Presidents that Fail in Business Management
I’ve been really focused lately on Business Management and learning how to properly manage a business. Psychology has always been a strong suit of mine and lately I’ve been doing more project management with Chosen. I’ve really found myself successful at managing, but it’s a time consuming and delicate process. You have to always be aware of employees’ feelings and opinions and learn how to balance management authority with friendship. This interpersonal communication is the building block of the office culture since management often effects how employees interact with each other. There are generally three main cultures that are formed in a presidential environment, Teamwork to Grow the Business, Lack of Teamwork and Direction, or Teamwork in Rebellion of Management.
Teamwork to Grow the Business
I recently met and interviewed with many individuals over at Artemis. What I saw there was truly amazing and really blew me away. Everyone there from top level management down was humble and passionate about their workplace. They had a culture like I’ve only ever heard of at companies like Google and Apple, but never seen or experienced for myself. I talked with different managers down to job-specific employees.. all of which were saying the same thing… they really loved their jobs, and saw Artemis as a piece of their own company and consistently worked to improve it. That is my definition of ideal teamwork. When you get a group of individuals together that have work ethic in a way that they enjoy what they do and treat their workplace with the respect and care that they would have if they owned it… wow.
Teamwork to grow the business is what all companies would love to have. The hardest question to answer is, “How do you get there?” Well believe it or not, the solution is simple. Put management in an employees shoes. Seriously, if managers humble themselves and really make an effort to serve as an employee, then the title is stripped and employees begin to open up and feel comfortable around the manager. The best model for a manager to have is “boss when i need to be, otherwise employee.”
Out of all trades, I think construction is a really easy area to see successful or unsuccessful management. Construction workers are often very verbal and open about their opinions, so it’s clear where the issue lies. I’ve seen many different job sites and listened to my uncle and dad, having worked construction most their lives, talk about different jobs, employees, and bosses. I spent some time with my uncle in Kentucky who is project manager for Wieland-Daveco Construction. I spent the first week or so walking around with him as he managed and oversaw the job site. Playing the role of Project Manager with him it seemed everyone on the job was really pleasant and eager to get things done when he approached them, however, there was a slight nervous tension among them and muttered comments below breath from some. My uncle would walk around and ask questions and maybe get a little confrontational when it came to safety hazards, but nothing that seemed out of place of unreasonable. After that first week of being the “PM’s Nephew,” I hired on with the Masonry company on the job site and got a whole new perspective. Turns out only a few respected my uncle.. most just wanted to get their job done without any orders or authority. Construction is the hardest trade to unite and establish teamwork, and most never reach the top bar of real teamwork. But my uncle did his best to make friends with the few that were worthy of befriending and humbled himself and helped them out. He’d still be the boss when needed, but for those that respected him, that was very infrequent.
I’ve seen a pattern in management that is sometimes so easy to figure out when you have all the pieces. Almost without fail, construction matches my model for a successful business. If the project manager finds that balance of boss when needed and friend or coworker all other times.. then that manager will find himself highly successful and respected. This in turn will make the job much easier to manage. Ya see, the recipe for a good manager isn’t how educated you are or how much experience you have.. in fact I’ve seen people that were very seemingly completely unqualified for a management position execute that position the best. It’s ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE. Be humble, be friendly, be happy.
Lack of Teamwork and Direction
Put your business here. This is where most businesses fall into place. In fact most businesses can function for years in this position. But given enough time or shift in weight from either amount of work or employees and this situation can get ugly quick.
Allow me to speak personally for a minute about my own company. I would say fall into this category but leaning towards Teamwork to Grow the Business.
Chosen is a small business and we have a great culture and atmosphere because we are friends rather than coworkers. These friendships both make us successful and pose an issue. When all your employees are friends, it’s very easy to have a good attitude, good culture and great teamwork. However, it’s a lot harder to make decisions for the business without employees taking it personally. I don’t even need to go into details about what I mean. I’m sure everyone has experienced it at some point.. a coworker that you’re close to getting mad at you or hurt because they consider you a friend. Chosen is growing in the right direction though. We’ve established up front that all decisions are made in benefit of the business and not on a personal matter. We’ve also split the authority of the company into thirds, that way any decision involving Human Resources is decided by 2/3 rather than any one individual. It’s because of this model that I know the company will succeed and continue to move forward.
I’ve seen many larger businesses that are the exact opposite of Chosen. They have environments with more of a corporate feel in which there are friends and groups within the company that get along great, but there is a large separation between groups or individuals. This culture leads to a continual separation until the company either falls apart of leads to unity brought on by Management changing the culture in a good way or a bad way.
Teamwork in Rebellion of Management
This is the worst place for a company to be. Usually this is caused by a stubborn president or manager, unwilling to budge, or uncaring of employees’ feelings. This is the point where employees strike, petition, quit their jobs, etc. If a company is at this point or heading in this direction, it is the breaking point and rock bottom for the manager. If you’re a manager and you ever reach this point, do everything you can to reverse it.. Start by listening.
It may give a president/manager a bad reputation to manage poorly for a while and get close to united rebellion, but it’s much worse when that manager is down right forced to change their management because they can’t afford to lose the employees. This shatters the credibility of the manager and once this ultimate low is breached once, it’s highly likely to reoccur. It’s all about the employees, remember that. You can’t run a business without them.
Wrapping Up
Like I’ve said throughout this post, if you want to improve your business and unite your employees to grow your business, treat them that way. They are your body. A president/manager is only the head and can dream big dreams or observe and speak, but without the rest of the body, the head can’t actually DO anything. Important stuff it is to be a head.
