The Hindu Business Line : Don't stop with empowerment

If you have the capacity to visualise the future, and are willing to act on the priorities you have set, count yourself among the select band of effective managers. "Being a dreamer will not get results. It is only when the manager disciplines himself an d his team to take action - with patience and perseverance - that the desired fruits can be achieved," write Swami Anubhavananda and Arya Kumar in 'Management with a Difference' (www.anebooks.com).

Identifying the problems to work on is easier compared to finding 'creative and workable solutions'. Rather than 'harp on the reasons for the problem', an effective manager discusses solutions with the team, thus empowering everybody to think of solution s. A good manager makes people feel they are 'at the very heart of things, not at the periphery'. Don't stop with empowerment, though; add a dose of accountability to get the 'magic' working!

A 'transforming' manager inspires his people. The fundamental principle of inspiring, according to the authors, is to treat people as if they were what they are capable of becoming. "People love to achieve more than they thought they were capable of. Goi ng through this process of over-reaching himself (while in the presence of his manager) just once in his lifetime is very often sufficient to ensure that the staff member acquires the habit of driving himself to greater heights. This leads to self-motiva tion, removes dependence on the manager and feeds back into the cycle of excellent performance."

An apt saying that finds mention in the book is this: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Getting the best out of your people for the growth of the organisation demands 'respect to the individual' and 'a humane touch in dealing with people'. To gain the trust of your co-workers, you need to be known for 'honest dealings, predictable reactions and well-controlled emotions, absence of tantrums and emotional blackmails'.

Drawing insight from ancient wisdom, the book explains that inspiration is what 'tejas' means, in Sanskrit. "An inspired person keeps overshooting his own performance every time he jumps into any field of activity. Inspiration without ability leads to ca lamity, and ability without inspiration leads to a mediocre performance." Tejas has many obstacles to surmount, such as: avidya (ignorance), aavarana (veiling - the inability to appreciate one's own potentialities), and vikshepa (projection - 'something is imagined and projected by us to be real').

A chapter on 'change management' enlightens that excellence is best achieved in small steps. Break down 'any large task (or overall focus) into manageable segments,' and accomplish the easiest first. "By actually achieving success after success, we begi n to establish a repetitive pattern of achievement that leads to even greater accomplishment. Success, like failure, tends to be a trend... Enough successes eventually add up to ultimate excellence."

Sincere presentation, in a simple style, that should appeal to those seeking light on management.

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