C31_Developing_Yourself_in_a_Management_Role

C31 Developing yourself in a management role Question 1 To enable me to assess my management style in respect of managing my own self management and managing my team under different circumstances can be a daunting prospect even under normal conditions. The reasoning behind this is that there are a variety of styles each with their own unique characteristics applicable either to a certain person or situation. Historically, there have been various attempts to try and prepare a list of styles which are common to all, however I don’t think this would be very effective as to try and assess myself could indeed send mixed messages to either my team or myself and not truly reflect the feelings and thoughts of the team as a whole which I manage. One method of trying to address this problem and ascertain the necessary information and feedback was to devise a survey asking pertinent questions relevant to myself but at the same time reflecting the thoughts of the team in general. An advantage of this method is not any one person of the team needed to be named during the exercise thus giving a clearer and unbiased indication of my own particular style as others would portray me. I conducted the following survey during a recent team meeting consisting of 8 team players making it clear that I would like the team to be frank and honest in their opinions in order for me assess my leadership styles. A full copy of the feedback form is exhibited in the Appendix 1. I asked the individuals to indicate their views by circling the rating as appropriate i.e. 1. Does not reflect this candidate – 6 Always/frequency reflects this candidate 1……………2……………3……………4……………5……………6 A summary of the questions and results are shown in Table 1 below: |Question |Summary of Results | |Actively listens by paying attention and checking understanding of others |4.9 | |Verbally presents information and ideas clearly and concisely |5.0 | |Confidently presents to all levels |4.6 | |Makes relevant, clear and concise contributions at meetings and other forums |5.0 | |Sets clear goals for individuals and the team to achieve defined outcomes |4.5 | |Shares knowledge and experience with others |5.6 | |Makes time to support and coach others |4.5 | |Asks for feedback from colleagues at all levels |4.8 | |Shows respect for the views of others |4.9 | |Gives support and credit to others whenever appropriate including motivation to all members of the team |4.5 | |Encourages involvement from other members of the team |4.5 | |Uses their time and resources effectively to maximise output and minimise costs |4.5 | Although the results obtained in Table 1 are an average of the overall rating, they give a clear indication of my strengths, weaknesses and overall prepared styles. For instance, they see me as able to freely share knowledge and experiences with others which were reflected as a high rating yet at the same time areas for improvement would be support, motivation and trying to encourage involvement from others which was reflected as a lower rating. In order for me to be effective as a manager I must have a combination of good interpersonal skills and at the same time be fully aware of the necessity for personal self development. If I was to assess my management style which I would need to do if I am to manage a team effectively and efficiency, I would need to classify my existing style, analyse it and put a detailed plan into action which would address the perceived weaknesses and encourage the strengths which I will cover later in this assignment. There are many unforeseen problems that can occur when managing a team under different circumstances. For instance, there could be conflict between key players within the team or individual members bring personal problems to work such as divorce, death, or related drug abuse, all which can affect the smooth operation of the team. One such example occurred within the team when a certain competent employee was overlooked for a key role job even though he had been effectively undertaking this role for the last 2 years. His attitude to work and his fellow team players changed very quickly. He was disheartened and lost all motivation and an interest for his job. A way of addressing this situation was to give him more responsibility and make him feel valued once more. Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973) had been able to construct a Management Style Continuum model which show’s the relationship between the levels of freedom that a manager chooses to give to their team and the level of authority that can be applied. As the team's freedom is increased, so the manager's authority decreases. This is a positive way for both teams and managers to develop. As a manager, one of my responsibilities is to develop my own team. By applying this format I would be asking individuals to make their own decisions relevant to their abilities. An example of their Management Style Continuum is shown below in figure 1: Use of authority by the manager Area of freedom for subordinates [pic] Tells Sells Tests Suggests Consults Joins Delegate This end could be used for new employees This end for those who are experienced to work Over time, a manager should try to take the team from the left hand side of the scale to the right hand side with the aim to have one or more potential successors from within your team to not only take over from you but also take more responsibility thus freeing up valuable time to manage effectively. Results indicated that generally all members of the team were satisfied that the leadership style at present was satisfactory to them. However, there are areas that could be improved upon and even applied in difficult circumstances such as motivating not only individuals but the team in general. Herzberg (1959) uses the term motivation to describe feelings of accomplishment of growth and recognition that are experienced in the job that offers challenges and scope to the worker. Satisfaction or hygiene factors will be sought in the aspects of job content such as pay and security. Once these are satisfied this leads to motivators who are providing growth of their personalities such as achievement or work. Whilst it is necessary to get the hygiene factors right if we want to motivate then we must be focused on their jobs and provide a programme of more job satisfaction. Table 2 shows a summary of Hygiene Factors and Motivators: |Hygiene Factors |Motivators | | | | |Supervision |Work itself | |Pay |Achievement | |Security/Status |Recognition of achievement | |Organisation |Responsibility | |Administration |Chance for advancement | |Interpersonal Relationships |Probability for growth | Once all this information has been obtained from the original survey and analysed it is beneficial to prepare a self- development plan in order to achieve these objectives. This should be in the form of a SMART action plan. SMART means: S Specific M Measurable A Achievable R Realistic T Time frame Table 3 shows a SMART action plan relating to 3 specific areas relevant to the survey which I consider require attention and can improve upon. In summing up, by implementing such a plan, clear areas for action are identified within a realistic time frame. There are obvious benefits to the company as described in the implication column. In question 2 I shall be producing a plan that identifies and organises my work for a period of one week. Table 3 SMART action plan |Criteria |Specific |Measurable |Achievable |Realistic |Time Frame |Implications | | | | | | | | | |Motivation |To increase productivity by |Analysing data prepared from |Yes, however training will |Yes |3 Months to implement and then |Better utilisation of staff. | | |motivation by taking control and |individual and group statistics |need to be given on imputing | |ongoing reviews. |Staff are able to work | | |ownership of booking appointments to |taken from known and reliable |of data into diary system. | | |effectively. Productivity | | |try and decrease the amount of last |sources. Increased hit rate and | | | |increases. Overdue appointments | | |minute cancellations. |productivity. | | | |decrease. | |Achievement |Set clear goals for individuals and |Detail plans and objectives and |Yes, but within the details |Yes, but in some |Review every 6-12 months |Happy and more productive work | | |the team to achieve defined outcomes |then have performance reviews to|time must be realistically |cases guidance |depending on tasks. |force. All would feel that they | | |by giving them more responsibility. |analyse achievement. |allowed for all different |will be necessary.| |have a role to play and would be| | | | |goals and objectives to be | | |keen to achieve this. | | | | |achieved. | | |Absenteeism could be down as a | | | | | | | |result. | |Encouragement |Encourage involvement from other |Team meeting minutes. |Yes, but guidance will be |Yes |This can be assessed every month|Team will feel valued and feel | | |members of the team. I need to |Identifying those who |necessary relating to my own | |as this is when team meetings |that they have made a | | |involve all the team players in |historically didn’t contribute |experiences. | |are held. |contribution to the outcome of | | |discussions with decision making |but are now actively involved. | | | |decisions and ultimately the | | |which will embrace and reflect their | | | | |success. | | |thoughts and experiences. | | | | | |