Who wants to be a middle manager?
Is it a shame to be a middle manager or it is something that you can be proud of?
Well, to my mind the answer, in fact, depends on the timing, how long you have stuck at this position for, the company size, your influence and involvement into the company’s life and your personal demands that satisfy you totally.
Prima facie, middle managers seem to play an intermediate role between top management and employees, those who work at operational level. When the strategy or policy is written on the top, it comes to middle managers to implement it successfully through the excellent performance of the staff. Thus, they are vital elements that represent and interpret the established management policy or strategy and articulate them to employees. Consequently, middle managers are “viewed as suppliers of information and consumers of decisions made by top-level managers.” (Westley, 1990)
Moreover, referring to Balogun’s article, middle managers are change intermediaries rather than “implementers” or simply, “change recipients”. (Balogun, 2003) The author pays much attention on middle manager’s interpretation of change and states its importance for actual change outcome and organizational survival; this gives roots to strategic sensemaking and sensegiving.
Over the decades, the literature on strategic management is being aligned with strategic sensemaking and sensegiving, Sensemaking is the way managers understand, interpret, and create sense for themselves; whereas, sensegiving is concerned with their attempts to influence the outcome, to communicate their thoughts about the change to others. (Rouleau, 2005) That is why the key role of the middle manager is rarely well understood since it is related to sensemaking and sensegiving; communicating when convincing both employees and top management; interaction when being a bridge between low and top organizational level in the company.
However, the guest lecture leading by Mica Wulff Kamm, the Head of Global Product Management at TeliaSonera, made me think about middle managers not only as “change interpreters” and “intermediates”, but someone who can be considered in innovative perspective.
After working 11 years as a middle manager, she seems to be very enthusiastic and proud of being middle manager for so long.
I do not think I would like to be a middle manager, but looking at Mica Wulff Kamm, her courage, her leadership behavior as well as her practical example and experience makes me be deep in thought about it. Through her working experience she showed that middles can be not only information transmitters and strategy implementers, but in order to be successful, they can and should have an impact on the decisions made at the top, they need to contribute by suggesting changes, and finally they have to be sure that they are involved in the framing of change.
In addition to this, Balogun (2003) in his article “From Blaming the Middle to Harnessing its Potential: Creating Change Intermediaries”, argues that middle managers play a great role in change implementation and also, are capable of contributing at strategic level. This consequently relates to empowerment of middle managers within the organization, the way they influence strategic conversation and promote out - of box – thinking.
During the presentation Mica pointed out some tips that help to be on the right track, namely: choose your boss as carefully as your organization (“right bus with right driver”); clarify the mandate (are the people and targets right? is it growing business? how well you can do your job?); work on the network, get to know others, their capacity; find the balance between operations and leadership; and ultimately get involved.
I would like to finish my reflections on Middle Managers and their role within the organization with suggestions Mica made during her presentation: Be there when the ground shakes! Be involved! Work on the network!
Reference
Balogun, J. (2003). From Blaming the Middle to Harnessing its Potential: Creating Change Intermediaries, British Journal of Management, vol. 14, 69-83.
Rouleau, L. (2005). Micro-Practices of Strategic Sensemaking and Sensegiving: How Middle Managers Interpret and Sell Change Every Day, vol.42, 1413-1441.
Westley, F. T. (1990). Middle Managers and Strategy: Micro-Dynamics of Inclusion, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 11 (5), 337-351.
четверг, 4 декабря 2008 г.
вторник, 11 ноября 2008 г.
How to characterize the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader
How to characterize the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader
While preparing to the Leadership seminar, we were supposed to state how to characterize the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader. Since we have a lot of group work at the moment, and some of us will start working with people in a company or run his or her own company, in any case the question of having a leader in a group or what characteristics he or she should have will definitely arise. And, therefore I find this topic very relevant and encouraging. In this part I would like to discuss the characteristics of the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader, taking in account the rapid changes in the environment, a leader should be really creative, innovative and entrepreneurial at the same time in order to hold out, sustain and succeed.
