Goal for Today:

A bit of new information and some different thoughts to think about and bring into your work.

Management (administration) Planning, organizing, directing, and controlling

Management is needed because of the complexity brought about by large organizations that need order and consistency to deliver their products/services.

Skills needed to plan, organize, direct, controlTechnical Skills -

Human Skills – ability to work effectively with others

Conceptual Skills – ability to see the entire organization and how changes in one area or process affect others

Research tells us more about those skills Skills of an Effective Administrator, Robert L. Katzs

Technical Skills

Needed less as you move up the organization

Human skills

Needed at all levels of the organization

Low/Mid Level- Intragroup skills Senior Level -Intergroup skills

Conceptual skills

In greater demand as you become a senior administrator

Another framework: (Henry Mintzberg)Ten roles of a manager/administrator:

Interpersonal (Figurehead, Leader, Liaison)

Informational (Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson)

Decisional (Entrepreneur, Disturbance Handler, Resource Allocator, Negotiator)

Other thoughts about management:It isn’t black and white. Not linear. Very little

time and so these functions do not happen consistently. Messy. No time for reflection.

Need to operate from outside your comfort zone.

Who’s got the monkey?

So, what is leadership all about? (John Kotter)

It is not mystical or charisma.

Looks different on different people

It can be learned

Management is about coping with complexity.

Leadership is about coping with change.

Managers and Leaders each need to:

1. Decide what needs to be done

2. Create networks of people/relationships to accomplish activities

3. Ensure that those people actually do the job

But they do it in very different ways.

Managers and Leaders each need to:Management requires planning and

putting detailed work plans together

Leadership requires setting a direction through a vision along with strategies for producing the changes needed

Managers and Leaders each need to:Management organizes and staffs,

hires, communicates the plan,

delegates work, and monitors

Leaders align people. Communicate a new vision and create coalitions that commit to achieving it.

Managers and Leaders each need to:Management ensures the plan is

accomplished by directing, controlling

and monitoring

Leaders motivate and inspire by tapping values and emotions.

Other thoughts about leadership:A manager is a problem solver with energies directed towards goals,

resources, organizational structures, people. Leaders shape ideas rather than being reactive to them and “solving” problems. (Zaleznik)

Leaders generate disorder by their questions that broaden the thinking of others. This makes managers anxious as they work to narrow down choices and find consensus on choices. To be successful, leaders must project their ideas onto images that excite people and only then develop choices that give those images substance. (Zaleznik)

Management or Leadership? NO.

Management AND leadership.

Two distinctive and complimentary systems of action. Both needed for success.

Managers look at how things get done; leaders look at what the decisions and events mean to the participants.

Thoughts on decision making:

“Every decision or choice affecting the whole enterprise has negative consequences for some of the parts.” (Katz)

Not enough time so you must uses the fragmented decisions you make over time to convey preferences that over time sets a direction. Slight modifications of options present send strong signals to staff. (Tom Peters)

How can you become a better manager and/or leader?

Read things that you normally wouldn’t:

Autobiographies

Daily newspaper (all sections)

Business

Non profit management (Peter Drucker) “If you weren’t already offering

this product/service, would you start it now? Allocate as many

resources.”

Harvard Business Review

Learn about yourself (critically / honestly)

Improve your ability to communicate (and note that communication

involves improving your listening skills.

Case Study---Positives:

Were proud of the district Had high job satisfaction Found their immediate supervisor/principal

fiar Believe administrators were concerned for

their welfare Felt that they were competent to do their jobs

Case Study --Concerns: Skeptical about the administrations capacity

to take initiative, communicate candidly and act effectively

Described the school culture as one of blame Complained that administrators/supervisors

espoused empowerment, but were strongly attached to the own unilateral control.