How to Manage in a Flat World
10 Strategies to Get Connected to Your Team Wherever They Are
Published on 21. August 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-0-13-290615-9 (ISBN)
Description
In today's "flat" world, you must get the best from teams that span not just offices, but continents: teams of unprecedented diversity and complexity. Leading those teams, you must deliver better results faster and with fewer resources. Conventional management techniques just won't do the job anymore. You need a radically new approach to management: one that's more fluid, more agile, and far less hierarchical.
How to Manage in a Flat World teaches you that new approach. Drawing on hard-won lessons from today's most successful global managers, this book covers both high-level concepts and hands-on techniques. You'll find best practices for everything from building trust to choosing the right times to travel...even maintaining a healthy work/life balance when you're leading a team that's operating 24/7! The new flat world has both high levels of interconnectivity facilitated by technology and high levels of dispersion within teams and companies, with colleagues often working in different offices, or even different parts of the world. This demands a new set of skills and tools of you as a manager. How to Manage in a Flat World gives you the ten strategies you need to be a high-performing manager. The key is to communicate and collaborate closely with your team, even if you don't see them very often. This practical book includes interviews with managers around the world, and will help the reader make the best use of technology; establish a work-life balance for yourself; know when you need to have face-to-face meetings; lead and motivate your team, wherever they are; create a culture of trust and motivation that will lead to higher performance; and prepare and adapt to change so that you are not left behind.
How to Manage in a Flat World teaches you that new approach. Drawing on hard-won lessons from today's most successful global managers, this book covers both high-level concepts and hands-on techniques. You'll find best practices for everything from building trust to choosing the right times to travel...even maintaining a healthy work/life balance when you're leading a team that's operating 24/7! The new flat world has both high levels of interconnectivity facilitated by technology and high levels of dispersion within teams and companies, with colleagues often working in different offices, or even different parts of the world. This demands a new set of skills and tools of you as a manager. How to Manage in a Flat World gives you the ten strategies you need to be a high-performing manager. The key is to communicate and collaborate closely with your team, even if you don't see them very often. This practical book includes interviews with managers around the world, and will help the reader make the best use of technology; establish a work-life balance for yourself; know when you need to have face-to-face meetings; lead and motivate your team, wherever they are; create a culture of trust and motivation that will lead to higher performance; and prepare and adapt to change so that you are not left behind.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Upper Saddle River
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
267 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-13-290615-9 (9780132906159)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Susan Bloch has coached top teams in many of the FTSE100 and Fortune 500 companies across the globe over the past twenty years. She has lived and worked in five countries: South Africa, North America, Israel, the United Kingdom, and India. Currently, she is on assignment as Chief Culture Officer for the Retail division of Reliance Industries; one of the few western women working in a senior role in an Indian company. Prior to that she was Partner and Head of Thought Leadership at Whitehead Mann where she was operating as an executive coach, working with executive teams and conducting board effectiveness reviews. Previously she was global head of executive coaching for the Hay Group. A Chartered Psychologist, with a M.A. from Columbia University in NY, Susan has co-authored Employability and Complete Leadership, and has produced a number of research publications.
Philip Whiteley is an author and journalist, specializing in management, particularly the areas of leadership, motivation, and strategic people management. He has written numerous articles for The Times, Personnel Today and Coaching at Work among other titles, and has appeared on BBC Newsnight discussing the portrayal of the workplace in the media. He is author of People Express, Motivation, Unshrink the People and Complete Leadership and his books have been translated into six languages. Now based in the UK, Philip has previously worked in Latin America.
Philip Whiteley is an author and journalist, specializing in management, particularly the areas of leadership, motivation, and strategic people management. He has written numerous articles for The Times, Personnel Today and Coaching at Work among other titles, and has appeared on BBC Newsnight discussing the portrayal of the workplace in the media. He is author of People Express, Motivation, Unshrink the People and Complete Leadership and his books have been translated into six languages. Now based in the UK, Philip has previously worked in Latin America.
