Explore-Qatar » Articles » Explore Qatar Editorials - Art Of Management
Art Of Management
By Namita Gour
We’ve all been through rough times at our work place. From demands for salary raise, position politics, work environment to our immediate manager’s behavior problems.
The list just does not seem to end.
But believe me even managers are not happy being on the other side. They work very hard and yet find it difficult to connect to the staff who continuously complain and are waiting for a better opportunity to pounce on.
So how do we in the management ladder strike a balance between the manager and the employees?
There can be many ways and each can differ depending on your style and personality but one common element is the TEAM. And there is only one golden word ‘WE’.
It makes your team a family - taking up collective responsibility for any kind of problem, collectively solving it and ceasing to play the blame game plays a great role in building the team spirit.
Trish Stenson, Clinical Director of LifeWorks Ceridian Canada Ltd., in his feature article ‘Management Insights: Leading in the Present Day’ says, “Today's manager is confronting incredible challenges with the changing complexion of today's workforce. Managers are learning that old management styles, ones that dictate rather than consensus build, do not resonate well with today's employee base.”
And that is very true for the multicultural workforce of Qatar. Managing people with different cultural backgrounds and beliefs is not an easy task.
Though it is easier to mold the direct recruits from universities it is very hard to change the attitudes of those who have worked in different corporate cultures for years together.
“The manager who can build a solid team environment is the manager who will have the most success,” Stenson adds.
And would you disagree …
But how do we build that trust amongst our team members?
The answer is very simple you have to trust yourself first.
Anastasia Bibikova and Vadim Kotelnikov in ‘Management by Consciousness - A value-oriented spiritual approach’ say, “Management begins with self. It is only a person who manages himself well can hope to manage others. Management Development cannot take place without Self-Development. Without the mastery of one's own ego, the containment of the turbulent enemy within, of what avail is the manipulation of mere techniques? Business leaders must find ways to energize the process of struggle to reach perfection through the workplace, a place for self-realization.”
After realising your strengths and weaknesses learn to manage your behaviour and attitude. And then you will be on a learning curve to build your team - that trusts you and your vision, and has the confidence to ask questions and debate.
“If you remember to treat employee complaints as you treat customer complaints, most of the time you'll make the right decision,” Rod Walsh and Dan Carrison in ‘Handling your employees complaints’ said.
Bibikova and Kotelnikov add, “Meditation is the most powerful mind tool ever developed. Meditation has been scientifically proven to improve creativity, intelligence, memory, alertness, and to integrate left and right brain functioning. It has been shown to improve physical, mental, and emotional health. In a word, meditation is an invaluable tool to ensure that your team is at their very best - every day!”
But how do we develop our team in Doha?
If you are a frequent traveller, it may be easy to find the management books. You may also order books online, some are even available in e-book format and are very cheap to download. Just Google! But books only introduce you to different theories of management. To practice good management your team needs training that helps each individual to know the self first.
The Art Of Living Foundation conducts such Management courses and have helped build strong teams at NASA, World Bank and Shell Oil Corp to name just a few.
They are active in Qatar as well and you can approach them for courses which will not only help your team members to improve interpersonal skills but also help in building strong foundations for tasks to be achieved forming a happy team ready to take on challenges.
“The course differs from most management and employee development programs because it is not based on quick-fix solutions, theoretical concepts or superficial success formulas - but rather on practical techniques that offer direct and tangible results” - www.artofliving.org.
