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MarshallCavendishM - Peter Shaw

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122 pages

English

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Managers are continually faced with new challenges and dilemmas. Getting the balance right is never straightforward, however. We are always having to find the right point of equilibrium between leading and managing, the short and long term, the individual and the team, activity and reflection, and being resolute and adaptable.

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Gestion et management

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Publié par	MarshallCavendishM
Date de parution	20 décembre 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789814435857
Langue	English

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G ETTING THE B ALANCE R IGHT
G ETTING THE B ALANCE R IGHT
LEADING AND MANAGING WELL
PETER SHAW
Copyright 2013 Peter Shaw
Cover design: Cover Kitchen Co. Limited
Published in 2013 by Marshall Cavendish Business
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
genrefsales@sg.marshallcavendish.com
www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
Other Marshall Cavendish offices:
Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
The right of Peter Shaw to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the publisher. The author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book and disclaim liability arising directly and indirectly from the use and application of this book. All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain necessary copyright permissions. Any omissions or errors are unintentional and will, if brought to the attention of the publisher, be corrected in future printings.
ISBN 978-981-4328-31-9 eISBN 978 981 4435 85 7
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Limited, Padstow, Cornwall
Dedicated to Anna, Owen and Holly, who have each brought energy and thoughtfulness into our family life and bring a delightful sense of fun.
CONTENTS

Foreword by Jeremy Oates
Introduction
A. Following and Leading
1. Who do you follow?
2. What does leading mean?
3. Can you follow and lead at the same time?
4. Why should anyone follow you?
B. Engagement and Detachment
5. Taking engagement deeper
6. When does engagement become manipulative?
7. Detached or disengaged?
8. Being engaged and detached at the same time
C. Principle and Pragmatism
9. When is it all about principle?
10. When is it all about pragmatism?
11. When can principles get frozen in time?
12. When is balancing principle and pragmatism the easy way out?
D. Awareness and Action
13. When you stop listening you die
14. Watch your impact
15. When is the moment for action?
16. Keeping a virtuous circle of action and awareness
E. Rational and Emotional
17. Using your emotions as valuable data
18. When can you be too rational for your own good?
19. Keeping your emotional and rational reactions in tune with each other
20. Being aware of all that is happening inside you
F. Individual and Collective
21. When is it your problem and no one else s?
22. What is it only you can do?
23. Where do your family and friends fit in?
24. When does the team come first?
G. Directive and Responsive
25. When do you take control?
26. When do you go with the flow?
27. Who are you captive to?
28. Can you build a virtuous circle of being responsive and directive?
H. Realism and Optimism
29. Accepting harsh reality
30. Hope springs eternal
31. There is always a silver lining
32. Dealing with apparent contradictions
I. Continuity and Change
33. Keep straight on to the end of the road
34. It is an upside down world
35. Be willing to turn sideways
36. Three steps forward and two steps back
J. Present and Future
37. The future beckons
38. Staying rooted in the past
39. One foot in the present, one foot in the future
40. Letting the future inform the present
K. Ambition and Acceptance
41. Being single-minded: good or bad?
42. Acceptance as a sign of strength and not weakness
43. Knowing when you can make a difference and when you cannot
44. Progress through both ambition and acceptance
L. Serious and Joyful
45. Living life with a purpose
46. Seeing the bigger picture
47. Laughing at yourself
48. Where do I fit in?

Acknowledgements
Other books by Peter Shaw
About the author
FOREWORD
Getting the balance right is never easy. This book will provide you with valuable insights and practical ideas.
The questions the book addresses are highly relevant in a demanding and fast-changing world. When do you lead and when do you follow? When are principles key and when is a pragmatic approach more important? How can you be engaged and detached at the same time? How best do you keep your rational and emotional responses in tune with each other? How do you build a virtuous circle of being responsive and directive? How do you balance ambition and acceptance? How can you be both serious and joyful?
All these questions resonate strongly with me. With leadership responsibility for 50,000 people in Accenture across a third of the world, I am acutely aware of my own need to balance the considerations covered in this book. Much of the mentoring I do of senior leaders is about enabling them to find the right balance and equilibrium on these key axes.
Peter brings a wealth of experience as a former director general in the UK Government, an executive coach of teams and individuals across five continents and as a business school professor. Peter writes in an engaging and practical way with no jargon. Each of the short chapters provides valuable prompts for thought and action.
This is a book that could radically change your approach to leading and managing. It will enable you to stand back and reflect. It will help you understand better your reactions in different situations. It will enable you to crystallize your approach in handling demanding issues in the future, both as an individual and as part of a team. The book is equally relevant whatever country you live in or sector you work in.
Be ready for your thinking, attitudes and approaches to change as you read this book.
Jeremy Oates
Managing Director of Technology for Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America Accenture
INTRODUCTION
I get enormous pleasure from doing long-distance walks. As a walker you have to achieve a balance. The right balance will vary depending on the weight of the load you are carrying: whether the terrain is rocky, smooth or boggy; the nature of the gradient; and whether you are feeling fit or tired. The length of stride and the pace will vary depending on the time of day, whether you are walking alone or in a group, and how the mood of the day takes you.
Our journey through life is not dissimilar. On some days we feel energised and able to address any challenge. On other occasions we feel daunted and the shallowest, upward gradient seems like a long drudge. There is no magic formula for getting the balance right. We learn to be adaptable to the environment around us, the expectations of others, the pressures we feel under and our own moods.
The long distance walker knows that the best way to keep their balance is to look forward and be clear about the direction they are travelling, both half a mile ahead and five steps ahead. The walker is infinitely adaptable, holding on to a rock while going around big boulders, using a walking pole on rough ground, or treading carefully through boggy marshland. The walker enjoys the variety, relishes the company of others, celebrates reaching their destination and appreciates that every walk is different.
Getting the balance right in our work, and in the relationship between work and the rest of life, is not about applying a fixed, rigid formula. Success comes through understanding yourself as clearly as possible, understanding the politics and emotions of the environment around you, and holding your nerve when visibility is diminished and you are feeling damp and soggy.
I explore 12 areas where getting the balance right is crucial in order to lead and manage well, for both your well-being and your success. These 12 areas provide prompts for thought and a stimulus for action:
following and leading
engagement and detachment
principle and pragmatism
awareness and action
rational and emotional
individual and collective
directive and responsive
realism and optimism
continuity and change
present and future
ambition and acceptance
serious and joyful
Under each section I explore four different aspects using examples, setting out practical ideas and points for reflection.
I offer no magic formula. My intention is to set out practical ideas to enable the reader to reach their own conclusions about what is the right point of balance. There are always choices to be made, even if it is only regarding our attitude. The long-distance walker keeps making choices about the direction they are travelling and where they are going to put their feet next. They are continually choosing their point of balance, sometimes deliberately and sometimes instinctively. If this book stimulates you to see your choices in new ways, then it is serving the purpose for which it was intended.
Long-distance walks may not be your particular pleasure, but seeing how you adapt your balance when walking, running, cycling, skiing or swimming can provide a practical illustration of the need for strength and adaptability in getting the balance right.
The book does not separately address the balance between work and the rest of life. I sought to do that in Thriving in Your Work (Marshall Cavendish, 2011) and Raise Your Game (Capstone, 2009). The points of balance covered in this book address the whole of life and are just as relevant whether you are in paid employment, working in a voluntary capacity, or have full-time family or caring responsibiliti