Monthly Archives: November 2015

A leader’s job is not for everybody

Many organizations in our modern times were found losing the ground under their feet while thinking and perceiving their business as happening “as usual.” The power of their competitive advantage gradually slipped away and regrettably for some, they were caught unprepared.
While we all understand that competitive advantage cannot last forever, the sad thing is when good organizations find themselves without alternatives.
Organizations lose competitive advantage because:
(a) Disruptive innovators have come into the game (Professor Clayton Christensen’s Disruptive Innovation)
(b)  New technology has changed the competitive landscape (e-books, e-encyclopedias)
(c)  A saturation of market demand for the value proposition propelled by the firm’s competitive advantage until that time
(d)  A change of the business environment giving birth to new or substituted products or new trends, tastes, and demands
If we can take an audit of the leaders’ actions while they were at the helm steering the business, will we find that they acted rightly? Or shall we find that they did their best what they ought to, but it is it the leader’s fault whatever the circumstances when the ship goes down?
After all when a company goes down, it causes massive financial and social reverberations that bring misfortunes to the people it employed and to society as a whole. In some cases so serious are these that who is responsible must be identified. Apart from the general system someone else in the company should be made accountable irrespective of what he could or could not do. Such are the consequences of a leader’s acceptance of the top job.
But before passing judgment, one should consider for a moment today’s challenges in a leader’s job:
A leader is asked to:
(a)  Meet short-term [...]

By |November 26th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments|

Commenting on current issues of management

Thank you as a motivator
Panikos Sardos
I especially liked the last paragraph that demonstrates the problem in various languages pointing to its universality. Some of the managers will deliberately skip the thank you part because they are afraid that it’s committing them losing their flexibility to say the opposite next time they are not so happy with the employee. Other times the manager is afraid of being forced in a position to have to give monetary rewards. However, I fully agree with the article that a thank you for a well-done job is an inexpensive motivator very much expected by the modern workforce. Besides, managers should take notice that by not saying thank you is like ignoring their people and they won’t like it if their people in their turn come to ignore them. 

 

Culture Its value as engagement and strategy tool
Panikos Sardos
Caroline, I am glad that you wrote this post emphasizing the importance of culture. If you see employees fully engaged in their work, it suggests that the culture is right for the company’s people. However, this is not enough, and it’s the job of the leaders and managers to see that the culture also aligns with the chosen strategy. So for success, employees’ behavior should align with the company’s culture and the latter should align with the company’s strategy.

 

Employee engagement
Panikos Sardos
I like the statement that employee engagement is a direct reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with their boss. It would for a leader be challenging to create a meaningful one to one relationship with his/her people but no doubt very rewarding.

 

Mission statement Its value as a functional and strategic tool
Panikos Sardos
Edward an excellent [...]

By |November 22nd, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments|