Some notes on Managing
Four Aspects of Managing:
- Planning
- Delegating
- Leading/Follow-up/Rewarding
- Hiring/Firing
“Ask me what my plan is for you.” If you don’t like the answer, then you need to own your career.
In The Four Elements of Successful Management (published by AMACOM), Don R. Marshall focuses on:
- Select
- Defining the Job
- Finding Qualified Candidates
- Filling the Job
- Direct
- Determining Direction
- Training Management in Direction
- Training Non-management Personnel
- Evaluate
- Knowing What to Evaluate
- The Evaluation Meeting
- Using Evaluations
- Reward
- The Purpose of Rewards
- Variable-Reward and Nonpayment Reward Programs
- Administering a Reward Program
The book’s thesis is that these are the four basic elements of management and that they form the "framework of all people and performance management." Throughout The Four Elements of Successful Management, Marshall provides what he calls "incremental lessons in understanding and applying these basic elements." He then suggests that the book is directed primarily to entry-level and mid-level managers.
Perhaps. But in fact, The Four Elements of Successful Management can be of value to virtually all managers (regardless of "level") because many CEOs and COOs need reminders of what they presumably have already learned but perhaps forgotten. Indeed, entry-level and mid-level managers are provided with a comprehensive frame of reference within which to understand the interdependence of the four elements. After reading The Four Elements of Successful Management, they will (hopefully) have greater respect for the complicated challenges which their own supervisors must face each day.
It is Marshall’s assertion that "the reason managers spend so much time directing is that they do a poor job on selection." He devotes Chapters 1-3 to explaining what effective selection involves…indeed requires. He then moves on to Direction "which begins with a strategic plan or business plan that outlines the principal products and services a business wants to produce for a specified market over a specified period of time." At one point, in impressive detail, he explains how clear direction benefits a company. He concludes Chapter 4 with this observation: "To succeed, a manager needs to not merely maintain what is already happening or simply solve problems surrounding him or her, but make sure that all activities are tied to company objectives."
In this context, Marshall no doubt agrees with Noel Tichy who insists in The Leadership Engine that one of the greatest responsibilities of a leader is to help develop other leaders companywide. Also, he probably agrees with Peter Senge that learning within any organization must be constant, comprehensive, on-going, resilient to accommodate future as well as current needs, and has a total commitment from senior management.
Part Three of The Four Elements of Successful Management, Marshall focuses on Evaluation which "becomes a logical, easy-to-implement process." Perhaps. This reader considers the evaluation process to be immensely difficult (if done properly) and thus does not share Marshall’s characterization of it as "easy-to-implement." In Chapters 7-9, Marshall takes his reader through each step of the process. His suggestions are sound, practical, and insightful. One of Marshall’s implicit beliefs is that any evaluation process should be consistent, objective (ie based on verifiable information), humane, and — most important — conducted to help the person evaluated to become more effective. Respect for human dignity is imperative. As he himself observes, "Your goal is to improve not just an employee’s job performance, but the performance of all the personnel in your department." It is possible but doubtful that entry-level managers will conduct many (if any) such evaluations. Nonetheless, the value of Marshall’s counsel lies in helping his reader to understand the process itself.
In the final portion of The Four Elements of Successful Management, Marshall shifts his attention to Reward: "The challenge to management is to match the proper people and rewards with the desired results." Agreed. Chapters 10-12 explain the purposes of rewards, how to design an appropriate reward program, and then how to administer it.
He concludes The Four Elements of Successful Management as follows: "A manager needs respect more than loyalty. Respect is based on continually doing the right things, in the right way, for the right reasons, These actions also bring respect from the people the manager reports to….Effectiveness is related to the depth a manager develops while practicing these four management elements….In the last analysis, it is this depth that determines your effectiveness as a manager. The more depth you develop, the more impact you will have on your organization and career. Go forth, as you select, direct, evaluate, and reward!"
In The Four Elements of Successful Management, Marshall shares a wealth of information and counsel. To at least some executives, perhaps, his ideas may seem obvious…if not simplistic. Be that as it may, he raises all the right questions and then provides answers which are sensible, practical, and cohesive.