While communicating, interacting or cooperating with others or even during the group meeting sometimes it becomes noticeable (if talking about formal leadership), that one person is more active, more enthusiastic, more ambitious, more passionate and encouraged in it than others, that someone is willing to take responsibilities and actions towards the goals and make the others believe and contribute in it as well. This person takes measures to assemble different elements of the organization such as assets, resources, and people. It should be noticed that he or she has a peculiar ability to allocate scarce resources when information is not available. Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leaders are prone to innovate or to spot some opportunities.
When dealing with a situation of high uncertainty they are able to keep their eyes open, to continue effective communication and to carry on making effective decisions. Acceptance of the risk is actually something that Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leaders usually do. It recognizes that they are good at managing the situations where risk is high1 .
The demands for innovations and highly uncertain environment make the leader focus on change rather than continuity, on opportunity rather than resource conservation and on communicating a vision in order to guide the organizational population towards a future goal.
One of the distinctive features is that the Leaders have their own vision, vision of a new and better world. By taking on the role of the visionary leader they create the environment which brings out the best in the organization’s people by motivating them and giving them an overall sense of direction. Visionary leadership demands communication. (Wickham, 2006)
Good communication skills are one of the main advantages of the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader. In order to show support and commitment to people he or she identifies the value that people carry. And, therefore it is important to motivate those people to make the best effort they can on its behalf. Good leadership requires the ability to inspire people to work in a specific way. It is more than merely directing people; it is also about supporting them and helping them to achieve the goals they have been set.
When thinking about innovative leaders such as, Abraham Lincoln, Anita Roddick, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates, Coco Chanel, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Winston Churchill, just to name a few, certainly some common characteristics can be found that reflect the points made above. Nevertheless, the weaknesses of the leadership theories explained point out that there cannot be a recipe of defining and building innovative/entrepreneurial leaders.
1. Northouse, P.G. (2007) Leadership Theory and Practice, 4th edition. Sage Publications.
While preparing to the Leadership seminar, we were supposed to state how to characterize the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader. Since we have a lot of group work at the moment, and some of us will start working with people in a company or run his or her own company, in any case the question of having a leader in a group or what characteristics he or she should have will definitely arise. And, therefore I find this topic very relevant and encouraging. In this part I would like to discuss the characteristics of the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader, taking in account the rapid changes in the environment, a leader should be really creative, innovative and entrepreneurial at the same time in order to hold out, sustain and succeed.
While communicating, interacting or cooperating with others or even during the group meeting sometimes it becomes noticeable (if talking about formal leadership), that one person is more active, more enthusiastic, more ambitious, more passionate and encouraged in it than others, that someone is willing to take responsibilities and actions towards the goals and make the others believe and contribute in it as well. This person takes measures to assemble different elements of the organization such as assets, resources, and people. It should be noticed that he or she has a peculiar ability to allocate scarce resources when information is not available. Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leaders are prone to innovate or to spot some opportunities.
When dealing with a situation of high uncertainty they are able to keep their eyes open, to continue effective communication and to carry on making effective decisions. Acceptance of the risk is actually something that Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leaders usually do. It recognizes that they are good at managing the situations where risk is high1 .
The demands for innovations and highly uncertain environment make the leader focus on change rather than continuity, on opportunity rather than resource conservation and on communicating a vision in order to guide the organizational population towards a future goal.
One of the distinctive features is that the Leaders have their own vision, vision of a new and better world. By taking on the role of the visionary leader they create the environment which brings out the best in the organization’s people by motivating them and giving them an overall sense of direction. Visionary leadership demands communication. (Wickham, 2006)
Good communication skills are one of the main advantages of the Innovative / Entrepreneurial Leader. In order to show support and commitment to people he or she identifies the value that people carry. And, therefore it is important to motivate those people to make the best effort they can on its behalf. Good leadership requires the ability to inspire people to work in a specific way. It is more than merely directing people; it is also about supporting them and helping them to achieve the goals they have been set.
When thinking about innovative leaders such as, Abraham Lincoln, Anita Roddick, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates, Coco Chanel, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Winston Churchill, just to name a few, certainly some common characteristics can be found that reflect the points made above. Nevertheless, the weaknesses of the leadership theories explained point out that there cannot be a recipe of defining and building innovative/entrepreneurial leaders.
