How many times have you heard people saying that something cannot be done?
There
is a story of a young man by the name George Bernard Dantzig, who
joined the University of California, Berkeley, in 1939, as a doctoral
student.
One time, he arrived late for his statistics
class and found two problems on the blackboard. He jotted them down,
thinking they were the day’s assignment. It was only after submitting
the correct solutions that his professor told him that he had solved
problems that had baffled everyone for a long time.
Most
people in management as well as the employees under them have their own
‘blackboards’ where they write their ‘impossibles’. Some have to do
with career development, employee discipline, promotions, innovation and
so on.
Regardless of the challenges any organisation
may be facing, it is wise to remember that everything is impossible
until someone else does it.
There are many things today that would have been deemed impossible by generations before us.
A few years ago, computers were monstrous things that filled up entire rooms. Today, we have palmtop computers.
ROAD MOST TRAVELLED
A
few years ago, mobile money was not even thinkable. The fact that a
Kenyan came up with the concept of Mpesa (mobile money transfer) shows
that anyone can come up with a novel idea.
The setback
arises from a set of beliefs that individuals or organisations develop
over time. Since we are creatures of habit, we adopt the habits and
daily patterns of those we consider more informed or wiser.
Managers,
like everyone else, fall into patterns of behaviour that have been laid
down by those they admire or consider to be their mentors. Although
most managers are defined by their ability to keep things under control,
they need to allow their employees some autonomy.
All
over the world, employees long for employers who will give them the
opportunity to be themselves. One of the benefits of allowing employees
to participate in decision making and planning for their work is the
creation of a deep sense of ownership in the work they do. Managers need
to allow their employees some control over the activities that go on in
the organisation.
Autonomy is about allowing
employees to figure out how best to go about their assignments. The
opposite of autonomy is micro-management, which is literally, breathing
down an employee’s neck to see if they are performing as you wanted them
to.
Autonomy allows employees to take greater
responsibility for their outcomes and motivates them to perform well.
Managers who are allowed autonomy also tend to feel more inspired to
supervise their staff.
But there is a danger in giving
too much autonomy to managers with poor decision making skills. They
end up making their employees suffer the consequences of bad judgement
or poor planning.
Team autonomy works if the entire
team is in synch with the objectives of the organisation and if they
have open communication. While teams may function independently, they
need occasional supervision to ensure that they are on track. Allow
people to do it their way and they will surprise you.
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