Business consultant Tom Peters publicized the acronym MBWA in the 1980's - Management By Wandering Around. It's always been a favorite of mine. I worked for a hospital CEO a number of years ago who personified the style. It was common to see him in the hallway chatting with employees. He knew our names; he often knew the names of our children and sometimes even our pets. We loved him for that.
Today's management strategy seldom allows opportunity for much wandering around. Leaders are expected to spend considerable time collecting, analyzing and charting statistics - Management by Metrics. Pie charts, bar graphs, and Pareto diagrams rule our world; there is a great reliance on the science of numbers.
Neither style, however, can be entirely successful alone. Competent leaders figure out how to combine strategies in order to understand both the hearts and minds of their employees. Numbers can be manipulated and people can be biased; it's the role of the leader to determine the essence of truth they each tell.
An unfortunate by-product of over reliance on metrics is that it becomes "all about the numbers." Too often managers desperate to improve ratings resort to MBC - Management by Club. MBC acts on the belief that if employees are not producing adequate numbers, hitting them will bring about improvement. If targets remain unmet, MBC, which unfortunately only has one primary strategy, escalates by applying more force; i.e.; hitting them harder.
"Work harder, work longer, be more forceful, don't take no for an answer; this is your responsibility; where are your results? I need to see better numbers, just do your job" etc., etc. MBC produces short-term results, which can make it very appealing to those without long-term vision.
MBC isn't about holding people accountable for job performance, which is a necessary function of leadership. MBC is about relying on authority rather than strategy, bullying rather than planning, punishment rather than reward.
When we put our leadership hats on, let's leave the clubs behind. Let's try wandering around with a flow diagram and a control chart instead. Who knows what we might learn?
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