THE PHC MAP SERIES OF MODULES, GUIDES AND REFERENCE MATERIALS Each module includes: a User's guide a Facilitator's guide computer programs Module 1 Assessing information needs Module 2 Assessing community health needs and coverage Module 3 Planning and assessing health worker activities Module 4 Surveillance of morbidity and mortality Module 5 Monitoring and evaluating programmes Module 6 Assessing the quality of service Module 7 Assessing the quality of management Module 8 Cost analysis Module 9 Sustainability analysis Manager's guides and references Better management: 100 tips Problem-solving Computers The computerised PRICOR thesaurus Production Managers: Ronald Wilson, Aga Khan Foundation, Geneva, and Thongchai Sapanuchart, Somboon Vacharotai Foundation, Bangkok Editor: Jennifer Sharples, Bangkok, Thailand Design & Layout: Helene Sackstein, France Desktop Publishing: Amornphan Thongpanang, Marilyn J. Murphy, Somboon Vacharotai Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand Printing: Thai Wattana Panich, Bangkok, Thailand Published in 1993 by the Aga Khan Foundation USA, Suite 700, 1901 L Street N.W., Washington DC and the Aga Khan Foundation,P.O. Box 435, 1211 Geneva 6, Switzerland. Additional copies are available at the Aga Khan Foundation Canada in Toronto; Aga Khan Foundation (United Kingdom) in London; and AKF offices in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Karachi, Pakistan; Lisbon, Portugal;and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; the Aga Khan University Faculty of Health Science in Karachi, Pakistan; the Somboon Vacharotai Foundation and the ASEAN Institute for Health Development in Thailand Dedicated to Dr. Duane L. Smith (1939-1992), Dr. William B. Steeler (1948-1992) and all other health leaders, managers and workers who follow their example in the effort to bring quality health care to all in need. An overview of PHC MAP The main purpose of the Primary Health Care Management Advancement Programme (PHC MAP) is to help PHC management teams collect,process and analyse useful management information. Initiated by the Aga Khan Foundation, PHC MAP is a collaborative programme of the Aga Khan Health Network1 and PRICOR2. Anexperienced design team and equally experienced PHC practitioner teams in several countries, including Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Senegal, Thailand and Zaire, have worked together to develop, test and refine the PHC MAP materials to make sure that they are understandable, easy to use and helpful. PHC MAP includes nine units called modules. These modules focus on essential information that is needed in the traditional management cycle of planning-doing-evaluating. The relationship between the modules and this cycle is illustrated below. PHC MAP modules and the planning-evaluation cycle PHC MAP MODULES 1. Information needs 2. Community needs 3. Work planning 4. Surveillance 5. Monitoring indicators 6. Service quality 7. Management quality 8. Cost analysis 9. Sustainability Managers can easily adapt these tools to fit local conditions. Both new and experienced programmers can use them. Government and NGO managers, management teams, and communities can all use the modules to gather information that fits their needs. Each module explains how to collect, process and interpret PHC-specific information that managers can use to improve planning and monitoring. The modules include User's guides, sample data collecting and data processing instruments, optional computer programs, and Facilitator's guides, for those who want to hold training workshops. The health and management services included in PHC MAP are listed below. OTHER HEALTH CARE Water supply, hygiene and sanitation School health Childhood disabilities Accidents and injuries Sexually transmitted diseases HIV/AIDS Malaria Tuberculosis Treatment of minor ailments Chronic, non-communicable diseases HEALTH SERVICES Planning Personnel management Training Supervision Financial management Logistics management Information management Community organisation MANAGEMENT SERVICES Health and management services GENERAL PHC household visits Health education MATERNAL CARE Antenatal care Safe delivery Postnatal care Family planning CHILD CARE Breast feeding Growth monitoring Nutrition education Immunization Acute respiratory infection Diarrhoeal disease control Oral rehydration therapy Several Manager's guides supplement these modules. These are: Better management: 100 tips, a helpful hints book describing effective ways to help managers improve what they do; Problem-solving a guide to help managers deal with common problems; Computers a guidebook providing useful hints on buying and operating computers, printers, other hardware and software; and The computerised PRICOR thesaurus, a compendium of PHC indicators. The Primary Health Care Management Advancement Programme has been funded by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, the Commission of the European Communities, the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A., the Aga Khan Foundation's head office in Geneva, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Canadian International Development Agency, Alberta Aid, and the United States Agency for International Development under two matching grants to AKF USA. The first of these grants was "Strengthening the Management, Monitoring and Evaluation of PHC Programs in Selected Countries of Asia and Africa" (cooperative agreement no. OTR-0158-A-00-8161-00, 1988-1991); and the second was "Strengthening the Effectiveness, Management and Sustainability of PHC/Mother and Child Survival Programs in Asia and Africa" (cooperative agreement no. PCD-0158-A-00-1102-00, 1991-1994). The development of Modules 6 and 7 was partially funded through in-kind contributions from the Primary Health Care Operations Research project (PRICOR) of the Center for Human Services under its cooperative agreement with USAID (DSPE-6920-A-00-1048-00). This support is gratefully acknowledged. The views and opinions expressed in the PHC MAP materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the donors. All PHC MAP material (written and computer files) is in the public domain and may be freely copied and distributed to others. Contents TRODUCTION 1 100 TIPS 2 Managing your time 3 Running effective meetings 7 Planning 11 Leadership 14 Decision-making I 18 Decision-making II 22 Teamwork 24 Staffing 27 Communicating with your staff 30 Listening 31 Writing 35 Motivating staff 37 Supervising 40 Giving feedback 41 Criticising performance 46 Training I 49 Training II 53 Last thoughts 56 REFERENCES 59 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 64 Acknowledgements The inspiration for this guide came from the highly readable (and useful) 50 simple things you can do to save the earth. This small publication describes 50 practical, simple, but highly effective things that almost anyone can apply. We wanted to provide PHC managers with a similar guide that would describe simple, practical and effective things that they could do to improve their own management. There are literally hundreds of self-improvement books for managers that contain useful advice. URC staff and consultants reviewed many of these books looking for appropriate tips that fit the special needs of PHC managers in developing countries. We also polled our own staff, colleagues, and PHC managers themselves to identify other useful tips. Jack Reynolds, Maria Francisco and Susan Gearon collected and compiled most of the 100 tips in this guide. We also want to thank Lynn Marshall for providing us with a large amount of material, and Julia Friend who conducted an extensive literature search and compiled an additional set of tips. Many of the tips included in this guide are adapted from commercial publications, which are identified in the References, and which we gratefully acknowledge. Others come from our own experience and the combined experience of many colleagues and experts. We wish to thank all of the managers, consultants, and others with first-hand PHC experience who generously contributed their experiences and guided us to other sources. Introduction Have you ever wondered why some managers are able to get their work done quickly and others never seem to get anything done on time? Why do some meetings drag on and on, while others are models of organisation and efficiency? Why do some managers seem able to inspire their staff to do better work and others turn their staff off? Is it because some are better managers than other? Yes. That's why. Can you become a better manager? Yes, you can. That's what this little guide is all about. It describes simple things that effective managers do to save time, to run better meetings, to inspire their staff, to get things done with less effort. Many of these things you can do also. The tips are organised into categories (such as delegating, and managing your time) to make it easier for you to locate the kind of tips that interest you most. They are also short, so that you can read them quickly, whenever you have time. We have also tried to avoid lengthy discussions of management principles and gone straight to the tip, making specific suggestions about what you can do right now. These tips are not a substitute for formal training in management, or even for careful reading of a few good books on the subject. But they may help get you started on a new path to better management. Try one. You may find that a small and simple change can make a big difference. These tips have helped others. They can also help you become a better manager. Here's your first tip: Hire the best.Pay them fairly.Communicate frequently.Provide challenges and rewards.Believe in them.Get out of their way they'll knock your socks off!Mary Ann Allison, Vice President, CitiCorp Eric Anderson, Financial writer 100 Tips The rules of the management game To start, here are some practical "rules" from an experienced management consultant, written for new managers.2 They are useful for experienced ones as well. 1. You will receive opportunities. You must prepare for them. They will continue to come as long as you are ready. Some may not look like opportunities at the time, and some will be better than others. You cannot take care of all of them properly, so you must carefully choose the best and forget about the rest. 2. There are no mistakes, only lessons. 3. A lesson is repeated until learned. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson. Learning lessons does not end. 4. There is never enough time. 5. There is never enough information. 6. There will always be a better way, but there is never a better time than now. 7. Ask always: "Is there a better way to do this?" 8. Project confidence. Soon, you may even feel confident. 9. Never embarrass your boss. 10. Tell your people to tell you about problems before they embarrass you. 11. Deliver bad news as soon as possible. 12.Your credibility is made up of requests and promises. Learn to make and keep both, and don't waste either. 13. Getting it done is what it is all about. 14. Taking care of your customers (clients) and your staff is good business. 15. Avoid surprises, except those that are pleasant surprises for your customers (clients). 16. Your customers (clients) needs come first, your staff's needs are next, and your needs rarely matter. 17. Keep the big picture in focus. 18. That which is measured is improved. 19. Your expectations of others become true. 20. Your answers lie with you. You get to make all the important choices. 21. Every problem has another one behind it, so seek permanent solutions to avoid repeating yourself. 22. There is no virtue in being a moving target. Stand and be counted. Managing your time Our true adversary is time. Not competition, not legislation, not the economy but time.Richard S. Sloma, Management Consultant 1. Don't work harder, work smarter3 "From time to time everyone is overworked . . . But overwork is often the result of failing to delegate, being unable to say no, failing to establish proper priorities, spending too much time on detail and trivia, or having sloppy work habits. The job seldom overworks the person, but people often overwork themselves." To manage your time better, try the following: Clarify your objectives; put them in writing, then set your priorities. Set at least one major objective each day and achieve it. Minimise "time wasters" such as drop-in visitors, unnecessary phone calls, desk clutter, etc. Schedule your time every day to leave room for the unexpected and for interruptions. Block some time to do your most important tasks at the time of day you work best. Take the time to do it right the first time. You won't have to waste time doing it over. Develop the habit of finishing what you start. Don't jump from one thing to another, leaving a string of unfinished tasks behind you. Have a plan for how you spend your time and follow it. If it doesn't work, change it. 2. Spend less time on the phone and more time on your work 4 A great deal of time is often spent making phone calls to set up meetings, to discuss issues, to get information, to touch base with important people, etc. A lot of the time devoted to talking on the phone could probably be better spent doing other things. The following are some ways to lessen the amount of time spent on the phone: Before calling: Outline the topic(s) for conversation. To discuss something in more detail, send out relevant reports and documents. Delegate phone calls to other people when necessary. While speaking: Tell chatty callers that your time is limited. Quickly get through the small talk and get to the business at hand. Try standing up while talking. You may be surprised at how well this works. Keep the conversation on track. End calls as soon as your business is finished. 