1. Northouse, P.G. (2007) Leadership Theory and Practice, 4th edition. Sage Publications.
воскресенье, 5 октября 2008 г.
Passion to Success
As I told passion is one of the sources of success and achievement. Being passionate means having a state of being with some idea every time and everywhere, 24 hours per day, even while sleeping you dream and breathe with it cause it is in your mind. The more passionate you are the more chances to succeed, to achieve your goals.
Even if sometimes you don’t have enough skills or abilities to pull something off, however with passion you can organize it and be on a right track, you can get the ball rolling even if you don’t have enough funds or facilities. This situation is quite familiar to those people who have started their enterprises from completely nothing, except passion. Possessing a passion you can induce people in what your dreams are about, and in turn they will respond your ideas and finally help you in your start.
Referring to Inamori’s way of describing passion, he represents the initials of seven essential principles of managing the company as follows:
P- Profit
How to have a profit? Obviously, by maximizing sales and minimizing expenses. The advice here is not to be a slave of the money, instead of persuading profit, let profit follow you.
A-Ambition
How to nurture the ambition? To foster ambition you have to desire it so strong and constantly that it becomes a part of your mind first and life after. Being ambitious means always having strong desire and clear vision of what you want to do, your goals, causes and ideals.
S-Sincerity
What does sincerity beget? Sincerity begets to trust, trust begets respect, and respect enables you to lead your group10.You should be sincere not only with your subordinates, but also with your customers and competitors to create this harmony where you earn customer’s respect and compete for it in a fare way.
S-Strength
How to be strong? Don’t be afraid of taking responsibility and risks. A prosperous entrepreneur needs to convince his employees in their strength, the courage to do the right thing. He also has to create this confidence in them to not let them to be cowards or escape from the difficulties or uncertainties.
I-Innovation
How to be innovative? Being innovative means using new techniques in creating something, making something better than anyone and than it was done before, you must be creative at the same time. To be innovative you need to raise creativity inside of you, to make it a lifelong habit.
O-Optimism
How to be and stay optimistic? Even in the most difficult situations you have to be cheerful, positive and full of enthusiasm, try to avoid all negative thoughts and pessimistic tune. Moreover, this either positive or negative attitude will directly influence the work force and the way you deal with customers and suppliers.
N-Never give up
How to manage to never give up? Keep trying - is the tip number one, we have a huge number of examples of great people who achieved and prospered in their life but we don’t know how many times they failed, and mostly it doesn’t even matter. To achieve something you must be willing to make untiring, constant efforts toward your aim despite all the uncertainties, risks, obstacles and frustration.
Even if sometimes you don’t have enough skills or abilities to pull something off, however with passion you can organize it and be on a right track, you can get the ball rolling even if you don’t have enough funds or facilities. This situation is quite familiar to those people who have started their enterprises from completely nothing, except passion. Possessing a passion you can induce people in what your dreams are about, and in turn they will respond your ideas and finally help you in your start.
Referring to Inamori’s way of describing passion, he represents the initials of seven essential principles of managing the company as follows:
P- Profit
How to have a profit? Obviously, by maximizing sales and minimizing expenses. The advice here is not to be a slave of the money, instead of persuading profit, let profit follow you.
A-Ambition
How to nurture the ambition? To foster ambition you have to desire it so strong and constantly that it becomes a part of your mind first and life after. Being ambitious means always having strong desire and clear vision of what you want to do, your goals, causes and ideals.
S-Sincerity
What does sincerity beget? Sincerity begets to trust, trust begets respect, and respect enables you to lead your group10.You should be sincere not only with your subordinates, but also with your customers and competitors to create this harmony where you earn customer’s respect and compete for it in a fare way.
S-Strength
How to be strong? Don’t be afraid of taking responsibility and risks. A prosperous entrepreneur needs to convince his employees in their strength, the courage to do the right thing. He also has to create this confidence in them to not let them to be cowards or escape from the difficulties or uncertainties.
I-Innovation
How to be innovative? Being innovative means using new techniques in creating something, making something better than anyone and than it was done before, you must be creative at the same time. To be innovative you need to raise creativity inside of you, to make it a lifelong habit.
