Management Approach

How we lead our people and how we solve problems and innovate, are some of the most important aspects of Management to get right. In our research, we’ve therefore looked specifically at two aspects of Management throughout history, and how these will develop in the future (Figure below):

Management Approach

The style of top management, ranging from:

• Control (i.e. your boss tells you what to do and how to do it).
• Set Goals (i.e. your boss sets goals and expectations, but you have more freedom with regards to how you achieve them).
• Inspire (i.e. your boss gives you scope and freedom to innovate on both what and how).

Approach to Innovation / Problem Solving

How leaders solve strategic problems and develop new products and services. This ranged from:

• Top Down (i.e. solutions are created and come from the top)
• Top Down with Bottom Up Data (i.e. the rest of the organisation contributes information and experiences, but solutions are still created at the top).
• Participatory (i.e. solutions are created collaboratively, and throughout the organisational levels).

After a century of trying to control people, processes and information, we have come to a point in organisational history where we need to recognise that what worked before just simply isn’t enough anymore. Traditional Management is fine if you want compliance, but if you want innovation and growth, you need to engage your people on a whole new level. Top down control is a thing of the past. Succeeding in today’s environment requires a management style that inspires and is participatory.

Other Management Approaches

Classical approach

• management as planning, organising and controlling
• hierarchical organisation structure
• autocratic leadership

Behavioural approach

• management as leading, motivating, communicating teams
• participative/democratic leadership style

Contingency approach

• adapting to changing circumstances