3. Protect yourself from unnecessary interruptions 5 It can be difficult enough to get your work done on time, more so when you are subjected to constant and irritating interruptions. To minimise these interruptions, when time is needed to get other things done, you can: Put up a sign to ward off visitors. Establish a time limit for conversations. Sit in front of a sun-drenched window. Visitors can't stay long. Cover your office chairs with paper. It makes you look busy and leaves no place for visitors to sit down. Remove extra chairs from your office. Don't contribute to a conversation that is not going anywhere. Move your desk so it doesn't face the door and doesn't invite visitors to chat. When all else fails, hide out! 4. Use more ways to control the telephone Do important creative work in an office without a telephone, or use someone else's office. Don't listen to someone answering your call þ you'll end up answering it. Set aside a time of day when you want to do your telephoning. Have your secretary or someone else answer your calls outside that time and take messages. Let people know when you are available to answer calls. Buy a phone with a "repeat" dial feature. Better yet, get one that can store 20 or more numbers for quick dialling. Buy an answering machine that lets you listen to the caller dictate his or her message. Then if it is someone you want to speak with, pick up the phone and say, "I just came in." Buy a fax machine so you can send and receive "calls" that don' t require discussion. It can save lots of time. Never, never take calls when you have a visitor. Remember your priorities. Let the phone ring. It will stop eventually. 5. Set aside a "magic hour" each week 6 If you "don't have time" to get everything done, try this. Imagine that you have one extra hour each week (your 169th hour). You can do anything you want with this hour, and it can occur anytime during the week. Next, write down five things you would like to do in that hour that would make you happy. Then write five things that would make someone else happy. Finally, write five things that you have been putting off that you could at least start in that hour. Now think where you could have fit this hour in last week. Make a commitment to fit it in this week at the same time. Make the magic hour a weekly habit. 6. Thinking and doing þ strike a balance 7 Most people tend to spend too much time thinking about work and too little doing it, or the other way around, too much time doing it and not enough planning it. R. Black, one of the most respected authorities on management, has identified a common denominator for all successful people. They strike a balance between the two. They don't spend too much time on planning or on doing. If you spend too much time thinking/planning, then keep adding the word THEREFORE to your plans. This will force you to take action: the contract hasn't been signed, THEREFORE, I will find out why first thing tomorrow morning. If you spend too much time doing, keep asking yourself WHY you are expending all this effort, what is the benefit, is it worth it? Why have I scheduled three meetings tomorrow? What will we accomplish? Are they all necessary? 7. Find out where your time goes; keep a log 8 Studies have shown that from 20-60% of our time is "down time," where nothing is really being done. Find out how you spend your time by keeping a daily log for a few days. Decide on a time unit, say 15 or 30 minutes. During the whole day, jot down what you are doing during each interval. Be honest. If you are daydreaming or drinking coffee, put it down. No one will know but you. At the end of the day summarise your activities in appropriate categories such as administrative, technical, down time, etc.) Use the log to identify threats to getting things done. Identify those that you control and can change and those that are beyond your control. Take a careful look at the results and decide whether you should take action to use your time more productively. 8. Avoid leading time wasters 9 Want to save time? This list of the fifteen leading time wasters may help you identify where to begin: 1. Telephone interuptions 2. Visitors dropping in without appointments 3. Meetings, scheduled and unscheduled 4. Crisis situations for which no plans were possible 5. Lack of objectives, priorities, deadlines 6. Cluttered desk and personal disorganisation 7. Involvement in routine and detail that should be delegated to others 8. Attempting to do too much at once and underestimating the time it takes to do it 9. Failure to set up clear lines of responsibility and authority 10. Inadequate, inaccurate, or delayed information from others 11. Indecision and procrastination 12. Lack of or unclear communication and instruction 13. Inability to say "no" 14. Lack of standards and progress reports that enable a company manager track of developments 15. Fatigue Running effective meetings In a good meeting there is momentum that comes from the spontaneous exchange of fresh ideas and produces extraordinary results.Harold Geneen, CEO, IT&T 9. Before you call a meeting, decide if you should have one at all 10 Groups are not good for organising large amounts of data, for synthesising lots of ideas, or for writing reports. Individuals organise and write reports more efficiently than groups do. Groups are good for brainstorming, exchanging opinions and information, identifying problems, discussing issues, and making final decisions. FIRST, decide whether or not a meeting is appropriate. The worst reason to have one is because it is scheduled. A meeting is appropriate when: You want an issue clarified You have concerns you want to share with your group as a whole You want information from your group You want to involve your group in solving a problem or making a decision Your group wants a meeting A meeting is not appropriate when: The subject is trivial You can communicate better by telephone You have to deal with personnel issues, such as hiring, firing, and negotiating salaries The subject matter is so confidential that it can't be shared with some members of the group There is inadequate data or poor preparation You have already made the decisions on the proposed topic of the meeting 10. If you must have a meeting, plan how to get the most out of it 11 Meetings are commonly held to introduce new ideas and activities, to review the progress of existing ones, to discuss alternatives for solving a problem, to make decisions, or to do any number of things. But, people the world over complain about meetings, judging them a waste of time and effort. If you know how to run a meeting effectively, that is, if you can conduct it in a way that makes efficient use of time and achieves the purpose for which it was planned, your meetings need never be a complete waste of time. The following steps can help you to run a more effective meeting: Define the purpose: Provide people with a clear understanding of what you want from the meeting and why you want this particular group of people involved. Prepare an agenda: Prepare an agenda of the topics to be covered, the names of speakers, the amount of time to be spent on each topic, and any procedures, e.g., brainstorming, group exercises, that will be used. Clarify roles: Clarifying roles of the participants can be useful if people are meeting together for the first time or if the group is large and needs to be structured. The team leader: usually but not always the supervisor, calls the meeting, sets the agenda, and initiates discussion. A facilitator keeps the meeting on track, moderates any conflicts, and monitors time. A recorder or scribe keeps a written record of what happened in the meeting. Additional roles such as advisors or observers could be assigned if necessary. Set ground rules: Make explicit the rules on how the meeting will be conducted. Some examples include: to respect one another and not interrupt while someone is speaking, to make decision by consensus, etc. 11. Guide your team in having more effective discussions 12 Effective discussions lead to effective meetings. Knowing how to guide a discussion and get the most out of participants is equally important to planning and structuring a meeting. The following techniques can help you to facilitate discussions and thus improve the effectiveness of your meetings: Ask for clarification when necessary. If a point or a term is not understood, try to rephrase or illustrate it so that it becomes clear. Act as a facilitator to regulate more aggressive members, encourage the participation of quieter ones, avoid unnecessary conflicts. Let everyone feel that their opinions are valued. Listen to all ideas. Don't interpret or draw conclusions about what is being said until it's been said. Try to avoid lengthy, irrelevant discussions. Test for consensus by asking the group if there is agreement with a decision or point. Do not assume consensus has been reached. End the meeting when no additional discussion is necessary. Check to see whether your objectives were met. 12. Start on time; end on time 13 One of the keys to running an effective meeting is to stay on time. But often the main problem is that staff simply don't arrive on time. Meetings that fail to start on time probably, to the exasperation of most staff, do not end on time. So, to get your people there on time, try these hints: Schedule meetings to begin at odd times. For example, if you start a meeting at a quarter past the hour, it may get more attention. Start on time regardless of who is missing. Close the door when a meeting begins. Discuss, first, those items of particular interest to latecomers. Look to other group member to apply pressure to chronic latecomers. Speak privately to offenders. 13. How to chair a meeting 14 If a meeting isn't run well, it's usually the fault of the chair. If you chair a meeting, you have several jobs: Start the meeting. Don't wait for someone else to start it. Set (or summarise) the purpose, agenda and schedule. Check to make sure everyone agrees, make amendments as appropriate. Gently, but firmly, guide the discussion. Be fair and objective. Eliminate digressions and gently cut short dialogues that exclude the majority of the participants. Recognise people who want to speak and take them in turn; don't tolerate people speaking out of turn. Watch the clock, and make sure that everyone is aware of the timeremind them every 10-15 minutes. Draw conclusions at the end of each agenda item and watch to make sure that people agree with your conclusions. Amend them if they do not. Resolve conflict; if a serious dispute arises, table the point and work it out after the meeting. End the meeting; thank the participants; announce the follow-up plans. 14. Don't sit on the results of a good meeting; follow up with a plan of action 15 Great enthusiasm and creativity can come out of a good meeting. But often ideas and promised actions are neglected or delayed soon after the meeting has ended. Some ways to capitalise on the momentum generated by a productive meeting include: End meetings with a summary of agreed-upon actions. Establish a norm to "do it the next day." Send out reminders to people a few days later. When action is not forthcoming, call people to ask if you can help in some way. At your next meeting, provide a status report of agreed-upon actions from the previous meeting. 15. Maximise what you can get out of a "brainstorming" session16 Some meetings are held for the purposes of generating fresh ideas to address an issue or identifying new ways to resolve a problem. These brainstorming sessions can be productive and meaningful if they are conducted in a way that maximises the interaction of people and the exchange of ideas. Some tips for managing this type of meeting: Limit group size to a controllable number. Use seating that allows for more face-to-face interaction. Round tables are better than long ones. Encourage everyone to think of ways to draw from or "hitchhike" on others' ideas. Don't just look for a right answer. By generating as many ideas as possible, a right one may emerge. Allow people to blurt out their ideas. Record the ideas on a flip chart. Make sure people plan to stay as long as necessary or until they run out of ideas. Planning Plans are only good intentions, unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. Peter Drucker, Management Expert 16. Plan before you do 17 Most programmes fail, not because they were conceptually unsound, but because someone did a terrible job of planning. Only rarely are poor decisions the result of too much planning. The manager who makes on-the-spot decisions without a clear plan is saying, "I don't need a plan, I know what to do." That manager's ego has gotten in the way of an organisation's objectives, and failure is certain to follow. Management planning is NOT complicated, but it can be tedious. That's why there is such a strong temptation to avoid it. The urge to do something, anything, is so strong that we often fail to define what we are trying to achieve before we begin. Don't let deadlines dictate your approach. It takes time to plan but it is time well spent. Think of planning as a two-step process: Analysis: first, you define in detail the objectives and the tasks needed to achieve those objectives, Synthesis: second, you rank the sequence of the tasks in priority order The first, and most important, step in planning is listing objectives. More objectives are better than few since they provide a more complete description of what you want to achieve. Ranking, or setting priorities, is next. Everything cannot be done at once. Start with the most important tasks. 