Blog under New Management

Not really, but I am a friend of the author and I was invited to add a post.

I've managed sales and support teams and the number one thing I can say is be true to your ideals. There are many things that are worth compromising in this world, but ideals should never be one of them. I'll give you my version:

My highest value is that the people under me are worth more than gold. They do the work assigned to my team and report up to me what is happening so we can adjust. If they do their work, my job is to remove obstacles so they can be more effective. If they aren't doing their work, then my job becomes one of assessing whether the problem is a training issue or a values issue. If it's training, then I get the person that training so that they are able to work at peak. If it is a values issue, then my job is to see if that person is a fit for my team or the company anymore.

That sounds very simplistic, but in essence, management isn't rocket science. To me, it is a business art form and one that requires connection to more than strict statistics and data. It requires values and principles that must be articulated clearly and practiced by everyone in the chain of command from the top down. The above example seems very mechanical, but the actual practice requires a lot of gut level instinct and assessment which many managers forget. I may add more on other topics,but this seemed like a good one to start the ball rolling.