The Art of Effortless Management

The Art of Effortless Management

Managing people without doing anything is a strange concept for most managers in the West. Here our tradition is one of managing by harnessing, directing, controlling, dominating, exploiting, and using.

Managing people by doing nothing (or appearing to) is a concept from the East. It has its best expression in philosophies such as Taoism. This is the tradition of letting things happen without forcing them. It is based on the belief that people are naturally creative, spontaneous and aware and that we manage best when we encourage, guide, and channel this energy rather than force it. It is exquisitely expressed in the Taoist principle of wu wei which means “effortless effort” or effortless management.

Here are 7 ways that you can practice effortless management.

1. Attentiveness. When you practice non-doing in any leadership role, it doesn’t mean that you are doing nothing. It means you are still, quiet and attentive to what is going on. In the attentive state, you are aware of what is happening in the team without needing to judge it or put a name to it. You can observe the team’s progress, its energy, and interactions. You can see whether the energy is slow and dull, or quick and high-spirited. As an observer, you can decide whether a struggling group needs you to intervene or whether with a little help they can make it on their own.

2. Empowerment. Traditionalists find it strange that leaders should do nothing when leading their teams. After all, what is a leader for if not to direct, decide, discipline, and delegate? The problem is, that when a leader makes all these interventions,

(a) They take away the power of the team; and

(b) They make the team dependent on them. The team become like children, not adults. Simply by stepping back from these traditional roles, the modern leader signals that it is for the team to perform them instead. In that way, teams gain in power, in skill, and in effectiveness.

3. Subtle Support. Subtle support is one of the new skills that modern leaders need to learn. Subtle support allows you to give support to people in your team without making them dependent on you. The idea is to help them become dependent on themselves and each other. Here are two simple ways to give subtle support:

• being present. Simply being present is often enough to let people know you’re backing them. You don’t have to do anything except be there. Unlike the leaders of old who were more often absent than they were present, your supportive non-directional presence is one of the most empowering things you can do for a team.

Non-verbal cues. You can give your team support through a whole host of underplayed body language signals. A smile, a wink, a gentle touch on the arm, a querying look of the eyes, a gentle nod: all these will convey more to the team than anything you might say.

4. Gentleness. Gentleness may sound soft, but it is one of the most powerful ways you can act. If, for example, the team has a problem and is spoiling for a fight, even possibly with you, gentleness takes the sting out of the argument and overcomes any resistance. You stand a much better chance of persuading the team with gentleness than you do with force. Here are 5 highly effective gentle persuasion techniques:

• suggesting options for the group to consider

• posing questions to make the group think

• pointing out the consequences of unwise decisions

• defenselessness: don’t argue for any point of view

• making your point indirectly through stories and anecdotes.

5. Absence. In traditional forms of forceful leadership, the absence of the leader meant that the team could relax. The pressure was off, even if just for a short while. It often resulted in a drop in performance. In modern forms of non-doing leadership, the absence of the leader allows the group to grow. Being absent lets the group knows that the leader trusts them and often results in a big increase in performance.

6. Charisma. One of the most powerful qualities of non-doing leadership is charisma. Charisma is hard to define. All great leaders have the gift of charisma. One of the most charismatic leaders to have lived was President John Kennedy. It was said that, when you spoke to Kennedy, you were made to feel that nothing else mattered to him at that moment but your thoughts, your ideas, and your feelings. Such is the power of charisma.

7. Class. There is a paradox about the leaders of old who relied on their traditional power to get things done. The paradox is that the more they relied on their power, the more they appeared weak without it. Modern leaders, by contrast, don’t need to display their power. Their strength doesn’t come from status, connections, or their ability to reward or punish; it comes from within. When power comes from within, you don’t need to show it. That means you don’t need to come on too strong with anyone, whether you’re selling, reasoning, or trying to influence. By being gentle and confident, you display all the power you need. That way you gain the respect of others. There’s a word for this. It’s known as “class”.

In today’s business world, there is little call for the leader who charges out in front as if they were on a white hot steed. Instead, today’s leader is a non-doing catalyst. His or her role is to ignite the team into action, not by a stick of dynamite but by winning their hearts. Such leaders don’t have to perform tricks to earn their spurs. They don’t have to play to the gallery and shout “look at me!” But, in gentleness and non-doing, they can be infinitely more effective than their counterparts of the past.

Cheers for kongsi.............anil aggarwal