17. Set objectives that are S M A R T 18 Make your objectives Specific, Measurable, Appropriate, Realistic, and Time-bound þ S M A R T, i.e., Specific, so that everyone involved will interpret them in the same way Measurable, to monitor progress or evaluate performance Appropriate, to your organisation's policies, goals, and strategies Realistic, given the often limited amount of resources available, e.g., money, manpower, and materials Time-bound, so resources can be allocated and activities can be planned to meet these objectives 18. Co-ordinate work and people 19 Good co-ordination involves getting the right things done, in the right place, at the right time, in the right way, by the right people. Activities which are planned in a disorganised or haphazard way often result in unnecessary or duplicated efforts that waste time and money. You can avoid this pitfall by co-ordinating work and people so things run smoothly. Begin by listing: What specific tasks need to be done Where and when they will be done Which materials you will need How the tasks will be carried out Who will take part and what will they do Who will be in charge Then make sure that all this information is communicated to the people involved. 19. It is better to risk over-investment in productive planning than to rely on ad-hoc solutions to unpredictable problems 20 It takes time to plan, but it is time well-spent. Too often we give in to pressure to "just do something!" People want to see results. But avoid taking action before you are ready. Make sure you know exactly what you want to achieve (your objectives), and how you are going to achieve it (your strategy). If you act before these two are clear, you run the risk of wasting time, resources, and possibly making a serious mistake. 20. Take the time to develop a thorough, documented and detailed plan. It will significantly reduce the risk of failure 21 Only rarely are poor decisions and failures the result of too much planning. Usually they are due to managers saying "I don't need a plan; I can handle whatever develops." 21.It is very easy to make on-the-spot decisions, if you have thought out and evaluated all feasible alternatives 22 Being adequately prepared is the reward of careful planning. But it is tedious and unglamorous work. That is why so many people avoid it and hurry through the planning process. Planning requires patience and careful attention to detail. Don' t rush it. But don't be afraid to call a halt to planning when you have enough information to make a decision. Leadership Lead, follow, or get out of the way.Henry Ford, US Industrialist 22. There is no one best leadership style. You need to adapt your style to fit the needs of each person 23 Leadership style is how a manager behaves when trying to influence the behaviour of someone else. The appropriate style will vary for each person, but will be a combination of directive and supportive behaviours. Directive behaviour: this involves telling people what to do, how to do it, where and when to do it, and then supervising their performance closely. Supportive behaviour: involves listening to people, providing support and encouragement for their efforts, and then facilitating their involvement in problem-solving and decision-making Depending on the level of competence and commitment of your staff, one of four leadership styles will be appropriate: Development level Appropriate leadership style D1 Low competence S1 DIRECTING High commitment Structure control supervision D2 Some competence S2 COACHING Low commitment Direct and support D3 High competence S3 SUPPORTING Variable commitment Praise,, listen,, and facilitate D4 , High competence, S4 , DELEGATING High commitment, , Turn over responsibility for day-to-day decision-making Your style may need to change for different tasks that an individual undertakes. For example, one staff member may need S1 DIRECTING while she learns how to prepare administrative reports, but she may just need S4 SUPPORTING in dealing with her subordinates. 23. Share your vision 24 Vision means being able to see what your organisation will look like tomorrow and having a plan to get there. If employees know what your vision is, they will be able to help you attain it, if not, they will be confused, helpless, and possibly alienated. Consider these strategies for sharing your vision: Include employees in the creation of your vision by involving them in strategic planning. Communicate your vision to employees in descriptive detail so that they can vividly see it. Don't tell people what to do, instead tell them what your needs are and let them help you decide how to meet these needs. 24. Employees respond to the manager, not the organisation. 25 Pay attention to your staff. Listen to them. Solicit their suggestions. Help them do their work better. And give them praise for it þ don't take it for yourself. They'll love you for it and will work harder for you. 25. Lead by example 26 Staff look to the manager for a standard of leadership. Thus, the way in which you conduct yourself and manage a programme and its people will affect how staff work. It will also influence the thinking and behaviour of future managers. The following are some important leadership guidelines to emulate: Take responsibility for both your actions and the people you supervise. Know yourself. Know your limits and constantly seek to improve yourself. Set the example for correct behaviour. Develop your staff and believe in what they are able to do. Be available. Look after the welfare of your employees. Keep everyone well informed. People will look to you to know the truth. Set goals that are achievable. Make sound and timely decisions. Know your job and stay abreast of current events. Build teamwork and recognise the contributions each member makes to the entire effort. 26. First be effective, then efficient 27 No one will praise you for spoiling a project at its start through being "cheap." The first rule is to achieve results, success. Then you can figure out how to do it less expensively. 27. Managers should work for their staff. If they win, you win A manager, no matter how bright and hard working, can do very little alone. In fact, managers rarely produce anything. Their staff does. So if you want to be a successful manager, do everything you can to help your staff do their jobs well. 28. A bad attitude is infectious The morale of the workplace is set by the manager. A leader's attitude and actions are a model for employees. You cannot say one thing and do another. If you do, you risk losing credibility. 29. Know where you're coming from 28 Leadership techniques can be learned. There is no question that some people are born natural leaders, but their existence does not give the rest of us an excuse to not become competent leaders. There are three distinct styles of leadership: authoritarian, participative, and delegative. Your effectiveness as a leader will depend on how well you understand these three options and how flexible you are in applying them. Here are some general characteristics of each option to guide your leadership: Authoritarian. Leaders delegate to subordinates without explanation or discussion. This method is used least, but may be appropriate for short-term use when: 1. Time is of the essence. 2. The leader is the most knowledgeable about the situation. 3. Subordinates have high morale. Participative. The leader includes subordinates in discussion of the situation and seeks their opinions and support. Ultimately, the leader has authority and responsibility for the final decision. He or she makes the call and gets the blame if things go wrong. Delegative. The leader assumes responsibility for the final outcome of a decision, but hands over the decision-making authority to a subordinate. For example, a leader might say to a worker, "I'm on the hook for this one, but I want you to be in charge of getting it done." Placing the success of a career into another person's hands is the strongest proof of trust that a leader can give to an employee. The payoff is enormous. If a leader is confident in delegating authority to his or her staff, the capabilities of the organisation are expanded significantly. 30. To be a good leader, be professional A professional relationship is one based on respect and trust, not friendship. An organisation cannot be run by trying to be friends with everybody. A leader must be seen to be fair and impartial. Having "favourites" undermines authority and credibility and is damaging to the morale of an organisation. 31. Be committed. Take an active role. It is not enough that management commits to quality and productivity. Managers must know what action to take and do it! Obligations cannot be delegated. Partial understanding and involvement produce partial success or total failure. Two rules: 1. Leadership must be active and obvious. 2. Don't promise, but deliver. 32. Leave 'em laughing 29 Leadership is usually a high pressure role, however, having fun and being serious are not mutually exclusive. Good leaders have a sense of humour and know how and when to use it. Humour only works when it is an accurate reflection of the good will within the organisation. Showing a sense of humour and taking a chance in looking a bit foolish not only takes courage and self-confidence, but knowledge and sensitivity concerning the company. Decision-making I Executives spend too much time analyzing and too little time acting.Philip Smith, Chairman, General Foods 33. Separate the managers from the leaders 30 It is easy to get hung up by principles, but don't. Below are some basic tips for putting management principles into practice. 1. Be a coach as well as enforcer. 2. Master technical skills that are needed for your position, like using dataeffectively. 3. Don't involve too many people too soon. Design a two-year strategy that answers questions like these: In which parts of the organisation should change begin? Which potential projects have the best chance of success? What financial and technical resources will be needed to sustain education, training, and other projects? Who will provide technical assistance to managers, supervisors, staff, and volunteers? Who will co-ordinate logistics? What systems must be developed to distribute resources, maintain publications and reports, and handle a hundred more details? 4.Identify resource people within the organisation early on. Recruit technical advisors, like senior statisticians and training specialists, from the outside until the organisation has enough expertise. 5. Ask questions to better understand your workers: What do employees like/dislike about their jobs? Do they feel trusted/valued? The key is in getting honest answers. 6. Ensure that workers understand their roles and where they fit into the larger context; how their work is influenced by others who precede them and how it influences those who follow. 34. Back up your decision-making with planning 31 You can't execute your decision until you plan it. Below are some tips to help you organise your thoughts. Analyse the situation: What are the conditions of the area that you are making a decision for? What creates the need for decision? Determine your objective: Why are you making this decision? What do you hope to gain? Quantify expected results: What new conditions would exist by making the decision? Are they needed? To evaluate the quality of your decision you need a quantified target, like how to increase the collection of accurate data by 25%. Identify available information: The quality of a decision is determined by the kind of information that supports it. What information can you get from employees, competitors, experts, files, and publications? Identify other resources: If your decision requires money, talent, time, equipment, or materials, how much of each is available? Where will you look for these resources? By when? Establish requirements: What are the conditions that must be met by the decision? Determine and rate desirable features: These are what you want as opposed to what you need. Which are the most desirable? Have alternatives: What are all the possible choices available to you? Think of as many as possible. Rate alternatives: Compare the alternatives that meet your decision requirements. Number them in order of importance. Pre-test your first choice: You can do this quickly and simply by anticipating all outcomes or, instead, implement your decision on a sample of people who are affected by the choice. Make a final decision: If your pre-test gives you good results, implement it. If not, choose the next alternative from your list until you find one you like. 35. Don't let decision-making bring you down 32 If you only have a hammer, you think every problem is a nail. endy Leebov, Ed.D. There are creative tools to help individuals and teams make decisions without having agonising, endless debates. Some common decision-making exercises include: Brainstorming lets your mind go to think of as many ideas as you can as fast as you can. Record as many as possible in case you forget them. Criticism is not allowed because it slows down the flow of ideas. Flowcharts are pictures of processes that show every step of the process and how steps relate to one another. This helps to see the situation to determine exactly where change is needed. Tree diagrams look like trees with several branches. They show the breakdown of large questions, goals or problems. This exercise helps you move from the general to the specific in an organised way. An easy way to get started is to ask, "why" at every branch. 