The Hindu Business Line : <I>Don't stop with empowerment </I>

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 and 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 solutions. 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. Going 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-motivation, removes dependence on the manager and feeds back into the cycle of excellent performance."

An apt saying that finds mention in the book is : "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'. Drawing insight from ancient wisdom, the book explains that inspiration is what `tejas' means, in Sanskrit. Sincere presentation, in a simple style, that should appeal to those seeking light on management.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali