Success and failures should be squarely attributed to people who manage and the way they manage the people. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
It is imperative for leaders to remember that staff make or break brands.
The year has started on a good footing for many organisations, particularly those keen to elevate their appreciation of human capital. In business circles, the factor of production relating to people has been gaining relevance faster than elements linked to profits, among others.
Undoubtedly, people have become the centre of attraction and the critical factor in most aspects of our life. A lot of sensitivity is involved in handling people in different circumstances. Be it a family, business, religious, political, cultural or social organisation, people at various levels have different priorities and interests, and aligning of all these is a great challenge.
A code of ethics and compliance, value-driven lifestyle and personal discipline to manage and sustain an organisation are all ingredients that continue to dominate many a manager's list of concerns.
In this era of technology and social media ubiquity, everyone is under scrutiny and hence warrants a careful understanding and management of one’s position.
Let us not deny the fact that people are also under pressure to manage the culture of the institutions/businesses despite their own beliefs and values. This is a big challenge for leaders.
Leadership in all spheres of organisational excellence cannot be achieved without internal buy-in by the support system. In business school, management is described as a process of reaching organisational goals by working with and through people and other organisational resources.
In practice it is, however, a pity to witness a big gap on the organisational interface as relates to the mobilisation of people, organisational resources and processes to meet goals.
Priorities including the discrepancy in trickling down of the outwardly projected and internal cultures across the organisation and the value chain are quite common today.
This mismatch between the externally conveyed culture and the one routinely at play in organisations ultimately affect its credibility.
In such a scenario, managing situations becomes a challenge if people are not aligned. If the systems and procedures are not in place, the leadership fails to see the importance of time and the morale of the people involved.
In a people-centred organisation, managing people warrants a fair understanding of their priorities, interests and aspirations.
Human beings are all unique and it’s now accepted that different generations also pursue diverse motivations. It is unwise to expect a pattern of behaviour from a millennial for managers drawn from earlier generations. Our role is to adopt mentorship and coaching approaches and balance the process and the outcomes.
In a dynamic economic environment people must align and create synergies to be of sense and value to the businesses. It warrants value-driven lifestyle, passion, commitment and involvement.
Education, experience and exposure help in opening up of minds to have wider perspectives in any aspect of life. However, life skills such as demonstrating restraint, resilience, patience and tolerance at appropriate times become mandatory.
Managers, who stand out are the ones who can manage people well. People leaders are popular as they manage their expectations and align them to the common goal.
Managing people is an art and a science; it is an art of attracting and involving people and the science of motivating and driving them towards achievement.
For example, how do political leaders sustain their followers for decades? How do religious leaders manage their people to remain on track? How do business leaders motivate and retain talented professionals and achieve their goals? How does an elder in the family succeed in keeping the family united and happy?
It all boils down to the wisdom and attitude towards managing people. In the business environment, it remains imperative for leaders in 2019 to remember that people make brands.
It is not a solitary game. It is a game of team work with a clear focus on achievements. The result is the reward. The journey is the learning. The environment throughout the process moulds people. There can be no denying that the best innovations have happened only in a conducive environment.
Success and failures should be squarely attributed to people who manage and the way they manage the people.
Happy 2019!
THIAGARAJAN RAMAMUTHY, Business Leader & CEO, Bidco Africa.
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