36. Some suggestions on decision-making: Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in. Napoleon Bonaparte Eliminate alternatives based on the facts available, make a choice and cope with the consequences.Don't be afraid to ignore rules and rely on your underlying values Anonymous Low-level decisions are often guided by numerous rules. Managers are paid to make decisions where the rules aren't clear.Adapted from Richard Sloma, No-Nonsense Management Nothing creates more self-respect among employees than being included in the process of decision-making Judith Barrdwick, University of California, San Diego Decision-making isn't a matter of arriving at a right or a wrong answer, it's a matter of selecting the most effective course of action from among less effective courses of action. Philip Marvin, Developing Decisions for Action 37. Be decisive! Take action. A decisive person will almost always prevail only because almost everyone else is indecisive 33 Decisiveness is a willingness to act. If you are well prepared and have a clear grasp of the issue, the options, and the consequences, then act. Take a decision. Do not wait for someone else to do so. You may wait a long time. Most people do not have the self-confidence, the assertiveness, or the information to take a decision. They are probably waiting for you to act. 38. Don't put too much reliance on data. If a quantitative analysis conflicts with common sense, abandon the data 34 Numbers can be very useful in analysis and decision-making. But some things cannot be measured precisely. Be careful not to put too much weight on these kinds of numbers, especially if they are projections. Predicting the future is a risky business. Gather your best people together so that the collective knowledge, experience and judgement of the group is polled. Reliance on one individual's judgement, especially for subjective decisions, is always inferior to reliance on an informed group's judgement. 39. Consensus seeking is a time-wasting, levelling influence that impedes distinctive performance. Avoid it 35 The following may seem to be a sacrilegious quote, but the author means it, and makes a strong argument for teamwork, but against consensus. "I believe consensus is one of the great bogus concepts of our day. It is incredibly time-consuming to achieve, so much so that it is thoroughly impractical; and when it is achieved, it seems far more likely that what has been accomplished is a stroking of pampered egos rather than selecting a distinctive course of action." "Sometimes a decision-making group will have consensus or virtual unanimity on an issue. This occurs when decisions almost make themselves and hardly any discussion is needed. Most times, however, when knotty issues are presented, each person sitting around the table has a point of view and a stake in events. No matter how sincere you are about the, good of the order, in fact, because of your sincerity, you will often have strong beliefs in opposition to one or more of your associates. To achieve consensus in a group like this is to have found a common denominator so low that nobody cares about what gets decided. The original issue that divided people has in effect been swept under the rug, and will probably surface again." "What a team needs to be taught is the joy and camaraderie of sharing in the decision-reaching process. And to enter into that sharing at all times. As a team leader, teach this and you'll really have something authentic! This is buy-in that counts." "When you make a decision apart from your team that your team helped you make, explain that decision to them before announcing it." "If this requires calling a special meeting, by all means call it. It need last only a few minutes. Attendees may not even need to be seated." 40. Don't analyse a problem to death. Avoid "paralysis by analysis" 36 It is important to be well-prepared, but it is cowardice to postpone a decision until another unnecessary study is completed. Managers have to realise that all decisions involve some degree of risk. That's what managers get paid for, to take the risk and make a decision. If you have all the information you are likely to get, then you need to act upon it. Don' t waste time and money on "further analysis." Decision-making II The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.Theodore Roosevelt, US President 41. Delegate what someone else can do better 37 As a manager you can't accomplish everything by yourself. You need your staff to get things done. Delegating tasks to other people improves your own efficiency, allowing you time to concentrate on single or more pressing tasks that you can do well instead of overburdening yourself by doing a great many things inadequately. At the same time, delegating allows for the best use of people and resources in the organisation. By assigning the right tasks to the right staff, you are effectively giving them opportunities to show off their skill, develop initiative and handle responsibility. Some key points to consider when you delegate tasks: Select the right person for the job and then allow that person enough room to do it. Make sure you are understood and that you clearly communicate what is to be accomplished. Don't relinquish all control and hope the job gets done somehow. Try to set a deadline and periodically follow-up on what is being done. Remember, it is not always true that, "if you want something done right, do it yourself." Management involves working with people to get results, so learn how to delegate effectively. 42. As a manager, the important thing is not what happens when you are there, but what happens when you are not there If you have inspired, directed, trained, delegated well, the organisation should be able to run well in your absence. Ideally, the place should be able to function in your absence without work coming to a standstill. You should not need to be present everyday. Not always being available teaches a little self-reliance. 43.Delegate for innovation Some tasks involve more than just technical skill and knowledge. They may require innovative thinking. A manager does not need to be the brainchild of every new idea and instead should draw upon the creative talents of his/her team by encouraging individuals to come up with their own ideas for completing a task, addressing a problem or implementing a solution. Delegating such opportunities to your staff could foster a creative work environment. Staff will be more excited about work that lets them be more innovative and they will remember you for having provided them with a valuable learning experience. So remember: Look for the innovators in your staff Delegate the right opportunities for them to show off their creativity Support their efforts to do so; and Acknowledge their achievement Teamwork Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.Henry Ford, US industrialist 44. Always do your job to make the next person's job easier 38 Work style is largely a matter of attitude. A positive mental attitude can not only make work more pleasant, but more productive. When staff think of their job as mundane and trivial, their productivity will decline, and that can spread to other staff. But when staff see themselves as part of the team and realise that what they contribute is important, no matter how small a part of the whole it is, then productivity will rise and that will also spread to other staff. 45. Broaden your interests 39 Staff from all levels can, together, solve larger problems and handle more work than an individual can. Teamwork means wide access to technical support, a mixture of knowledge, and a multitude of skills. Mutual support arises among team members when they are committed to one another and not only to the project. If managers determine that teamwork is appropriate, then consider which of the following types is best for your organisation: Formal teamwork: Workers form self-directed groups, like Guidance Teams which advise Project Teams in an effort to systematically improve processes that are targeted for change. Informal teamwork: A loose network, usually small groups of workers, who designate leaders and define team rules in tackling priority areas for improvement. 46. Two heads are better than one Completion of products and projects depend upon the efforts of many people. By sharing skills and knowledge as a team, people can work more effectively than an individual. Bring your staff together to achieve common objectives. Teams work best when: Members feel accepted and trust one another Goals are formed and tasks are clearly identified and accepted Roles are clarified and a clear process is agreed upon Members listen, communicate and participate actively There are no personal attacks Conflicts are resolved equitably Leadership is shared Members are mutually supportive and have control over their work Look upon your staff members not only as individuals, but also as team members, who can accomplish more as a team than as individuals. 47. Be an orphaned parent of success. Don't hog the credit 40 Who owns an idea? Many of us want the world to know that the person behind a great idea was really me. Or we want them to know that I had a better idea. Try to resist this temptation. It can be damaging to team development, and it probably isn't true anyway. Most new ideas are usually refinements of old ideas. Many are identical to old ideas - these are called "reinventing the wheel" ideas. Realise that your idea, no matter how good, is probably either the product of contributions from many people, or is an old idea that you didn't know about. Don't be petty about ownership of ideas. Revel in good ones, whether they are yours or not. As a manager your job is to work with and through other people to get work done. To do this you have to be a facilitator who helps a team succeed. Their success is your success. Direct attention away from yourself by teaching what you know to others who can put it to use. Give credit to them for applying what they have learned. Success has many parents, it is said, where failure is an orphan. Be an orphaned parent of success. 48. Find a level of employee involvement that works best for your organisation Some managers are hesitant to surrender control to employees especially if they don't know the outcome. On the other hand, some managers delegate too much responsibility to employees which disrupts the roles inside the organisation. Below is a guide of advantages and pitfalls at six different levels of employee involvement. Use it in determining a level of teamwork for your organisation. Level , Advantages, Disadvantages 1., Managers make decision on their own,, announce them,, and then respond to employees questions, Enhances efficient decision making, Can alienate employees. Management must make all decisions 2., Managers make decisions but only after seeking employees' views, Permits input from employees. Staff feels more involved. Decisions are made quicker, Can waste time and blur focus. Can create employee resentment 3., Managers create temporary employee groups to suggest solutions to problems, Helps avoids use of outside consultants. Permits a mix of expertise , Can conflict with employees' "regular" work. Can become a substitute for taking action 4., Managers meet with employee groups on a regular basis to identify and solve problems , Taps employee creativity. Doesn't change existing management system, Can lack appropriate skills and knowledge to get things done 5., Managers establish and participate in cross-functional problem-solving teams, Managers/employees understand more about other departments and the overall organisation, Can create departmental conflict 6., On-going workgroups assume more responsibility for issues,, like cost reduction, Greater employee commitment and involvement, Can threaten supervisors and managers 49. Work for success Successful employee teams develop and implement strategy, respond to challenges, improve systems and processes, and have leadership skills. Below are some of the makings of this kind of teamwork. Successful employee teams: Are persistent, but flexible in pursuing goals Have a set of ground rules similar to a constitution Are internally motivated Develop a network among stakeholders who are affected by the issue at hand Are action-oriented and use many tools to examine issues Communicate with one another inside and outside of team meetings 50. Develop team protocol How do you begin teamwork? Meet with team members to agree upon protocol. Here is an example of team protocol: Begin by negotiating criteria for success Determine how much control the team has in the organisation Plan what you intend to accomplish Plan how you will accomplish it Choose team leader/s Determine membership rules for the team Staffing What you manage in business is people.Howard Geneen, CEO, IT&T 51. Seek out those rare individuals who are truly committed and build around them 41 The most important function of management is the personnel function. And the most important personnel function is identifying and assigning staff. So one of your top priorities will be to constantly assess individuals inside and outside of your programme, to find those rare individuals who are committed to success, and then to build your programme around them. Provide them with opportunities for growth and responsibility within your organisation. Take advantage of their strengths and exploit them. Avoid assigning them to tasks that display their weaknesses. Don't become a prisoner of personnel classification systems. Don't try to make the man fit the job. Make the job fit the man. 52. Put the person you interview at ease42 People you interview for a job are probably going to be somewhat nervous or anxious. They may stumble through an interview, not because they lack the kind of skills and talents you need, but because they are too ill at ease to show what they are really capable of doing. You can help to put someone more at ease and, thus, get the most out of the interview by doing the following: Greet the people you will interview at your office door Shake hands or welcome them in a customary way Seat them in comfortable surroundings, preferably not directly in front of your desk Offer refreshment Use their name often Smile occasionally Describe how the interview is to be conducted Tell them something about yourself Compliment them appropriately Be a good listener 53. Hire team players43 Although skills and experience are important when selecting new people, it is also important to hire people who can work well with others, and who are not always looking out for themselves. 