Excerpt
from Life & Work: A Manager's Search for Meaning
The
Paradoxes
A young manager friend asked me to "list the paradoxes of management" sometime.
I've usually avoided doing it because I don't think I know all the paradoxes
of management and because I think some of them are not just restricted to
management. But fools rush in, so here I go:
The Leader must. . .
-
be long term and short term at the same time, assuring that the quarterly
earnings of the company meet the financial requirements set by the board
while often sacrificing short-term earnings in order to assure the long-term
growth and development of the company and its stakeholders.
-
be in touch and aware of what's going on without looking over people's shoulders.
-
inspire and often direct people in accomplishing the vision and mission and
purpose of the organization while empowering people to manage themselves
and make their own decisions.
-
accept and perform the role of spokesperson for the company, the person in
the spotlight, the person upon whom much attention is showered while letting
go of ego and control and becoming a resource for the employees.
-
encourage and support the rights and the growth and the independent thinking
of individual employees without sacrificing the rights and growth and
interdependence of the community of employees.
-
care for people and fire people, sometimes the same people.
-
encourage risk-taking and reward mistakes while preventing any mistakes that
could jeopardize the survival of the enterprise.
-
Embrace with full commitment the demands and responsibilities, as well as
the rewards, of the job with all its paradoxes while embracing with full
commitment the demands and responsibilities, as well as the rewards, of being
a parent and spouse and friend.
Life and Work by James A. Autry.
© 1994. All rights reserved. |