O-Optimism
How to be and stay optimistic? Even in the most difficult situations you have to be cheerful, positive and full of enthusiasm, try to avoid all negative thoughts and pessimistic tune. Moreover, this either positive or negative attitude will directly influence the work force and the way you deal with customers and suppliers.
N-Never give up
How to manage to never give up? Keep trying - is the tip number one, we have a huge number of examples of great people who achieved and prospered in their life but we don’t know how many times they failed, and mostly it doesn’t even matter. To achieve something you must be willing to make untiring, constant efforts toward your aim despite all the uncertainties, risks, obstacles and frustration.
These are just several tips for Success, but if you at least follow all of them you will be more able to create your own path to the Success.
10. A Passion for Success: Practical, Inspirational, and Spiritual Insight from Japan’s Leading Entrepreneur,
Kazuo Inaori, p.98
From drama called Life to Enterprise
In the drama of life, there is a huge difference between those who have written themselves a starring role, and those who idle through life without aim9.
In his book, Kazuo Inamori, the founder and chairman of both Kyocera and DDI Corporations, the most outstanding entrepreneur in Japan, says that our life is a drama in which each one of us plays our own role. Moreover we don’t only act different roles being heroes, protagonist, villains, enemies or whoever, also we write the scenario ourselves, and our destiny can be identified by our way of both thinking and acting. However, the problem is that some people believe our lives to be determined by destiny at birth, but why do they think so? I recon that this happens because it is easier for them to understand the life and its destination, they do need to do much to create something new or different, they don’t even try to change their life, they consider their life to be written before so there is no reason for them to shape it. But as it was told “The best way to predict the future is to create it”.
As far as I believe that opportunities are everywhere and they are await us at every corner of life, so we are endeavoring for a chance we can catch them. Since the outcomes of our lives are in our own hands, we are the ones who create our own life first then transmit those attitudes on the business we’re going to deal with, an enterprise for instance.
Many different roles are required to produce the play, or in other words, to build a drama of an enterprise. It’s happened quite often when starting up your own business one person plays many roles simultaneously, so he has to be a professional in his own right and passion plays here a great role as well.
The quality of a company reflects the passion for excellence that each member of the cast displays. While the roles may differ, each actor or actress is a professional in his or her own right.
9. A Passion for Success, Kazuo Inamori, p.4
In his book, Kazuo Inamori, the founder and chairman of both Kyocera and DDI Corporations, the most outstanding entrepreneur in Japan, says that our life is a drama in which each one of us plays our own role. Moreover we don’t only act different roles being heroes, protagonist, villains, enemies or whoever, also we write the scenario ourselves, and our destiny can be identified by our way of both thinking and acting. However, the problem is that some people believe our lives to be determined by destiny at birth, but why do they think so? I recon that this happens because it is easier for them to understand the life and its destination, they do need to do much to create something new or different, they don’t even try to change their life, they consider their life to be written before so there is no reason for them to shape it. But as it was told “The best way to predict the future is to create it”.
As far as I believe that opportunities are everywhere and they are await us at every corner of life, so we are endeavoring for a chance we can catch them. Since the outcomes of our lives are in our own hands, we are the ones who create our own life first then transmit those attitudes on the business we’re going to deal with, an enterprise for instance.
Many different roles are required to produce the play, or in other words, to build a drama of an enterprise. It’s happened quite often when starting up your own business one person plays many roles simultaneously, so he has to be a professional in his own right and passion plays here a great role as well.
The quality of a company reflects the passion for excellence that each member of the cast displays. While the roles may differ, each actor or actress is a professional in his or her own right.
9. A Passion for Success, Kazuo Inamori, p.4
пятница, 3 октября 2008 г.
Entrepreneurial spirit
Having read vast examples of rags-to riches stories, I came to the conclusion that an entrepreneur lives in every of us and the degree of this spirit depends on the personality first of all, then, on the atmosphere a person surrounded by, on conditions he or she was brought up in, on the level of risks he or she is willing to take. However, we can both control and raise this spirit by special techniques that were described before. All people are entrepreneurs, but unfortunately, many don't have the opportunity to find that out.