Content
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xiii
About the Authors xv
Preface xvii
Introduction xix
Part I The Team
1 "Flat" Teams Need Direction 3
Key Points 3
Followership 4
Getting into Focus 5
Leading out of the Darkness of Ambiguity 6
Behind the Scenes: Teams in Synch with the Business 9
Unity of Focus in Complex Teams 11
Case Study: Coca-Cola: RIP the Department Silo 14
Clusters 15
Case Study: Shell Retail: Huge Workforce in a Dispersed Operation 17
Do We All Have to "Bond"? 20
Case Study: United Biscuits 22
If We Don't Know Where We Are Going, We Will Probably End Up Somewhere Else 25
Your Own Human Internet 26
Learning Points: High Performance with a Globally Dispersed Team 27
2 The Medium and the Message 29
Key Points 29
What Do We Get from "Being There"? 31
Video-Conferences: An Irritation 33
Why Are We Here? 35
Face-to-Face Can Be Powerful but Must Be Used Well 36
All Businesses Are People Businesses 38
A Level Playing Field in the Same Room 39
An International Team Can Really Fire 41
Benefits to Being the Virtual Stranger 42
Will Face-to-Face Become a Luxury? 44
Are There Hidden Advantages to the Virtual Connection? 47
Native or Nonnative English? Some Notes on Language 49
Onward with Travel 51
Learning Points: How to Get the Meeting Structure Right 51
3 Does Culture Still Matter? 53
Key Points 53
Is There a Generation Y? 57
Is It Really Culture? 59
In Which Ways Do We Differ? 60
In Which Ways Are We All the Same? 61
Individual Case Study: Monika Altmaier, Project Leader Internationalization, Siemens Business Services 63
Group Case Study: European Top Team 66
Defying the Stereotypes: WL Gore & Associates in China 67
Culture Clash Based on Profession 70
Learning Points: Tips to Avoid Stereotyping 72
4 Engage Leadership Skills: Command and Control
Doesn't Work 73
Key Points 73
Can Empowerment and Control Live Together? 74
Can You Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn? 78
How Do You Set Limits? 79
Managing the Bosses: Where Does Followership Fit in? 81
Quality of Relationships, Not Formulae 82
Learning Points: How to Improve Leadership Skills 83
5 Teams Are Not Self-Assembly 85
Key Points 85
What Are Those Special Ingredients? 86
Search Agent 87
Looking for the Global Mindset 87
How Important Is Fluent English? 90
The Hunt for Talent: Recruiting via Networks 91
Building the Right Culture Will Attract the People You Want 94
Learning Points: Guiding Principles for International Recruitment 96
Part II The Individual
6 EQ Is Not Enough: Intelligence Matters 99
Key Points 99
LVMH: Understanding the Market 102
Alstom: Building Long-Term Connections 104
It Is Not Always Enough to Be a Virtual Leader 105
Understanding the World: Changes That Creep Up on Us 106
Wake Up: The Paradigm Has Already Shifted 108
How Do We Make Learning Continuous? 111
Learning Points: How to Combine Strategic and Conceptual Thinking for Effective Leadership 113
7 Keeping a Life: Questions of Balance in the Flat World 115
Key Points 115
Meeting Face-to-Face Sends a Positive Message 117
Do We Have to Leave the Real Me at the Door? 118
Do We Have to Have the Maximum Everything? 123
Is Multitasking Really Possible? 124
"You Get Work-Life Balance Complaints When You're Losing" 126
Learning Points: How to Improve Work-Life Balance 127
8 Ten Strategies for Managing in a Flat World 129
1 Leadership Style Needs to Become Empowering and Inspirational 131
2 A Flat World Means Flat Structures 132
3 Recruitment of the Right People Makes All the Difference 132
4 Always Show the Way 133
5 Communicate Often and Learn to Communicate Well 133
6 Teams Don't Just Happen 134
7 Build Trust: It Is the Foundation of Strong Teams 135
8 Respect Cultural Differences 135
9 Work-Life Balance is the Blessing and the Curse of the Flat World 136
10 Become Part of the Human Internet 137
Implications for Boards, Managers, and Ordinary People 137
Managers Should Be Cut from a Different Cloth 139
Changing the Leadership Model 139
Ways of Being and Doing 140
Lessons from the Movies 141
Lumps and Bumps in the Flat World: What Would Make You Fail? 142
Using Both Sides of the Brain: Transforming Leadership 143
Conclusion: How to Be a Stand-Out Manager in a Flat World 145
The Three Cs of Success in the Flat World 146
A New Language for the Flat World 147
