Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1332064
42 PalletCentral • January-February 2021 palletcentral.com Brad Wolff, the "People Maximizer" is the managing partner of PeopleMax. His focus is on leadership and its impact on culture, engagement and results. Reach Brad at bwolff@ peoplemaximizers.com or phone: 678-229-2413. Characteristics of Effective Management • Translate purpose and vision into strategies and goals. Because purpose and vision need to be made tangible or they won't be executed. • Convert goals and strategies into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily actions that occur in a logical order so that you can accomplish them without heroic measures. Because unless people specifically know what they need to do today, they're unlikely to be productive. • Develop appropriate metrics for the activities and results that matter most for your company's success. Because measurement leads to greater awareness, ownership, and action. • Compare actual activities and results to planned activities and results regularly. Because you need objective data to identify what's working and not working quickly. Timely, accurate information allows you to make appropriate adjustments to strategies, goals, and actions. • Continuously adjust systems, processes, and technologies to improve them and to address gaps between actual and desired activities and results. Because otherwise, you'll struggle with productivity, quality, and efficiency. • Communicate the above information to the appropriate people on a timely basis. Because this communication allows people to learn, share ideas and concerns, and take ownership of their jobs. If you tell people what to do without this information, you will lose employee engagement and development. Nobody Excels in Everything We all have innate preferences for where we put our attention and energy. When you objectively measure these traits, you learn that the higher you are in one characteristic, the lower you are in the opposite of that characteristic. For example, the higher you are in conceptual thinking, the lower you are in practical reasoning. The higher you are in seeing details, the lower you are in viewing the big-picture. Being high in both ends of a spectrum is like being a "tall, short person"…it's a myth. People who are relatively competent in all of the functions tend to be in the average range for each – such as "Jack of all trades and a master of none." That's why it's critical to be self-aware and self-honest to address your gaps! You can't always delegate away your weaknesses, but you can improve in any "less developed" area through training and practice. Your goal isn't to convert a weakness into a strength. It's to prevent these deficits from sabotaging your strong suits. Your level of success is directly related to how well your company executes the different aspects of leadership and management. Even a solopreneur cannot escape this truth. The bad news is that it's unlikely that you will do well in every aspect. The good news is that you can get help to fill the gaps. Management refers to strategies and goals and the systems, processes, and technologies to achieve them. These are the critical details that put concepts and intentions into action to produce tangible results.