Business – Education for better business

I have been in business, and worked in businesses, both large and small, in New Zealand and abroad, for almost 50 years. In that time, and over those many and varied experiences, there has been one great insight that confronts me time and again – great managers and leaders are very rare! 

The truly great managers and leaders are those we don’t read about, those that have an incredibly unusual quality of mixing humility with drive and performance. They are motivated to achieve through others; the development and growth of people being their core purpose. They are not driven by ego. They make mistakes, are human and accept they don’t have all the answers. Research tells us that truly great managers are capable of triple the team productivity of average managers. Their teams are engaged and motivated. We need more of them, right now!

Education is an area close to my heart, and helps produce great managers and leaders by growing and developing those skills. Education is needed in the art of reflection, to create awareness when there can be a gap between what someone says and what they do. And by ensuring managers are aware of the importance of principles – the basics of managing and leading people.

Managers need to understand people. They need to pack their ego away and start listening. And I mean really listen – listen to understand others’ points of view and opinions, that may be totally at odds with their own. They need to understand that the more complex the problem, the more people it will need to solve. They need to stop being the Lone Ranger and be Silver instead (Silver was the Lone Ranger’s horse – he was quiet, bore the weight, listened, was courageous, led, and ultimately made all the decisions whilst his rider, the Lone Ranger, took all the kudos!).

Education is defined as the transmission of knowledge, skills and character traits – either in an informal, or formal way. “Transmission” is the key word here. As has been found in significant areas of educational research, the most important influence on the positive outcomes of education is not class size or the school environment, it’s not where you live, it’s the quality of the teacher. It’s the same with educating managers and leaders. The quality of the teacher, mentor, coach, call them what you will, is crucial to positive outcomes. And we really need those positive outcomes, right now!