Notes 150
Index 151
Acknowledgments xiii
About the Authors xv
Preface xvii
Introduction xix
Part I The Team
1 "Flat" Teams Need Direction 3
Key Points 3
Followership 4
Getting into Focus 5
Leading out of the Darkness of Ambiguity 6
Behind the Scenes: Teams in Synch with the Business 9
Unity of Focus in Complex Teams 11
Case Study: Coca-Cola: RIP the Department Silo 14
Clusters 15
Case Study: Shell Retail: Huge Workforce in a Dispersed Operation 17
Do We All Have to "Bond"? 20
Case Study: United Biscuits 22
If We Don't Know Where We Are Going, We Will Probably End Up Somewhere Else 25
Your Own Human Internet 26
Learning Points: High Performance with a Globally Dispersed Team 27
2 The Medium and the Message 29
Key Points 29
What Do We Get from "Being There"? 31
Video-Conferences: An Irritation 33
Why Are We Here? 35
Face-to-Face Can Be Powerful but Must Be Used Well 36
All Businesses Are People Businesses 38
A Level Playing Field in the Same Room 39
An International Team Can Really Fire 41
Benefits to Being the Virtual Stranger 42
Will Face-to-Face Become a Luxury? 44
Are There Hidden Advantages to the Virtual Connection? 47
Native or Nonnative English? Some Notes on Language 49
Onward with Travel 51
Learning Points: How to Get the Meeting Structure Right 51
3 Does Culture Still Matter? 53
Key Points 53
Is There a Generation Y? 57
Is It Really Culture? 59
In Which Ways Do We Differ? 60
In Which Ways Are We All the Same? 61
Individual Case Study: Monika Altmaier, Project Leader Internationalization, Siemens Business Services 63
Group Case Study: European Top Team 66
Defying the Stereotypes: WL Gore & Associates in China 67
Culture Clash Based on Profession 70
Learning Points: Tips to Avoid Stereotyping 72
4 Engage Leadership Skills: Command and Control
Doesn't Work 73
Key Points 73
Can Empowerment and Control Live Together? 74
Can You Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn? 78
How Do You Set Limits? 79
Managing the Bosses: Where Does Followership Fit in? 81
Quality of Relationships, Not Formulae 82
Learning Points: How to Improve Leadership Skills 83
5 Teams Are Not Self-Assembly 85
Key Points 85
What Are Those Special Ingredients? 86
Search Agent 87
Looking for the Global Mindset 87
How Important Is Fluent English? 90
The Hunt for Talent: Recruiting via Networks 91
Building the Right Culture Will Attract the People You Want 94
Learning Points: Guiding Principles for International Recruitment 96
Part II The Individual
6 EQ Is Not Enough: Intelligence Matters 99
Key Points 99
LVMH: Understanding the Market 102
Alstom: Building Long-Term Connections 104
It Is Not Always Enough to Be a Virtual Leader 105
Understanding the World: Changes That Creep Up on Us 106
Wake Up: The Paradigm Has Already Shifted 108
How Do We Make Learning Continuous? 111
Learning Points: How to Combine Strategic and Conceptual Thinking for Effective Leadership 113
7 Keeping a Life: Questions of Balance in the Flat World 115
Key Points 115
Meeting Face-to-Face Sends a Positive Message 117
Do We Have to Leave the Real Me at the Door? 118
Do We Have to Have the Maximum Everything? 123
Is Multitasking Really Possible? 124
"You Get Work-Life Balance Complaints When You're Losing" 126
Learning Points: How to Improve Work-Life Balance 127
8 Ten Strategies for Managing in a Flat World 129
1 Leadership Style Needs to Become Empowering and Inspirational 131
2 A Flat World Means Flat Structures 132
3 Recruitment of the Right People Makes All the Difference 132
4 Always Show the Way 133
5 Communicate Often and Learn to Communicate Well 133
6 Teams Don't Just Happen 134
7 Build Trust: It Is the Foundation of Strong Teams 135
8 Respect Cultural Differences 135
9 Work-Life Balance is the Blessing and the Curse of the Flat World 136
10 Become Part of the Human Internet 137
Implications for Boards, Managers, and Ordinary People 137
Managers Should Be Cut from a Different Cloth 139
Changing the Leadership Model 139
Ways of Being and Doing 140
Lessons from the Movies 141
Lumps and Bumps in the Flat World: What Would Make You Fail? 142
Using Both Sides of the Brain: Transforming Leadership 143
Conclusion: How to Be a Stand-Out Manager in a Flat World 145
The Three Cs of Success in the Flat World 146
A New Language for the Flat World 147
Notes 150
Index 151