Even though those stories with happy ends (those with bad ends we’ll never know) represents great example of how to achieve the goals and be successful, all of them had their share of struggles, faults, and weaknesses too.
The names of John Rockefeller, Aristotle Onassis, Ted Turner, Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Estee Lauder ring a bell, don’t they? Some were inheritors of vast wealth who chose to make it on their own. Others were made famous by showbiz or their colorful lifestyles. Nevertheless, in the end, the stories of their lives can provide an inspiration to all of us because they fit the definition of the true entrepreneur: someone who takes risk with great reward in sight.
When most people will be dying to finish a degree from Harvard, Bill Gates, whose interest in computers and programming started at an early age, decided to dropout to manage a small business, he and his partner, Paul Allen, called Microsoft. And as it was said in the article, Famous Entrepreneurs by Daegan Smith, his assets were estimated thereabouts $46 billion dollars in 2004.
By no means this is not the only example for prospering and becoming the cliché of famous entrepreneurs. Born out of wedlock and a victim of molestation, Oprah Winfrey studied and worked hard to have a television career - starting as a news reporter and anchor and emerging as one of the most prominent talk show hosts and businesswomen in the world8.
Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey are just two out of many famous entrepreneurs that we can see in the business world today. Those examples give us a good and quite revealing hint of the techniques and methods that we may use to achieve financial freedom. This gives us insights that are invaluable, and it will probably teach us how to get wealth and achieve greatness. This is also lesson that will help us to see and expand the development in the same spirit of entrepreneurship that these rich and famous entrepreneurs shared.
8. Women Entrepreneurs, Lalitha Rani, 2000
Even though those stories with happy ends (those with bad ends we’ll never know) represents great example of how to achieve the goals and be successful, all of them had their share of struggles, faults, and weaknesses too.
The names of John Rockefeller, Aristotle Onassis, Ted Turner, Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Estee Lauder ring a bell, don’t they? Some were inheritors of vast wealth who chose to make it on their own. Others were made famous by showbiz or their colorful lifestyles. Nevertheless, in the end, the stories of their lives can provide an inspiration to all of us because they fit the definition of the true entrepreneur: someone who takes risk with great reward in sight.
When most people will be dying to finish a degree from Harvard, Bill Gates, whose interest in computers and programming started at an early age, decided to dropout to manage a small business, he and his partner, Paul Allen, called Microsoft. And as it was said in the article, Famous Entrepreneurs by Daegan Smith, his assets were estimated thereabouts $46 billion dollars in 2004.
By no means this is not the only example for prospering and becoming the cliché of famous entrepreneurs. Born out of wedlock and a victim of molestation, Oprah Winfrey studied and worked hard to have a television career - starting as a news reporter and anchor and emerging as one of the most prominent talk show hosts and businesswomen in the world8.
Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey are just two out of many famous entrepreneurs that we can see in the business world today. Those examples give us a good and quite revealing hint of the techniques and methods that we may use to achieve financial freedom. This gives us insights that are invaluable, and it will probably teach us how to get wealth and achieve greatness. This is also lesson that will help us to see and expand the development in the same spirit of entrepreneurship that these rich and famous entrepreneurs shared.
8. Women Entrepreneurs, Lalitha Rani, 2000
вторник, 30 сентября 2008 г.
Something more about Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is also about the ability to convince people in what you believe is true or right. In what you think is best and worthy, in what you consider being reasonable and deserving.
We all had a chance to present it at the Literature seminar, defending one of the opposite ideas. To my opinion, actually, it does not matter what you are having debate on, the result depends on how you convince people, what facts you provide to make them sure that you are absolutely right, what strategy you follow to, what tactics you use, what examples you present to make them certain and of course first of all, you have to persuade yourself that you are on a right track in chosen idea. If you don’t believe in what you are saying, no one will and you will never prove to everyone that you are right, that you ideas are the best and they deserve being heard or supported.
As for the debate we had, let’s take the idea of entrepreneurs: whether they are born of made, this topic has been debated on for many decades, and still there is no definite answer, but only trends that support different opinions. Even though I personally was debating on another topic, I also had time to contemplate on this topic.
