| The other week we facilitated a workshop with a | | | | us: |
| client business in apparent distress. Despite | | | | While most employers have come through the |
| experiencing steady growth through the GFC due | | | | worst of the GFC in better shape than expected, |
| to the launch of some new and highly innovative | | | | there could be a time bomb waiting to go off if |
| products (and a lot of hard work!) it was clear | | | | employers do not urgently address critical people |
| that their good fortune would not be maintained if | | | | management issues in their workforces. |
| the ineffective leadership from its management | | | | That was it! That was this company -- with its |
| team continued. | | | | poor management skills -- down to a tee: a time |
| Instead of delegating non-managerial jobs, | | | | bomb waiting to go off. |
| managers were doing them. Why? Because as | | | | As the saying goes, success hides many warts. |
| the business grew with success and their staff | | | | Because this business had been quite successful |
| increased, their management skills and capabilities | | | | through the GFC, the ineffective leadership from |
| weren't developed to manage a larger business. | | | | its managers was allowed to continue and |
| They still thought and acted as a small business in | | | | ultimately foster its underlying problems. |
| which management did everything. And when | | | | Now, as the rest of the country recovers from |
| they did delegate, they delivered orders as | | | | the GFC, the warts are rearing their ugly head |
| ultimatums. Further, a lack of communication | | | | and that time bomb is well and truly ticking. |
| across departments created fragmentation and | | | | Ineffective leadership is certainly not uncommon |
| turf wars, thus encouraging a "we" versus "they" | | | | but it sure is unnecessary. We've seen from |
| environment. It even got to the point where the | | | | years of experience that leadership is an acquired |
| business removed the word "division" from its | | | | skill; there's no reason that anyone can't learn to |
| terminology, just to eliminate the word's | | | | manage effectively with the reinforced application |
| implications! | | | | of a leadership training program. And if your |
| A few days later I came across a newspaper | | | | manager won't acquire these skills, then they |
| article that speaks right to the issue at hand for | | | | need to be confronted and dealt with! |
| this business. The quote that most stood out to | | | | |