Leaders need to listen, be empathetic, stay in touch with what is going on, provide good communication and have good personal problem solving skills. In our text authors Swayne, Duncan & Ginter (2013) have provided you with 11 important management skills to review below.
Swayne, L. E., Duncan, W. J., & Ginter, P. M. (2013). Strategic management of health care organizations (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
1. Less management is generally better than more management
• Develop self-managed teams – ask folks to think.
• Develop fewer rules, policies, procedures, rather than more and don't try to fix everything with a new rule or policy.
• Don't try to control the small stuff – tracking costs more than it saves.
• Routines and rules drive out innovation and flexible thinking.
• Avoid micro-management.
2. Strive for broad strokes rather than narrow strokes
• Dream and think big – leadership is more about the “big picture.”
• Vision and a future orientation are essential.
• Seek effectiveness before efficiency.
• It's called leadership – management without leadership is called bureaucracy.
3. Simple systems are preferable to complex systems
• Always strive to simplify.
• Make no system more complex than it has to be.
• Complex systems deteriorate faster than simple systems and need constant (much more) maintenance.
• In complex systems small disruptions can create big disruptions, even systems failure (the butterfly effect).
4. All solutions are temporary
• Don't work so hard for closure to a problem – there is too much change for a solution to last very long.
• One of the lessons of strategic management is that to be successful, you must change.
• Don't always seek perfection – perfection may be the enemy of change.
5. Processes are not ends in themselves but tend to be viewed that way over time
• People often focus on process elements rather than the objectives of the process (particularly after they've done it for a while).
• Too much focus on the process prevents change/adaptability.
• Process orientation inhibits innovation and, ultimately, survival.
• Be open to changing the process (challenge the current thinking/process).
• Manage the objective(s) not the process(es).
6. Practice “one-level” leadership
• Everyone in an organization should be treated as a peer (equality). Peers can and will share and discuss ideas, opinions, and solutions.
• Folks deserve respect and simple courtesies are important (be polite and always say “hello”).
• Casual is better than formal – casual reduces barriers; formal raises barriers.
7. Organizational culture is the key
• Organizations are mostly about people and not about things.
• Shape the organization's habits, customs, values, and mores.
• Inspire and motivate.
• Be the keeper and communicator of the vision.
• Make it interesting and fun.
• Make sure everyone learns something.
8. Organize for flexibility
• Most workers expect a formal organization; use these building blocks to create ad hoc structures as needs dictate.
• Job designs should be as broad as possible.
• Small is better than large – organize into small units.
9. Measure only those things that are important
• Identify the few important acceptance criteria of customers (internal as well as external).
• Establish precise, accurate, easy-to- accomplish measurements of these criteria.
• Enable those whose judgment, skill, and craft determine the outcomes to act on the measurements.
• Reward behaviors that improve process characteristics to achieve the criteria.
• Manage the measures.
10. Personal touches are better than impersonal touches
• Personal notes are better than formal memos/letters.
• Hand-written notes are better than typed letters.
• Personal contact (face-to-face) is better than email.
• Talk to people and visit them in their space.
• Thank people.
11. Allow folks to “fail forward”
• Change, creativity, and innovation require some risk taking.
• Press for innovation until failure.
• Promote and deliver on life-long learning for everyone.
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