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Management by Walking Around – in the Internet Age

Guest post by: Kerri Salls

Article Overview: In the internet age we still need the essence of management by walking around in order to build community and loyalty, and it needs to be done with a personal touch, now more than ever.

Management by Walking Around – in the Internet Age

In the early 1980s, a radical idea was published in the Harvard Business Review. It was suggested that good managers get out from behind their desks, leave their offices and walk around the office, factory, or plant floor to observe employees in their work and to engage them in conversation about that work.

Until then, there had been a strong line dividing white collar and blue collar workers with the idea management did not need to cross that line. However, the managers who did interact with their employees succeeded better at their jobs because they were no longer isolated, operating in a vacuum and they built community and loyalty in the people who worked for them.

Fast-forward twenty-five years. The conveniences of the 21st century, the electronic age, and the accelerated pace of our lives, all challenge the assertion that your people need face time with you. Yet they do. They are human and need to know you are too. So here are some suggestions of how to lead your team, in the internet age.

Meetings – Whether you hold meetings in small groups or large, hold your regular meetings. Distance is no longer an excuse. Meetings can be on a conference call with everyone calling in from their desk, or meetings can be a linkup between conference rooms with speaker phones in each location. Video conferencing for large numbers of people is well established. But with a digital camera and a piece of software we can all run video calls live. Video gets us back to using all the aspects of communication, not just the words.

Catch them doing something good – This doesn’t just apply to children. In business, it can mean encouraging or acknowledging someone who goes beyond the job description to do something for the company or make something right for the client. It rewards taking responsibility or taking initiative, solving a problem or taking a risk, in the best interest of the company.

Reward Appropriately – When you catch someone doing something good, it used to be a pat on the shoulder was enough. Now, you need to make that pat on the shoulder more public. You could publicize it in the company newsletter, at an awards ceremony or simply at the annual company outing when everyone is already collected. Plaques and certificates can be valuable for the personal recognition and inspiration they afford. In addition, personalized gifts tell the person, you thought about them as an individual, e.g., giving ski tickets to someone who hates winter is not a fit. But giving concert tickets to see a performer the employee enjoys, is more fitting. Some people make it a known habit that they’ll hand out cash whenever someone does a range of things in the category of excellence for the company or the team. All of these can be done regardless of distance or location.

Delegate – You get more done when you delegate. When you delegate long distance it can be a challenge to know how well the person is handling the task or if they need your help. You can’t hound them with phone calls daily or ask for detailed reports daily – they’ll never have time to get anything done. But you can systematically let them know what you expect and that your “door” (euphemistically) is open if they need to talk about it in a variety of ways.

Create opportunities – With all the electronic means we have at hand; it’s even easier now to stay glued to our desks and work entirely by phone, web and email. But we have real people working for us, with us. We must still engage them as people where they are at. That means creating opportunities for face-to-face interactions. Create appropriate opportunities to work together or have a discussion in person. Establish your own set of criteria for when to work remotely and when to take the time and expense for people to travel to get the work done.

Lead by example – Today, even more so than in past generations, leading by example is critical for setting the standard you want. To lead effectively, you must have the pulse of the organization. If you want good communication, establish the processes and procedures that will enhance good communication while maximizing the benefits of this electronic age.

In the internet age we still need the essence of management by walking around in order to build community and loyalty, and it needs to be done with a personal touch, now more than ever.

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Article Tags: management, virtual management, virtual team, virtual team management



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