MARKETING AFRICA MAL 18/17 mal 18:17 online | Page 74

RAINMAKERS
LEAD MORE,
MANAGE LESS!
By Dr. Clifford Ferguson
M
anagers muddle – leaders
inspire. Leaders are people
who inspire with clear
vision of how things can be done
better. “What we are looking for
are leaders at every level who can
energize, excite and inspire rather
than enervate, depress, and control.”
Create a vision and then ignite your
organisation to make this vision a
reality. Get people so passionate
about what they are doing that they
cannot wait to execute this plan.
Have great energy, competitive spirit
and the ability to spark excitement
and achieve results. Search for
leaders who have the same qualities.
Focus on strategic issues. Your job
is to understand the strategic issues
within each of your businesses where
they are going around the Five
Questions. Know the talent they
need to win in those markets and
the amount of capital they need.
And make bets.
Don’t micromanage. Your job is to
see the big picture. Don’t manage
‘‘ Manage Less. “We are constantly amazed
by how much people will do when they are not
told what to do by management.” In the new
knowledge-based economy, people should
make their own decisions. Managing less is
managing better. Close supervision, control
and bureaucracy kills the competitive spirit of
the company. “Weak managers are the killers
of business; they are the job killers. You can’t
manage self-confidence into people. ’’
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every detail. Don’t get caught up in
the minutiae or obsess over every
detail, but instead inspire others
to execute your vision. Surround
yourself with great people and trust
them to do their job and contribute
their best to the organisation.
Involve everyone and welcome great
ideas from everywhere. Anyone
can be a leader, just so long as they
contribute, and the most meaningful
way for anyone to contribute is to
come up with a good idea. Business
is all about getting the best ideas
from everyone. New ideas are the
lifeblood of the business, the fuel
that makes it run. “The hero is the
person with a new idea.” There is
simply nothing more important
to an organisation than expressing
ideas and creating a vision.
Lead by Example. To spark others to
perform, you must lead by example.
Jack Welch mastery of the 4 E’s
of leadership – Energy, Energize,
Edge, and Execution – was always
in evidence. “He had great energy,
sparked others, had incredible
competitive spirit, and had a record
of execution that was second to
none. This is a key of the Welch