Characteristics of the knowledge era and the worst of the old world managers
Characteristics of the knowledge era and the worst of the old world managers
The knowledge era managers are:
- Interested in your role
- Supportive and excellent listeners
- Aware of your role and capability
- Not interfering
- Decisive
- Enthusiastic
- Flexible and willing to change
- Available to their people
- Able to set clear objectives
- Results focused
- Open-minded
- Willing to develop and grow people
- Able to develop high levels of trust
- Good at letting go
- Strong communicators
- Sincere – they never tell lies
- Approachable
- Keen to hear your views and ideas
- Balanced in their moods and disposition
- Consistent and positive in their actions
- Self-motivated – this ‘rubs off’ on people
- Interested in your opinions and views
Old world managers are:
- Ineffective communicators
- Bad listeners
- Indecisive
- Always changing their minds
- Suspicious of their staff
- Not interested in developing their people
- Keen to blame others
- Judgmental and temperamental
- Selfish
- Lacking in team/individual development
- Frequently defensive and insecure
- Dictatorial and autocratic
- Threatened by talent beneath them
- Take the credit for the good work of others
- Unwilling to allow their people access to higher authorities
- Unprofessional
- Manipulative and political
- Bad at providing positive feedback
- Practitioners of public humiliations
- Inconsistent
- Rude and bullying
Warning: why managers have traditionally got fired in organizations!
- Never delivered results
- Lacked a sense of urgency
- Lacked priorities
- Were unable to respond positively to change
- Clinged to obsolete ideas and outmoded ways of doing things
- Useless at managing people
- Emotionally volatile and unstable
- Immature in their behaviour towards others
- Gave up learning and developing themselves
- Were unable to delegate
- Ineffective communicator
- Unable to take tough decisions
- Lacked a sense of humour
- Lacked humility
- Failed to anticipate problems or challenges
- Focused more on ‘I’ rather than ‘We’
