Management by creating conflict
When you try to control and manage everything, you end up controlling nothing and mismanaging everything.
I am seeing some really funny scenes in an office where I have recently joined to spearhead export business development, while partly assisting the leadership in creating a robust and functioning organization structure. It’s a short-term assignment for me and I want to learn about the product and technology quick enough so as to independently handle the customer acquisition process.
Initially for a few weeks I used to get frustrated while remaining calm, but now I get flustered. Controlling my own senses knowing it would not end up anywhere if I start poking my nose at almost everything, I am observing rather surprisingly that I have started enjoying the daily chore and wait for new shocking news from my colleagues every morning, and to my utter dismay I do get at least one such news almost everyday.
The leader is passionate about his company but he is way too undisciplined. Thus having very experienced and senior personnel on the team too doesn’t help get things done smoothly as the lower management guys and the shop-floor engineers are not motivated enough. But the senior members are also not bothered to change the way the company functions and the way their decision making authority is in jeopardy, because the promoter is way too obsessive about touching base on almost everything that happens in the company, thus indulging into micro-managing too often.
There is enormous potential in the products and services the company has to offer and it needs a very disciplined and process-driven organization structure, and a professional CEO at the helm. Having observed many organizations of varying size and scale, I can confidently say that at this stage this company doesn’t need a CEO or a COO, but the unprofessional attitude and lack of systematic way of conducting the affairs of the company on the part of the young owner demands one too soon. I know I have an exciting tasks on my hands, because I have to mentor the founder promoter and help him gain confidence in his own people whom he only has brought in. I have to make him feel secure. I know it’s the insecurity that drives him to confide in some people who are not really worth any task or any penny because these people know his weakness and pamper him to live in a make-believe world where he is the kingmaker and that he is above the law! It’s his insecurity that makes him create conflicts where there should be none just so because he then finds the right ground to exercise command over people who although are sitting high but scary of taking any decision. And the worst fallout many a times is that the innocent customer has to suffer for no fault of hers.
There is always a time during the growth curve of any organization where the leader has to take some tough decisions, and in this case, the time is Now!
It’s a delicate task and am sure that in next one month I have to achieve at least half of what I have penned down as the key bullet points to accomplish in next 2 months. Woohhooooo!