54.Make the most critical interview the job interview44 Selection of the right people to do the job is the most important decision a manager has to make. One question in a job interview that will tell you almost everything about an applicant is, "What was the worst mistake you ever made; and what was the worst damage you did to your employer?" You immediately learn three critical things about a person from the answer, i.e., First, the magnitude of the mistake tells you how high that person was in the organisation. Big mistakes can't be made at low levels. Second, few people make the same mistake twice, so you learn about the applicant's experience. Third, the answer will tell you a lot about the applicant's character (who the applicant blames for the mistake; what he or she learned from it). Take the time to get to know your top applicants. Don't rush through the interview. Make sure the applicants understand the job and your expectations. Then make sure you have what you want. 55. Don't delay tough personnel decisions45 Not all of your employees will be high producers. Some will not be successful. If you have been clear and straightforward in hiring and assigning staff, then they will know what the job requires, what you expect, and what the consequences are of poor performance. If an individual is not achieving results, not only that person will know it, but so will other staff. If you keep that person in that position, you are telling your staff that it is alright to perform poorly. This could have serious consequences, i. e. 1) overall performance of staff can decline, since there is no penalty for poor performance; and 2) your best performing staff could look for other jobs where their performance will be recognised. As a manager it is your responsibility to take action. Work with low performers to help them improve; revise their jobs to take advantage of their strengths, if you can, but if you can't, don't hesitate to replace low performers with high performers. Communicating with your staff The five most important words are, I am proud of you. The four most important words are: What is your opinion? The three most important words are: If you please. The two most important words are: Thank you. The one most important word is: You. Anonymous 56. To be successful, get out with the workers and pick up information 46 Managers who don' t make the effort to know what is happening with their staff and who don't interact with others unless they have to, seen as managers who are inaccessible and often out of touch with the organisation and its people. Frequent and direct communication with your fellow workers, both in the office and the field, allows you to find out what is and isn't working, how people feel about their work, how they go about doing what they do. It may help you to identify problems before they occur or before they become worse. You don't always need to conduct a meeting to get information. You can accomplish this informally and effectively in the following ways: Make a point of walking around the office once a day to talk to employees. Have an occasional lunch with your staff. Use the time to get to know people, catch up on news, discuss some ideas. Don't limit yourself to talks with higher level staff; it may be that other workers are more aware of a particular problem and can do more to help resolve it. 57. Refuse not to be informed47 Information is important because it is crucial to evaluation, monitoring, measuring improvement, performance and achievement, among other things. So the success of these activities is directly related to the quality of our information. Think as simply and directly as possible about what you are doing and why, and what information will help you achieve it. One of the manager's goals is to get information, evaluate whether it is critical and helpful to get the job done, and then get people to use it. Information should be two-way. Get it from the right people in a timely manner and give it back to people in a form they can use. 58. The right hand must know what the left is doing48 Duplicated efforts are wasted ones. Know what your staff is doing, what their needs are. Bring people and a variety of ideas together; neither work well in isolation. Co-ordinated efforts can save time and money. Teamwork strengthens employee relations. To co-ordinate work and people so things run smoothly use a check-list to establish: What is to be done Where this action will take place When this action will take place Which equipment is needed How it will be arranged Who will take part Who will do what Listening You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're doin' all the talkin'. Lyndon B. Johnson, US President 59. Communicate effectively to increase efficiency49 The reason that most subordinates give for not satisfying their boss is that they don't know what the boss expects. Specifics about the expectations of a staff are too often left behind in the conference room after a job interview or initiated only after someone has erred. Managers and staff need to be comfortable with one another's coutinuing expectations as soon as the position has been filled. Communicating these expectations effectively will: Enable workers to be self-directed. Provide context for management to evaluate job performances and give feedback. Promote confidence and trust throughout the workplace. The following protocol will help management forge a productive relationship with their staff members: Clarify expectations from the start. Request and note staff members expectations of management. Arrive at an agreement before closing the meeting. Remind staff, regularly, about your agreement in a positive manner (for example, praise or advise staff members in the context of their meeting expectations). Meet with staff members as soon as possible if expectations need revision. Encourage staff members to approach management if the agreement is not met. 60.If you don't give people information, they'll make up something to fill the void50 Information is of no use if it just stays with you. Share and explain information; the more information people have access to, the more they can do with that information. Create a mechanism for sharing and receiving ideas, formally and informally. It can be a bulletin board, ten minutes set aside at meetings, or a newsletter. 61. Be accessible. Eat lunch! Some managers believe that they will get more done if they don't eat lunch, or just eat a snack at their desks. But lunch breaks are useful occasions for spending time with your associates, getting to know them, discussing mutual concerns, ideas, catching up on the latest news, and keeping your network alive, not to mention refreshing yourself and having a good time with your staff. When you eat alone or skip lunch, you are giving a message to your team that you are aloof, and that will steadily erode your position on the team. Besides, you will miss opportunities to get valuable information from your staff. 62. Inform - keep informed - use information Explain what you have learned to your staff. For example, if there is a cash flow problem, explain it and why you need their co-operation to deal with this problem. They will not only co-operate, they will come up with ways to solve the problem. It is very important to keep well-informed. Know what is going on from accounting to public relations. For example, keep in touch with your financial manager to be sure you know where you stand with respect to revenues, expenditures, projections, cash flow, and so on. Knowledge will help you manage better. "Bad press" or bad publicity about your programme can be very damaging. Take care of it immediately. If the bad news is correct, take care of the problem right away. If it is incorrect, explain so and demonstrate that you are on top of the problem. Take advantage of "good press," also. Funding and support can come from good press. 63. Listen to what is not being said52 Communication is not only verbal. You may often catch a look exchanged between workers in your presence, or notice that someone is avoiding contact with you. You may observe that certain staff members are quarrelsome with other staff or that the mood of the office is unduly tense or lethargic. All these behaviours "speak" to you, that is, they convey a meaning to you not in words but in actions. Your staff may be saying that they are dissatisfied or uneasy about something, or that they disagree with an issue but are afraid to say so out loud. A good listener observes as well as hears. So, paying attention to what is not being said will get some valuable information about how your workers feel and interact, and could help you to identify potential trouble spots. 64. Learn to pay attention53 Does your mind wander sometimes when someone is speaking? That isn't unusual. Most speakers can't speak as fast as you can absorb information. While they may speak at a rate of 100-150 words a minute, you can probably read from 300-500 words a minute. You have a lot of spare mental capacity looking for something to do. To pay attention, try the following: Mentally summarise what the speaker is saying Take notes Prepare questions or counter-arguments 65. Learn how to interpret body language54 Everyone communicates their feelings "non-verbally," through what is popularly called "body language." When people tap their feet, or drum their fingers on a table, this often means that they are impatient, want attention, or are angry. Learn to pay attention to body language, and be sensitive to what your staff and colleagues are trying to communicate to you non-verbally. It can help you identify problems and be sensitive to other people's needs. Body language examples: Physical gesture Possible meaning Touching face frequently, Anxiety,, discomfort Rubbing nose, Anxiety,, wishes to hide Foot tapping, Impatience,, anger,, need for comfort Tightness in upper body, Suppressed anger,, sadness Body leaning forward, Concerned, interested,, or anxious Body leaning backward, Detached,confident, playing games Stroking face,, neck,hand, Anxiety,, self-pity,, compassion Elbows on table, hands formingsteeple, Confident,, secure Hand over mouth, Playing,, wishes to hide,, anxiety Arms or legs crossed, Defensive,, vulnerable Upper gaze,, head tilted, Remembering Downward gaze, Remembering emotions Crossed leg pointing in toward person, Trusting Crossed leg pointing awayfrom person, Distrusting Avoiding eye contact, Anxiety,, distrust,, discomfort,, hiding Seeking eye contact, Wants emotional contact,, anger,sympathy Writing Clear writing is clear thinking. Anonymous Learn to write well, or not to write at all. John Dryden, English poet.The great art in writing well, is to know when to stop. Josh Billings, Writer. 