Mixed Messages
Managers are told to think globally but act locally, compete yet collaborate, change continuously but maintain continuity. No wonder many are confused. These kinds of messages don't make an already-tough job any easier.
5 Distinct Mindsets
Managers actually require five distinct mindsets. I came across this sensible, easy -to-understand analyisin an article titled (surprise) The Five Minds of a Manager, by Jonathan Gosling and my favorite well-grounded contrarian, Henry Mintzberg.
Although there are five distinct categories, the idea for managers is to learn how to exercise each and synthesize all five to create a genuinely effective approach to management.
What do you already do? Which do you need to intentionally develop?
1. Reflective mindset
Stepping back and reflecting on experiences allow mistakes to be identified. Reflection may also lead to seeing things in a new ways, e.g., a product as a service or customers as partners (or vice versa).
2. Analytical mindset
Go beyond crunching the numbers. When a decision must be made, analyze the analysis of others to determine the biases they may have had and the data and assumptions used.
3. Worldly mindset.
People tend to think of the world as an increasingly homogenous place but it is really a collection of worlds within worlds, with definite boundaries and edges. Just because a company sells products globally it may not take into account how those products are perceived and used in different cultures. Managers with a worldly mindset spend time in places where products are made, customers served, and environment threatened.
4. Collaborative mindset
Managing collaboratively means managing not people but relationships. Good managers listen more than they talk and ask questions more than give orders. They also distribute management functions so that responsibility goes to whoever shows initiative.
5. Action mindset
We are told that we must change or else. But while this is an age of change, not everything is changing (which we tend not to notice). Managers with action mindsets focus organizational energy on changing what needs to be changed while carefully maintaining what doesn't.
Your Mission, If You Choose To Accept
Successful managers integrate the five mindsets into a single whole. They reflect, act, and reflect some more; realize where and when collaboration is necessary and enter the world of others to analyze more data and viewpoints; then, they act in an endless cycle.
If you are a manager, think on these things for a while. Then, share them with your team and ask how they see your approach (or not) in each of the mindsets. It's a good conversation starter, non-threatening, and a terrific way to find out how you are doing in each area.
Comments