What makes an effective executive by Peter Drucker.
Leadership does not define the meaning of an effective executive. Harry Truman was known to be an effective executive despite lacking charisma in the history of United States. Similarly, Drucker states that most managers are defined according to their attitudes, strengths, personalities and weaknesses; however, this attitude does not in any way deter them from being effective. They are all guided by the following eight practices which make them efficient.
• Enquiring from others about what is to be done
• Enquiring the enterprise rights
• Developing action plans
• Taking responsibility for any decision made
• Taking communication responsibility
• Focusing on opportunities that will benefit the organization other than concentrating on problems facing it
• Governing productive meetings
• Involving others in their decision-making rather than deciding on their own.
These practices enable executives to gain the knowledge they need to succeed, and they convert this knowledge into action which is effective. Also, the whole organization will be accountable and responsible for their work as they are involved in all activities. (“What Makes An Effective Executive”)
For a leader to be effective, the following points must be considered.
Knowledge
By enquiring from others, an executive gains more knowledge on what is to be done, and this is crucial for the managerial success. This knowledge enables them to concentrate on the important tasks according to priority and work on them. Other duties are postponed or reassigned to focus on the task chosen. Effective executives will question themselves if what they are doing is right for the organization because every decision made should benefit the company.
Action plan
Effective executives should write down an action plan on how the tasks are to be executed. The action plan is a statement reflecting the good intentions, but they should be flexible and often revised if new opportunities arise. This becomes the basis of time management for the executives.
Act
This is the last stage where plans are translated into action, and the executive should pay attention to the decision made, opportunities, meeting, and communications. An effective executive will delegate tasks which they are incompetent at and will not make any decision that might paralyze the plan. They should also ensure that all details are clearly understood by everybody concerned.Lastly, they should consider changes as opportunities and not threats.
Saving the Business without Losing the Company by Carlos Ghosn.
According to Carlos, in business, success is not defined by the fundamental changes towards the company’s operations and organization .the company’s identity should be protected and its people self-esteem should also be maintained. The solution should come from within the organization and it will be respected as the company plan. Safeguarding the company’s identity and making changes should not be pursued together as this might cause conflict especially in alliances or mergers situation. In Carlos case, he was new in Nissan and also non-Japanese and often met skepticism from the employees and managers. He acted smartly by avoiding dictation that would have undermined the employee’s morale which would affect production, but was also keen and avoided being too passive so as to improve the companies productivity. This led to the growth of Nissan Company and it yielded higher profits within two years.(“Saving The Business Without Losing The Company”).To save a company, the existing management should be mobilized rather than imposing new plans for the organization. The company’s culture should also be respected and give room to development. According to Carlos, execution discipline and process importance are essential to a company and will make it to always prevail. Understanding the business’s product is fundamental as everything rotates around it.
The organization should also promote its employee following their performance and not the period of employment. A reward system and incentive system should be built as guidance towards performance regardless of nationality, age or gender. To save a company from downfall, it’s important for the management to strategize plans that should be followed by everyone despite how difficult they are. They should be guided by priorities, and this will help in achieving stated goals even in a tough situation.
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