66. Learn to write effectively55 People make judgements about you from the way you write even the shortest memo. And, of course, sloppy, ineffective writing can cause all kinds of misunderstanding, confusion and take a great deal of effort to correct. Writing effectively means that your thoughts are clear, concise, and prepared as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you would like to improve your writing, here are some tips to help you. Know your subject matter. Don't begin writing until you know what you are going to say. Take ten minutes to develop an outline of the key points that you want to make. Make sure that the sequence of these points is logical. If not, reorganise them. Then fill in the key points you want to make under each main point. Reduce the amount of material. Look over your points and the evidence or data that you plan to present to back up your argument. Is everything necessary? Can you eliminate some supporting data? Don't let your writing become bogged down by a large number of facts. Just present the minimum needed to support your position. Drop the rest. You only need to make your point once. Don't confuse the reader by restating the same point several times, especially in different ways. Keep the reader in mind. Be clear who your audience is and write to that person or group. Tell the reader what he or she needs to know. Don't waste the reader's time by repeating what he or she already knows or does not need to know. Keep it simple and active. Make your sentences short. Don't use big words. Make only one point in a sentence. Use the active tense (subject-verb-object) as much as possible , like, "John wrote the letter," rather than the passive (object-verb-subject), "the letter was written by John." Don't forget to edit heavily. Take the time to read what you wrote and revise it to make it clearer and shorter. If you know someone who is a professional writer, ask him or her to edit your work and to explain any changes made. You can quickly learn a lot about clear writing this way. 67. Write clear instructions56 Instructions tell the reader how to do or make something. You and your staff probably have to write quite a few instructions in your work. Here are some hints that may help you write better instructions. The general rule is that instructions should be written from the reader's perspective, and made short, simple, and clear. Since most readers will not be able to ask you for clarification, you must get it right the first time. Know your audience. If you are writing for a technical audience you can probably assume that they will know something about the subject matter. If it's a general audience you may need to provide more information if they know little or nothing about the subject. Provide some background information. Before you can describe how to do something, your audience needs to know what they are going to do and why. Begin with a reason for the instructions, state your assumptions about the reader's level of technical background, and then define any special terms that the reader will need to know. Present the instructions as steps. Organise the steps in logical, chronological order. Explain each one clearly and concisely. Don't try to explain more than one step at a time. Include warnings and cautions as appropriate. Place them within the appropriate step so that the reader doesn't overlook a warning. Many readers do not read the instructions all the way through before beginning to follow them. Use visual aids. Drawings, pictures and diagrams can help readers visualise the step better. They do not have to be elaborate. Even simple line drawings can help. Provide a summary listing of the steps for easy reference, especially if you are writing instructions that will be followed many times. Motivating staff Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes.Tom Peters, Management Expert. 68. To get the most from your staff, learn what motivates them "People are the most important resources of an organisation. Unlike non-human resources, such as equipment and finances, people want to participate and be motivated. While we take great care of equipment and money, people are often neglected and thus fail to perform at their optimal capacity."57 Thus it is important for a manager to understand what motivates people to work. Never believe that financial compensation is the only factor that motivates people. Rather, people are motivated by their need for such intangibles as achievement, recognition, interesting work, or responsibility. You can address those needs and thus motivate your staff to do things well by: Providing challenging and interesting work assignments that push them to achieve. Allowing staff to make more of their own decisions and to feel more responsible for their own work. Acknowledging good performance by awarding plaques or certificates, by giving public recognition at meetings, or by promoting him/her to a position of increased responsibility. Often, a simple and genuine "thank you" may be enough. 69. How to motivate others þ no tricks involved58 There is no secret trick to motivating staff to do good work. Most people will work hard if you, the manager, take an interest in them and their work and help them to do well. Tell people what they ought to be doing, how to do it, what standards you expect, and when you expect it to be done. Be fair enough to spend time talking to people. Tell them how they are doing, listen to their problems, think about their future, and help them succeed. Above all, give them recognition, control and challenges. 70. People do better when they are given a chance to achieve Achievement is one of the things that motivates people. It allows a person to gain confidence and so become a better employee. People need to have a sense of progression and growth, an opportunity to use their skills and abilities, else they, and your organisation, will not improve. Fostering an atmosphere in which people can achieve calls for delegation. By doing so, you as the manager will learn who can work effectively and handle responsibility and you will find where people's particular talents lie. Men and women want to do a good job, and if they are provided the proper environment, they will do so. Bill Hewlett, founder Hewlett-Packard 71. Use rewards, not threats59 Don't ever use threats to motivate your staff. Threats produce fear and resentment, and can lead to complaining, criticising, spreading of gossip, absenteeism, wasting of time, carelessness, even sabotage. Rewards can motivate. These rewards can be external, such as money and recognition, or internal, such as self-esteem and job satisfaction. Here's a simple system for using rewards to motivate staff: Describe the staff's current behaviour. Describe the desired change. Allow the staff person to practice the new behaviour. Reinforce the new behaviour. Reward the new behaviour. Money is only one possible reward. There are many others that cost almost nothing. Recognition is important to everyone. Try one or more of these: wall plaque, commendation, article in local newspaper, take the staff person to lunch, cake ceremony, a pat on the back and a "thank you." 72. Perseverance leads to success Many things contribute to good management, but one of the vital elements that brings success is persistence: If you have tried to do something and failed, you are vastly betteroff than if you had tried to do nothing and succeeded. Anonymous Perseverance is possible when staff have a good dose of:Self-regard Positive attitude Effective communication Determination to get the job done (adapted from Jean-Paul Heldt, MSI) Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome together, yield themselves when taken little by little. Plutarch Perseverance is the yeast that makes the bread rise. Anonymous Success is measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome whiletrying to succeed. Booker T. Washington Diligence is a great teacher. Arabic proverb Even a dead body rises to the surface Haitian saying 73. Give praise where praise is due Giving recognition to people assures them that their work is noticed and appreciated. Praise makes people feel good. It also makes them want to do a better job - so they can get more praise! Supervising The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work. Agha Hasan Abedi, "Leaders,þ July, 1984 74. Be flexible in the way you supervise individuals60 Good supervision requires a selective approach. As a supervisor, you should recognise that some people may require more guidance or follow-up than others, and that particular tasks or situations may require closer supervision. Conversely, treating highly competent staff in a too heavy-handed way may provoke resentment or create tensions that will lower your staff's performance. What you should try to do, is to tailor your management "style" to fit the type of people you supervise. For example, when particular tasks demand more creativity, such as designing a survey or conducting research, and when decision-making requires more individual input or consensus, you may need only to provide minimal supervision. You can use a more authoritative approach when co-ordinating the efforts of large groups of people, when dealing with an emergency situation requiring timely decision-making, e.g., controlling an epidemic, or when your staff possess limited skills and experience. So, adapt the way you supervise to fit the different needs in your workers and you will see the results in their performance. 75. Please your clients61 Clients who are confident with your service and comfortable in your hands will spread the word about the quality of your organisation. Don't just focus on achievement of targets. Help your staff to understand the importance of client satisfaction and to work to provide services that please your clients. 76. Avoid unnecessary steps and actions62 Below is a list of hints that will help you do a better job of supervising, and make life a lot less complicated for management and staff. Don't waste time by having to find and undo errors. Standardise processes and notice the time you will save. Don't blame your staff for the organisation's problems. Get to the source of the matter. A health worker can't lead an effective seminar in primary health care if management has not provided appropriate training, nor can a surgical nurse do an optimal job if managers have provided gloves that don't fit. Don't be a martyr by carrying the weight of the workforce. Allow for teamwork among staff, suppliers, regulating agencies, and local communities. Incentives for team commitment go beyond salaries and plaques. People are also driven by their pride in producing excellence. Don't let learning stop. Encourage staff members to continually heighten their levels of expertise. Giving feedback I praise loudly, I blame softly Catherine "The Great", Empress of Russia 77. Try coaching63 Look at supervision as coaching, that is, providing encouragement and advice to staff who need to take corrective action. Here are five guidelines five Rs: Rehearse/visualise. Put yourself in each of your staff's shoes. What does that person think, what resistance might you encounter, what are his or her concerns? Be prepared. Review/restate the problem or opportunity. Give your staff person ample time to present his or her side of the story. Be a listener. Be ready to change your mind if you don't have the full picture. State your own role in the situation. Remove the blinders. Make sure you and your staff member understand that the issue is to improve performance in the future, not dwell on past mistakes. Ask what the alternatives are to current performance and how it can be made better. Respond with a plan. Be proactive. Collaborate with your staff person on developing goals, standards, deadlines and schedules. Ask for commitment. Get your staff member to take the first step now. Recycle/renew/revise. Coaching is a process, not a one-time event. It is never over. Stay in touch. 78. Maintain control through management tools64 You probably have several management tools that you can use to supervise the work of your staff. These tools allow you to focus attention on activities that have been or need to be done. Use them to keep staff focused on work priorities. Budgets: A good budget is a specific, itemised plan. Use it to keep your programme plan on track by reviewing the status of the budget with your staff on a regular basis. Expense records: Good expense records provide documentation of expenditures. Use them to review important activities with your staff. Gannt charts: A good Gannt chart provides a visual description of the major activities planned for a programme and their schedule. Review these periodically with your staff to make sure that your programme remains on schedule. With the increased availability of computer programs for management, you have a ready source of many other control devices that can now be prepared and updated much more quickly than in the past. See the Computer guide for suggestions. 79. Provide feedback to staff65 Despite its inevitability and importance, feedback or information about workplace performance is enjoyed and performed effectively by few. However, the benefits of knowing how to deliver feedback are immense. Clear and direct feedback reduces uncertainty, solves problems, builds trust, strengthens relationships, and improves work quality. The following guidelines will help managers acquire feedback skills: Be specific. Give descriptive examples of the behaviour or performance at hand. Be descriptive. Instead of evaluative. Referring to observable behaviour deals with fact rather than opinion. Be aware. Of non-verbal communication. Unintended displays of feedback, like raising eyebrows, constitutes opinion. Use appropriate timing. Feedback is usually most effective right after the work performance occurs or immediately after it is asked for. Ensure privacy and allow time for discussion. Aim for impact. Positive and negative input about job performance should be made at least weekly to increase its impact and lessen potential trauma. 