The Five Messages Leaders Must Manage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Five Messages Leaders Must Manage - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that if you ask the average population to explain what qualities make a good leader or a good manager, you would probably get many similar answers. Several attributes can contribute to a good leader in management positions, such as those leaders who have the full support and respect of their employees while realizing goal-oriented results. In some organizations, managers may burden their subordinates to achieve the desired goals and build a positive image in the eyes of their superiors and co-workers. However, they may do so by imposing a sense of fear for failure or extremely stressful expectations upon those working for them. An employee may not be motivated by a positive reinforcement in the workplace, but rather by a â€Å"looming† fear that his or her job may be at risk if a manager’s expectations are not met. On the other hand, individuals who are gifted leaders can motivate individuals without intimidating them, but the y may fall short of the corporate expectations as managers. In other words, some managers may be terrible leaders and some leaders make for very poor managers. Therefore, employees that combine the attributes of the skilled leaders and managers are valuable assets to their organization as they put their teams on the right track to support the organization’s overall goals. Honesty, humility, logic, confidence, compassion, ethics, morality, and a sense of humor are just a few of the attributes that may be sought out in a good leader and manager.... I believe â€Å"the list of messages to leaders† to be endless, and may not be encompassed in Hamm’s five messages nor in the following four messages that I suggest. 1. Do not just be proactive†¦be interactive Unintentionally, some managers may lean toward imposing their individual perspectives and ideas upon their teams. They may eagerly explain the preferred course of action their employees should implement without allowing for further discussions. Such managers may have genuine and viable ideas; however, other team members should be equally motivated to participate and contribute their ideas rather than acting as mere instruments. The manager being completely interactive within her team says a great deal about the quality of her leadership. (Prive, 2012) As we have discussed in the class, interactions and consequent conflicts are naturally occurring and necessary to spur teams’ synergy and collaborative efficiency. 2. Appreciate that â€Å"Teams† a re the sum of their parts†¦ For a manager that is not interactive, it is easier to think of the team members as single merged entities. They are identifiable to the manager by department names or team titles, not as skilled individuals forming a cohesive group dynamics. This may drive team members to feel as expendable as machine parts, and consequently not take individual pride in their work. A good leader takes the time to regularly review the people that contribute to the business’s success. Recognizing the names of the individuals and the jobs they perform make employees feel appreciated. Furthermore, acknowledging the quality of employees’ work makes them feel uniquely important and needed. (Makovsky, 2012)