Certain people behave the way they do. I worked in an organization where “eye service” was the order of the day. The management of the organization rewarded workers in that organization probably based on “eye service” which was the yardstick for compensating merit. The management of the organization rewarded all those who were bringing gossips to the Executive Chairman or who reported every single wrong done by another employee to the Executive Chairman.
The action led to unhealthy competition and intra-departmental rivalry and with time the entire organization became more toxic than a war zone. People like us took a bow for the sake of our mental sanity. This same organization extended its hands of employment to me last year and I still turned them down as such toxicity still existed. Such was still their culture. Therefore, it is important to understand any organization you find yourself.
When managing people, have strong and good personal values. This will save you from troubles. For instance be disciplined and have high integrity. Don’t be a manager who is known to be vindictive or takes undue advantage of people’s weaknesses. Be known to be astute and transparent in all your dealings. If you are a leader who makes subordinates lie or do things that question integrity, kindly note that such shall be the measurement yardstick and description they would give about you.
Be punctual, make sacrifices and be knowledgeable about the position you occupy.
Once you have done all these, craft your strategies. While drafting your strategies, start from how things are being done to how best things should be done. Your strategies should also take into consideration how to manage change as people are likely to resist anything that questions the status quo at the initial stage for fear of the unknown. Maximize all available resources first (both human and material) before moving to those you seek to acquire. Map out the workability of these strategies in timelines and milestones. Also include who does what, when and how.
Documentation is key to any serious administration. In administration, we always say “if it is not written, it didn’t happen”. Document your strategies and proposal and get it approved for implementation. Once that is done, it has moved from being your drive to an organizational drive. Documenting it will also help align strategies properly and guide your actions.
In all, your success as a manager (managing people) is highly dependent on the relationships and connections you are able to build around the people you are managing. Therefore, don’t be in a hurry, take things easy and get things done gradually and professionally.
By Ikenna M. Okafor,
(SmeDoctor)
Human Resource Manager @ Ammasco International Limited
Deputy Registrar @ Integrated Institute of Professional Management
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