Managing is a tough job. I can imagine how managers, while running a business, sometimes make mistakes or misjudge a situation. It is said that nobody finds the right path without mistakes or risks and that too holds regarding managers, but the general labelling makes us believe that they should not make mistakes. However, after years of consulting with managers, I think I have realized that cutting down on mistakes is part of how managers make decisions.
When we look at the great successes of managers, we usually see them at the top of their organizations. But along the way they make many mistakes. Sometimes they make decisions that are risky, full of errors and painful. Perhaps the only type of manager who hardly makes mistakes is an orchestra conductor performing a classical piece. A showMessage consultant would always say to managers, “Try to make your orchestra.” A properly oriented orchestra reflects the success of the group.
A company is like a small, well-tuned orchestra that plays the melody of company goals; be it a small internal product team or even an agile marketing team, it is no different. Nobody can avoid mistakes completely, but if instruments are tuned right and the orchestra is composed of the best musicians, nobody will even notice these small mistakes. Why does success sometimes not reproduce itself? Why is not every manager successful? The answer lies in how a manager deals with mistakes.
Mistakes and Their Role in Management
A chain of mistakes sometimes takes place: internal conflicts within the team, authoritarian behavior, and belittling of the team’s abilities can cause team members to refuse to work with the manager, who simply hands over the baton and leaves the team. The manager in this case will try to push the team, at the same time trying to perform the best.
Although these statements may sound like behaviors that stem from a leader, these are qualities that fit within the role of a manager. As a matter of fact, all those exaggerated descriptions of managers are often used to paint a negative image of incompetent and superficial managers. A capable manager is far better than someone who just claims to be a leader. But what is the definition of a true leader? The way I see it, a leader is just a manager but with some added characteristics, making him a sort of “super CEO”.
A focused manager who gathers the best experts in the right places and leverages all capacities to achieve success is a “super manager”. This super manager, or Super CEO, is truly someone who creates value. They understand the core values of the organization and create new value with minimal cost.
Challenges Managers Face on the Path to Success
The Japanese have a term: Lean Manufacturing, meaning “doing more with less.” This simple idea shone at Toyota. It was implemented at a time when production and material costs were high, and Toyota had to compete in the global market with American and German competitors. This is when the Japanese decided to use lean manufacturing techniques. Lean manufacturing had a few simple principles: when inventory ran out, managers wouldn’t immediately refill it. They only placed new orders when they were sure they needed it. They would only sell a product when they were confident they could produce more. They created a cycle of buying raw materials, producing, and selling to keep their industrial process healthy.
It might seem like this cycle is a routine that many companies follow, but when you look closely at teams and what happens within them, you see a lot of problems that show teams are running out of necessity, not based on strategy. Sales systems are full of flaws, products don’t have a chance to be updated, and there’s no budget for the marketing team. Teams lack experts, and managers are in the wrong seats, uninterested in fixing the issues within their departments. That’s why you can’t call this kind of management Lean Production. Conversations with employees working under these managers are full of terms usually reserved for glorified “yellow leaders”: creative, kind, guiding, the captain of a sinking ship, and even a morale booster during tough times. Yes, everyone is smiling, they enjoy being at the company, but they’re not working. Instead, they hang out with the manager (whom they see as a leader), smoking and having casual chats over a 32cm pizza. There’s no sign of lean production. No sign of real leaders. These are charming managers feeding off the system, but they’re the ones who only deserve to be shown the exit door.
Leader VS Super CEO
Well, then where does the super-manager come in? For me, the super manager is a guy who will go into such an organization, observe what is wrong and show the way to the exit to all these pseudo-leaders. He reconciles it all within the business, piecing teams and departments together so that they all start playing correctly. That is when lean production re-emerges. That will be when real managers will emerge and distinguish themselves from fake flashy leaders.
I do not want to devalue the notion of leadership. I am trying to introduce a new definition: the super manager. Throughout the years I have worked with real managers, I have seen leading teams without knowing anyone’s name and I saw fake leaders know 1,000 staff members by name but were unable to pay salaries on time. Therefore, I have come to believe it is better to try and become a super manager rather than a leader!