80. Make feedback valuable66 Subordinates need substantive feedback to either continue on track or re-route and improve work performance. Time is limited so think ahead about what you will say and how you will say it. The guidelines below will help managers transform personal, unorganised thoughts into constructive, tangible feedback. Acknowledge the need for feedback Giving and receiving feedback, should be part of the whole organisation's culture, wherein, everyone agrees that it will help establish and maintain good group dynamics. This consensus is important so that there is no surprise when someone receives feedback. Give positive and negative feedback Don't give feedback only when there are problems. Don't take good work for granted. Tell workers when they have done a job well. People are more likely to pay attention to complaints if they are also in the habit of receiving compliments understand the context. The most important characteristic of feedback is that it always has context: where the performance occurred, why it occurred, and what led up to the event. Before giving feedback, review the actions and decisions that led up to that point. Know when to give feedback Is the moment right for feedback? Consider more than your own need to give feedback. Know how to give feedback Be descriptive, but concise. Don't coin behaviour into labels like, "unprofessional." They are judgmental as are words like, "good," "bad," "worst," etc. Don't exaggerate. Speak only for yourself. Talk first about yourself, not about the other party; for example, "I feel annoyed that you are late for meetings," rather than, "You are frequently late for meetings." Phrase the issue as a statement, not a question; for example, "It bothers me when you are late for meetings," rather than, "When are you going to be on time for meetings?" Restrict your feedback to things you know for certain. Help workers hear and accept positive feedback. Remember, some people are awkward about acknowledging compliments about themselves. Reinforce positive feedback. Know how to receive positive feedback. Relax. Breathe to relieve tenseness. Listen carefully and don't interrupt. Ask for specific examples of the described behaviour if you are unclear. Acknowledge valid points. Feel free to take time to sort out feedback before you respond. 81. Don't confuse feedback with evaluation67 Evaluation judges performance when making decisions, for example, about pay increases and promotions. Feedback tells workers how well they are doing and what they can do to improve. Remember, when giving feedback: Use observable terms instead of judgmental words. There is a different reaction from the employee who is reminded of missing three deadlines than from the same employee who is called irresponsible. Don't expect to accomplish the same results with feedback and evaluation. They are mutually exclusive. Don't expect to always accomplish each purpose in the same meeting. Feedback won't work when employees are threatened and defensive. 82. How to ask for feedback68 Staff are usually reluctant to provide any feedback to their bosses, especially if it is negative. But your staff know you better than anyone else you work with. Their reactions to your behaviour, and their suggestions for how you can improve yourself as a manager, are important information. You should make sure you get it þ frequently. Here are some hints for getting more and better feedback from your staff: Ask more open-ended questions. Use words like who, what, when, where, why and how to ask questions. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. "How can I present this more clearly?" Ask more "suppose" questions. This type of question makes the listener put himself or herself in someone else's position. "Suppose this were your problem. How would you deal with it?" Echoes. Echoing is a repetition of the speaker's words followed by a pause. It encourages the speaker to elaborate on a point. "You're saying the team has some problems?" Reassure. Reassurance is letting the speaker know that you understand his or her position because you've been in a similar situation yourself. "I know what you mean. I didn't understand the policies when they were introduced myself." Reflect. Reflection is neutral observation of the feelings you see in someone else. "You seem very concerned about this issue." Listen. People say more and they say it better when they believe that someone is really listening to them. Criticising performance Give a lot, expect a lot, and if you don't get it, prune.Tom Peters, Management Expert 83. Don't be afraid to offend; just don't be offensive in your approach69 Great emphasis is placed on giving positive feedback. Yet sometimes a manager must discuss poor performance with staff and give negative feedback. When people make mistakes, and it is your job to correct them, remember that people may not always respond well to criticism. What you can do is to deliver your criticism in a constructive way, that is: Be clear and specific about what you perceive to be the problem. Listen to their point of view. Give them a chance to explain their performance. Don't dwell on a mistake or problem. Keep it and its solution in proportion. Don't attack, blame, or vent your anger. Speak calmly and firmly, and try to address the other person as a well-intentioned, responsible person. Discuss how to resolve the problem and together identify ways to avoid such problems in the future. 84. Take care of mistakes when they are small; do not allow them to grow, they will get more complicated Everyone makes mistakes. Depending on how a manager deals with mistakes, they can contribute to learning and building of responsibility, or they can serve to reinforce failure and negative attitudes. Help people identify the factors that contributed to the error, the possible repercussions and the best way to proceed. A man who has made a mistake and doesn't correct it is making another mistake.Confucius Try to respond to mistakes soon after they are identified. Correct mistakes when they are small to prevent them from becoming more serious in the future. Point out to the party involved that: A mistake was made/exists How it arose/what made it happen How to learn from it; how to cope with it differently if it arises again so as not to repeat it. How to fix it, address the consequences. Ignoring a mistake allows it to grow or fester into something harmful and difficult to correct. Even if it seems trivial or not worth the time, make the effort to resolve it. 85. How to handle anger70 Anger is natural. It is OK to be angry once in awhile. What is important is how you express it when you are angry and how you deal with an angry staff person. Anger is a severe reaction to frustration, a reaction to having our needs or desires blocked, particularly if we believe that the block is arbitrary or unreasonable. If you are angry: Acknowledge it, determine what made you angry, and express your anger through the "RDA technique" (Resent, Demand, Appreciate), i.e., Resent: I don't like our staff playing computer games during working hours Demand: I expect this place to be run like a professional office Appreciate: You are all valuable professionals; let's keep it like that. If one of your staff gets angry: Get the person away from co-workers, allow the person to express his or her anger, find out the facts, and identify the cause of the anger, and confront the problem. 86. How to manage conflict71 Conflicts occur because of differences in beliefs or because authority is not clearly delineated, or just because people simply cannot get along. Don't take sides in a conflict, act as an arbitrator and listen to both sides, and evaluate the evidence as objectively as possible. Come to a resolution that is agreeable to both parties. If you are involved in a conflict and tempers are running high, go somewhere to be alone until emotions cool. Avoid confrontation until you can communicate constructively. Some suggestions to resolve a conflict: Analyse what has happened. Bring reason and logic to bear on the problem. Try to think about what is really involved. Is the conflict fired by a long-standing problem, or is it a product of circumstance, such as having a bad morning? Take your time Avoid defensiveness Avoid deception Be willing to admit mistakes and allow others to graciously admit mistakes Avoid assumptions Once dealt with, put the issue behind you and do not dwell on it. Training I Retention is best when the learner is involved.Edward Scannell, Educator 87. Training isn't always the answer72 Know that lack of training is not the only reason people cannot do what they are supposed to do. Other reasons include: not having enough resources, unclear job descriptions, misunderstanding of tasks, lack of reward or promotion, and poor teamwork. Before deciding to conduct a training programme, you should answer these questions: 1.Is there a work deficiency? For example, are there too few immunizations, no improvements in sanitation, or mistakes in record-keeping? test staff on what they already know and can do. Don' t waste time training people to do what they already can do do not train people for tasks that they will not be allowed to do 2. Can training improve this deficency? Will the staff member be able to do something better than if he or she were not trained. 88. Determine where you are going before training your people to get there73 Training is too often conducted just to fulfil an organisational requirement, such as to qualify for a credential or because it is budgeted. The best reason to provide training is to develop your staff, but only if it makes sense for your organisation. Are you training for the right reason? Some questions for you and other members of your organisation: Is the training linked to your organisational strategies and objectives? Will the training prevent problems? Will it correct existing problems? Will the training change the attitudes of your workers? Will it affect the behaviour of your workers? Will it increase their levels of knowledge? Will it build their skills? Is training the best solution as opposed to job enrichment or individual coaching? Is training needed as opposed to discipline or termination? What resources are available for your training? 89. Do your staff need training? To find out, ask74 Conduct a training needs analysis which truly represents the needs of those being trained. The goal of training is to provide staff with knowledge and skills they don't have. To determine what skills and knowledge workers lack, you need to ask managers, employees, and clients. Don't assume that management is responsible for knowing where all the deficiencies are. If a training is being designed to improve the skills of staff members, doesn' t it make sense to ask them what skills the training should focus on? Similarly, if a training is planned in an effort to improve service delivery, then ask those who receive the service what needs to be improved. Some tips for conducting a training needs analysis: Check out the complaints you're receiving from clients, for, complaints are symptoms of training needs. Monitor the work force for personal problems or concerns like health that could be met with a training. Provide exit interviews to employees who leave voluntarily and analyse the trends, wherein, they have found problems with the organisation. Administer an employee attitude survey which will yield important information about the need for employee or management training. Develop a simple questionnaire for managers with open-ended questions like, "What training programmes do you think we have to offer to improve the skills of our employees?" Examine the major deficiencies that are highlighted in employee performance reports. Conduct interviews, with both managers and employees, that probe deeper into training needs than a survey form. 90. Get the best training for your organisation75 If your organisation does not have a training staff then management and workers will have to be trained by outside providers. A training programme is only as good as the trainer, therefore, be cautious and thorough in your selection. Below are some tips before choosing two types of outside providers. Before sending staff to a training programme: Get a detailed outline of the training content, time devoted to each topic, and methods of instruction. Be confident in the trainer's expertise, prior organisational experience, and familiarity with the topic. Be sure there is an evaluation system in which trainer's assess participants and participants assess the trainers and the programme. Contact previous participants to ask them specific questions about the training programme. Consider price and location. Before bringing an outside trainer inside your organisation: Consider the same tips as you would before sending staff to a training programme. Be sure that the provider performs a training needs assessment so that they are familiar with the organisation. Decide whether you want the provider's standard programme or a training designed to your specifications. Decide whether the training programme needs to be delivered just once or repeated in the future. Be sure that the provider follows up with an impact assessment of the training, a progress report of the participants' progress, and additional training if necessary. 91. Cultivate those who can teach you Baltasar Gracian, Priest and writer 1601-1658 Managers are expected to do everything and provide support to everyone. Quite often they do not receive training and support to help them grow and improve. Everyone needs someone to talk to. Find people who can stimulate you, give advice and ideas. 