Old-fashioned management style, or unmanageable disruption?

Previous management systems were created for results, control, based on a quite stable business environment, to shape employees’ behaviour within a system like this.

The main goals of the “hierarchical organisation” were to create in fact, stabilization through processes, policies, procedures, and culture.

Recent disruptions in the business environment, asked firms to do something different and quick. The model is not anymore achieving its intended purposes.

After Leadership ( of which I want to avoid speaking about it as there is an overwhelming quantity of materials, theories, proposals, and studies available), it is time to think also about management models.

Yes, because managing companies in an effective way has come increasingly difficult as it evolves. Nevertheless, I feel comfortable to join other thought leaders in saying that current management system is actually unsuitable anyway.

As introduced in my previous article, business continuity firstly starts from a Business that must be able to stay in the market. And the management models allow it.

There are two angles from which management can be seen: the current pure TOP DOWN and the one that represent the BOTTOM-UP starting from Employees.

Why? : change, adapt and also react with or without technology requires PEOPLE.

So far majority of change and transformation initiatives using TOP-DOWN approach spoke and measured people Engagement. From the situations that emerged from COVID - Great resignation, quiet quitting in addition to an extremely low engagement with people who feel endangered, bullied, and generally disenfranchised by their managers - previous management models seem not to be able to count on people (see for the eruption of the great resignation) as in the past, for becoming competitive in this changing world.

By the way I want to give justice to the management here: if you have had your education, your experience in firms which have been using models coming from the past, it is not easy to embrace radical changes while there is focus only on getting things done using what is in the culture and practice.

What I think is necessary is to design a transitional period or method, given the reality of what leadership, culture and change require to be adaptable to new business and growth needs dictated by the external environment. Yes, Transitional model looking forward to the final goals of effective supporting management.