If we are saying that entrepreneurs are born then why we are at JIBS now, why the program on Entrepreneurship is taking place and we study the theory of entrepreneurship, why we are keep saying that market situations teach us to be good entrepreneurs, why the phrase: practice makes perfect makes sense, to be aware of the opportunities entrepreneurs pursuit, why when hiring staff experience, knowledge and background are being paid attention on.
If we are saying that entrepreneurs are made then what about the examples of Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, the great people that didn’t even have a proper business education but they reached the top of their career, they succeeded in their endeavors; these innovators are popular all over the world due to their talent, creativeness and innate ability. As for the scientists, they are also can be counted to be innate entrepreneurs, Albert Einstein who was kicked off the school but on the other hand he opened the Laws of Physics, that were not known before, Van Gogh, who died in poverty, though his masterpieces are of a great value now.
Whatever you are, if you want to be heard, to be successful and innovative, you have to be persuasive, have to be able to convince others that you are right and your ideas are the best.
We all had a chance to present it at the Literature seminar, defending one of the opposite ideas. To my opinion, actually, it does not matter what you are having debate on, the result depends on how you convince people, what facts you provide to make them sure that you are absolutely right, what strategy you follow to, what tactics you use, what examples you present to make them certain and of course first of all, you have to persuade yourself that you are on a right track in chosen idea. If you don’t believe in what you are saying, no one will and you will never prove to everyone that you are right, that you ideas are the best and they deserve being heard or supported.
As for the debate we had, let’s take the idea of entrepreneurs: whether they are born of made, this topic has been debated on for many decades, and still there is no definite answer, but only trends that support different opinions. Even though I personally was debating on another topic, I also had time to contemplate on this topic.
If we are saying that entrepreneurs are born then why we are at JIBS now, why the program on Entrepreneurship is taking place and we study the theory of entrepreneurship, why we are keep saying that market situations teach us to be good entrepreneurs, why the phrase: practice makes perfect makes sense, to be aware of the opportunities entrepreneurs pursuit, why when hiring staff experience, knowledge and background are being paid attention on.
If we are saying that entrepreneurs are made then what about the examples of Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, the great people that didn’t even have a proper business education but they reached the top of their career, they succeeded in their endeavors; these innovators are popular all over the world due to their talent, creativeness and innate ability. As for the scientists, they are also can be counted to be innate entrepreneurs, Albert Einstein who was kicked off the school but on the other hand he opened the Laws of Physics, that were not known before, Van Gogh, who died in poverty, though his masterpieces are of a great value now.
Whatever you are, if you want to be heard, to be successful and innovative, you have to be persuasive, have to be able to convince others that you are right and your ideas are the best.
четверг, 25 сентября 2008 г.
My Reflections
When we were asked to write a blog and express our thoughts about entrepreneurship and subjects discussed at our lectured I was astonished first and now I know what that really means.
When we had a lecture on Accounting on Tuesday I could finally connect my working experience with theory. When I was running for one Finnish company as an accountant assistant, I was dealing with budgeting and finances allocation as this company has more than 10 subsidiaries all over the world. And for me it was really difficult to sort the Centers of Responsibilities out, especially Costs Centers be cause I never had an accounting background.
But mostly I booked the business trips employees had, so I need to know how and where to allocate their expenses. For this purpose I used different Cost Centers. But always asked why? In addition we had an accounting program called Scala where I could specify different Costs Centers.
At the lecture Berit Bertelsen paid significant attention on this topic.
When we had a lecture on Accounting on Tuesday I could finally connect my working experience with theory. When I was running for one Finnish company as an accountant assistant, I was dealing with budgeting and finances allocation as this company has more than 10 subsidiaries all over the world. And for me it was really difficult to sort the Centers of Responsibilities out, especially Costs Centers be cause I never had an accounting background.
But mostly I booked the business trips employees had, so I need to know how and where to allocate their expenses. For this purpose I used different Cost Centers. But always asked why? In addition we had an accounting program called Scala where I could specify different Costs Centers.
At the lecture Berit Bertelsen paid significant attention on this topic.
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