of good management are still as relevant as ever, and great managers never forget the basics.

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[1] Fayol, H. (1949), General and Industrial Management. Sir Isaac Pittman & Sons

[2] Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Factor, A., Woods, P., Simon, A., & McBarron, E. (2017). Management: Asia-Pacific edition (6th ed.). Milton, Qld: John Wiley and Sons Australia

[3] Mintzberg, H. (1998). Covert Leadership: Notes on Managing Professionals. Harvard Business Review November-December

[4] Ellinger, A., Bostrom, R. (1999) Managerial Coaching Behaviors in Learning Organizations. The Journal of Management Development 18 (9) pp 752-771