- How Do You Gain Power from Completion?
- Believing in the Task or Project
- Proper Assessment of a Task or Project
- Managing a Task or Project
- Accountability in Completing a Task or Project
- Take the Blinders Off
- Time Is of the Essence
- Organizing a Task or Project
- Should a Task Become an Official Project?
- Operations Manager or Project Manager?Who Are You?
- Managing Processes Versus Reporting on Progress
- Power Tools for the Manager
- Power Tool Summary
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Take the Blinders Off
Managers are in a place of responsibility that requires thought and decision processing and when put to the test will reveal how well their decision process actually works. One of the process inhibitors that managers might encounter is working with paradigms. Managers might sometimes start down a path with a great idea of how they want to complete something, which is usually good but can have its drawbacks. Managers might operate in a rut, using the same old ways day in and day out, but not be pleased with the overall outcome of their department. Managers need to constantly look for improvements, and surprisingly they might find ideas in their department staff or management meetings. One of the power tools within an organization is team meetings, which, when conducted well, can produce several ideas and narrow them down to the best course of action. When a manager goes through the decision process, he should take a similar approach and evaluate other options because there might be more than one way to get something done.
Sticking to an original plan can be good, but consider being open-minded and looking into other ways to accomplish a task.
In some cases, brainstorming sessions with your team can reveal slightly different approaches that might be more efficient.
These types of activities can be great for both discovering new things about your project and building a great team.
For the manager, this can be an eye-opening experience, revealing how many different alternatives there can be to accomplishing a task or project. This type of process approach can be a very effective decision-processing tool for the manager, as well as an opportunity to learn more about your team members and how the team interacts. This can also be used as an instructional tool for team building.
Always keep this question in mind: “What is the fastest and most cost-effective way to complete a task or project correctly?”