Creating a high performance workforce: Management and leadership
IN the fourth of our week of features in association with Sheffield Hallam University, TheBusinessDesk.com considers the art of good management and leadership.
IT is a given that successful businesses need strong leadership but acquiring those skills is often left to trial and error rather than a considered programme of personal development.
Good leadership skills gives directors and managers confidence and allows them to influence the direction of the company, they acquire a focus on the longer term which means their organisation has more notice of upcoming developments and gives their employees time to be proactive rather than reactive.
That organisational command and direction is one element of being a successful manager – the other is leading and managing people and the challenge is to get both parts working together.
Paul Stokes, subject leader in organisational behaviour and human resource management, said: “Overcoming challenges and being able to motivate staff and raise morale are both important roles of a manager during hard times. And maintaining a longer term focus, rather than getting bogged down in day-to-day problems, helps give your organisation the stability to survive and thrive.
“Different organisations need different cultures and approaches. And so do different individuals. So there isn’t a one-size-fits-all management technique. Sometimes you need to instruct people, whereas sometimes you need to encourage and empower people. Neither approach is right or wrong – it depends on your particular situation.”
Sheffield Hallam University offers events where guest speakers from industry explain how they have dealt with specific management challenges. The University also hosts action learning groups’ – workshops facilitated our expert business staff in where business people address each other’s challenges by sharing their experiences and ideas.
The City Region Leadership programme is an innovative study scheme designed to give professionals the strategic abilities to move forward their organisation, and in doing so, also the Sheffield City Region. It involves working with leaders and managers from across the City Region and developing innovative solutions to problems, while also meeting individual learning objectives.
This is the first time that a City Region has taken a strategic approach to leadership across all public services, private and third sector organisations. It hopes this collaborative approach will lead to improved services and enhance organisations’ – and the region’s – ability to grow and prosper.
The programme was initially designed in partnership with the region’s public sector but his since been opened up to the private sector, and is delivered jointly by Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield.