92. Continue learning by teaching others One of the side benefits of teaching is that you learn at the same time. First, you have to prepare, which requires some learning of new material, or relearning of old material. Second, you have to communicate this information to your "students," which reinforces your own grasp of the subject. Third, and most important, when you and your students discuss and debate the material, you will probably learn of different ways to look at the material, and you will learn still more. 93. Help people work smarter. Schedule "Knowledge Circles"76 A "Knowledge Circle" is a way to share one's knowledge and experience with others. Short, 1-10 minute, presentations are made at these meetings to pass along tips, shortcuts, new ideas, significant findings, or any other information that would help people in the group do their job better or faster. There can be several presenters at one meeting, and they can be drawn from within or outside of your organisation. To be effective, the presentations should be followed by group discussion. Schedule your Knowledge Circles on a regular basis, say once per month, to make them a part of your routine in-house continuing education system. If and when your group runs out of useful information to share, call the Knowledge Circles off þ at least for awhile. Training II Change means that choices have to be made. Let others participate in those choices so that they have some ownership in the outcome.Brad Lee Thompson, Management expert 94. Prepare your staff for change77 Managers must make room for changes that will allow them to function better and ultimately serve their clients better. Such changes can occur in the form of a new policy or programme strategy, new technology, a switch in staffing, a new location, etc. Introducing something new is likely to be met with some resistance and misgiving. It thus becomes the responsibility of the manager to minimise the effects of change and smooth the transition. Know that people don't resist change. They resist being changed. To better manage the changes that will come to your organisation, get your staff involved in the process. Include them in; identifying the need for change planning the change implementing the change monitoring the results and working to improve them 95. Learn from the experiences of others78 Managers can learn a great deal from the experiences of others, particularly when introducing quality improvements to an organisation for the first time. The following are some recommendations to avoid common pitfalls encountered by many managers. They can help to reinforce the quality guidelines that you may already have developed for your programme. Recognise that quality is also a leadership issue. Quality improvements will depend upon how management thinks, behaves, and structures the quality system. Take care of the basics. You can introduce new systems and technology without having staff who are skilled in using them. Implement systems and technical change with social change Use a simple and practical definition of quality that relates to everyone's job. Listen to all the experts, but ultimately make your own choices. Broaden your scope. Learn from other organisations, even the ones that are not doing well, and familiarise yourself with all the various aspects of your programme. Concentrate on a value-driven approach, that is, value quality over financial return. 96. Seek out new opportunities79 Opportunities are time-savers. They are sudden chances to jump more than one step at a time toward a goal. Here are some suggestions for making and taking advantage of opportunities: Know where you are going. Otherwise, you won't be able to spot an opportunity when it arises. Tell people what you are interested in, be enthusiastic about your aims. Make yourself available. Place yourself where opportunities are likely to occur. Keep your eyes open. Opportunities are not always obvious. They may be disguised as problems. Be flexible. You can't always control when an opportunity will occur, so be prepared to reschedule your work to make time available when an opportunity comes along. Expect your share of good fortune. Chances are good that you will get your opportunity. Opportunities are usually worth investing in. If the opportunity is what you are waiting for, don't hesitate to invest in it, borrow, if necessary. Don't wait for others. If you want to involve others but they aren't ready, go ahead anyway. They can always join you later. Don't over analyse. Be careful not to procrastinate, ponder too much, or study the issue for too long. The opportunity may slip away. Be rational. Don't gamble. Taking a calculated risk is alright because you know the odds. 97. Getting a new idea adopted80 Managerial courage is the expression of ideas that are different from the current consensus.Harvey A. Hornstein, Management expert Harvey Hornstein studied 200 US and Japanese firms and identified five guidelines for successfully introducing new ideas: Watch your focus. Stick to business issues, or frame your concern as a business issue. If you focus on changing the performance of superiors, subordinates, or ethical issues, your chances of succeeding are poor. Watch your credibility. Your credibility is in your area of expertise, so changes you propose should be in your area of expertise. Be direct. Don't rely on long, drawn-out procedures, memos, letters, reports, to promote the change. Act directly, speak to people directly. Create supporters. You aren't likely to succeed without support. Meet with people who will be affected by the change and enlist them as part of your team. Timing is everything. Change is more likely to be acceptable if it addresses a problem that currently affects people. If there is no problem, they will not see any value in change for change sake. 98. Practice managing change81 Here are some tips for being a successful change agent: Share your excitement about the upcoming change. People need this to replace their former vision. Share as much information as you can about the change. This helps people to deal with anxieties and uncertainties about their own future, and helps avoid the spread of misunderstandings and rumours. Invite others to participate in the choices that have to be made about the change. That will generate ownership of the change. Keep surprises to a minimum. Communicate the plan in small, easy-to-understand steps. Go fast enough to keep people interested and motivated, but not so fast that confusion and uncertainty become a problem. Communicate your expectations for performance under the change clearly and consistently. Highlight the benefits of the change as soon as they become real. If someone is going to lose because of the change, inform them early and help them to find a way to become winners, also. Change only that which is necessary to change. Some familiarity with past routines is healthy for continuity and efficient operations. Overcommunicate. Never assume that you have been completely understood, particularly by those who may be resisting the change. Last thoughts 99. Continue learning Management is more art than science because it deals with human beings, who are notoriously unpredictable. Learning how to be a better manager is a life-long adventure. The best way to learn is to read more extensively and put into practice what you learn. Someday you too could become a sought-after management consultant! There are many, many books available in most bookstores on management. Take the opportunity to pick one up and read it. The books that are cited in the References section of this Guide are available in many countries. They are also well-written, easy to read, and entertaining, as well as useful. 100. Some laws of management to remember Management has developed its own "truths," or laws, based on real experience in the real world. You may have seen or heard these without realising that they are laws. That is, they really are true! Here are three of the most well-known and most often encountered by managers: Parkinson's Law Work expands to fill up time. Pareto's Law 80% of__ is due to 20% of___. As in; 80% of the ideas come from 20% of the staff. 80% of the problems occur in 20% of the clinics. 80% of the budget is spent on 20% of the population. Murphy's Law Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. References 1. The Earth Works Group. 50 simple things you can do to save the earth. Earth Works Press, Berkeley, 1989. 2. Thompson, B. L. Concise handbook for new managers. Scott, Foresman and Company, London, 1990, p. 204. 3. Douglass, M. E. and D. N. Douglass. Manage your time, manage your work, manage yourself. ANACOM, New Your, 1980, pp. 271-272. 4. Deep, S. and L. Sussman. Smart moves. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990. 5. Deep, S. and L. Sussman. Smart moves. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990. 6. Black, R. Getting things done. Penguin Group, London, 1990, No. 2. 7. Black, R. Getting things done. Penguin Group, London, 1990, No. 3. 8. Black, R. Getting things done. Penguin Group, London, 1990, No. 12. 9. Jandt, F. E. The manager's problem solver. Scott, Foresman and Company, London, 1990, p. 135. 10. Jandt, F. E. The manager's problem solver. Scott, Foresman and Company, London, 1990, p. 44. 11. Quality Assurance Project. Process improvement team workshop materials. University Research Corporation, MD, USA. 12. Scholtes, P. (ed.). The team handbook: How to use teams to improve quality. Joiner Associates Inc., Madison, WI, 1988. 13. Deep, S. and L. Sussman. Smart moves. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990. 14. Black, R. Getting things done. Penguin Group, London, 1990, No. 90. 15. Deep, S. and L. Sussman. Smart moves. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990. 16. Deep, S. and L. Sussman. Smart moves. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990. 17. Sloma, R. S. No-nonsense management: A primer for managers. Bantam, New York, 1988, p. 71. 18. Wolff, J. A. et al. The family planning manager's handbook. Management Sciences for Health, Kumarian Press, 1991, p. 20. 19. McMahon, R. et al. On being in charge. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1992, pp. 321-327. 20. Sloma, R. S. No-nonsense management: A primer for managers. Bantam, New York, 1988, p. 59. 21. Sloma, R. S. No-nonsense management: A primer for managers. Bantam, New York, 1988, p. 72. 22. Sloma, R. S. No-nonsense management: A primer for managers. Bantam, New York, 1988, p. 61. 23. Blanchard, K., et al. Leadership and the one minute manager. Fontanna/Collins, Great Britain, 1987, pp. 46-56. 24. Deep, S. and L. Sussman. Smart moves. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990, pp. 94-95. 25. Tin Myaing Thein, Kalihi-Palama Immigration Service Center, Honoulu. 26. Adapted from The US. Marine Corps Guidelines, cited in: P. L. Townsend and J. E. Gebhardt. 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Performance and Instructional Journal. July, 1986, pp. 7-11. 77. Instituting Dr. Denim's methods for management of productivity and quality. Joiner Associates, 1989. 78. Adapted from R. A. Dumas. "Quality in progress," cited in P. L. Townsend, and J. E. Gebhardt. Quality in action. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1992. 79. Black, R. Getting things done. Penguin Group, London, 1990, No. 95. 80. Hornstein, H. A. Managerial courage: Revitalising your company without sacrificing your job. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1986. 81. Thompson, B. L. Concise handbook for new managers. Scott, Foresman and Company, London, 1990, p. 259. Acronyms and abbreviations AKF Aga Khan Foundation CEO Chief executive officer Ed.D. Doctor of education IT&T International Telephone and Telegraph Company PHC Primary health care PRICOR Primary Health Care Operations Research RDA Resent, Demand, Appreciate (method) URC University Research Corporation PHC MAP MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Dr. Ronald Wilson Aga Khan Foundation, Switzerland (Co-Chair) Dr. Jack Bryant Aga Khan University, Pakistan (Co-Chair) Dr. William Steeler Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan, France (Co-Chair) Dr. Jack Reynolds Center for Human Services, USA (PHC MAP Director) Dr. David Nicholas Center for Human Services, USA Dr. Duane Smith Aga Khan Foundation, Switzerland Dr. Pierre Claquin Aga Khan Foundation, Switzerland Mr. Aziz Currimbhoy Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan Mr. Kabir Mitha Aga Khan Health Service, India Dr. Nizar Verjee Aga Khan Health Service, Kenya Ms. Khatidja Husein Aga Khan University, Pakistan Dr. Sadia Chowdhury Aga Khan Community Health Programme, Bangladesh Dr. Mizan Siddiqi Aga Khan Community Health Programme, Bangladesh Dr. Krasae Chanawongse ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Thailand Dr. Yawarat Porapakkham ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Thailand Dr. Jumroon Mikhanorn Somboon Vacharotai Foundation, Thailand Dr. Nirmala Murthy Foundation for Research in Health Systems, India PHC MAP TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Dr. Nirmala Murthy Foundation for Research in Health Systems, India (Chair) Dr. Krasae Chanawongse ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Thailand Dr. Al Henn African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), formerly of the Harvard Institute for International Development Dr. Siraj-ul Haque Mahmud Ministry of Planning, Pakistan Dr. Peter Tugwell Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada Dr. Dan Kaseje Christian Medical Commission, Switzerland, formerly of the University of Nairobi, Kenya KEY PHC MAP STAFF AT THE CENTER FOR HUMAN SERVICES Dr. Jack Reynolds (PHC MAP Director) Dr. Neeraj Kak Dr. Paul Richardson Ms. Lori DiPrete Brown Dr. David Nicholas Ms. Pam Homan Dr. Wayne Stinson Dr. Lynne Miller-Franco Ms. Maria Francisco Ms. Mary Millar