Managing People is an Art-form?

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Jonathan Girard of the Boston University Orchestra
       Yes... some people are simply better managers than others; and it's difficult to nail just what it is that differentiates the best people managers from their peers. Some are tougher, some appear weaker, some are friendly, some appear distant; But  these successful managers all succeed in inspiring the trust and confidence of their team... and they get results.
        One thing's for sure, there aren't enough of them to go round. And so-called company culture turns out to be really a pool of different cultures, more centered around the strengths and weaknesses of individual managers, both good and bad. In fact; employee surveys reveal that having a good manager is more likely to keep a talented person on-board than working for the 'best' company. Employees leave managers and not companies as a team at Florida State University showed in 2006. In a survey of over 700 people from a variety of jobs, the following was reported:
  • 39% of managers fail to keep promises 
  • 37% fail to give credit where it is due 
  • 31% gave staff the 'silent treatment' in past year
        Back in the year 2000, the Gallup poll of over 200 companies showed that you can divide any working population into three categories: people who are engaged (loyal and productive), those who are not engaged (just putting in time), and those who are actively disengaged (unhappy and spreading their discontent). At the time, the U.S. working population reported results of  26% being 'engaged', 55% not 'engaged', and 19% who were 'actively disengaged'. 12 years on, the situation is roughly the same, the number of 'actively disengaged' remaining just the same.
        So to increase the  number of employees who feel 'engaged', you simply need more good managers. Easier said than done?
Jungian Principles of Competing Values
        By adapting the Organisational Cultural Assessment Instrument devised by Robert Quinn and Kim Cameron to fit with personal and team assessments, we illuminate where you are today together with the culture you strive for. 
        Using brain-based techniques, we  identify the best pathway to get you there, together with the development of milestones along the way.
        This version of the Competing Values Framework is quick to administer and allows you to talk of your company and your brands as if they too are people... it's also a great start to branding exercises and for those embarking on a change strategy.
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Traditional competing values framework

Managing People is a Science

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       Looking back over the last 100 years, we can now pool the best work from the developing field of psychology with more recent findings from the world of neuroscience. As a result, there are more accurate ways to measure aspects of personality and in consequence, make people aware of their strengths and their weaknesses. 
        In addition, MRI brain scans add detail by showing how people react in certain situations and even in which parts of the brain they make decisions (it's not where you think!). 

Our Approach
        At Lazy Horses, by focusing separately on the rational thinking brain and the emotional, instinctive brain, we build up the individual components that you need to work better and to understand where team colleagues and others are coming from. Then we pull both approaches together and work on the communication skills needed to work effectively with a specific target audience or in situations that up to now may have proven to be difficult. Yes; there's still a lot of art and interpretation, but the field is getting more scientific support.