We are living in an extraordinary time. Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship have become the two dominant ideas in the business world as an integral part of organizational culture.
Technology is changing almost every industry. Dynamism has become an indispensable quality to build for almost every company regardless of the industry you operate in. All these changes have made things even more complex for organizations and leaders - be it a small startup or a multi-million dollar corporate giant.
This is where comes the need for strong organizational culture and management practices. We have put together a host of indispensable management lessons from Muhammad A. (Rumee) Ali of BIAC and Yasir Azman of Grameenphone that will help you to build a winning culture and put together some best management practices in your organization, regardless of your size and industry.
People in this story: Muhammad A. (Rumee) Ali of BIAC (read our interview with Mr. Ali here) and Yasir Azman of Grameenphone (read our interview with Mr. Azman here).
“I’m a believer in teamwork and leadership. Companies that make things happen work as a team and they invest in developing leaders”, says Rumee Ali.
While it is a common knowledge that teamwork is essential for the successful execution of almost anything in a company, many early-stage companies often fail to create a conducive environment for teamwork.
There is a tendency towards giving priority to star performers in the team. While it is important to have people who are exceptionally good at what they do, it is often a counterproductive idea to prioritize a single person at the expense of a team. No matter how great one individual is on something, it is always a team that makes all the difference.
If you are into building things, find leaders and invest in your people to develop their leadership skills and put them in charge of things
“You should put leaders in charge of projects if you want to succeed rather than managers. A manager will manage the project well and get things done by the book but a leader will focus on the result of the project and be brave and take calculated risks,” says Rumee Ali. “Managers will not take risks and will not produce the greatest results but the leaders will take risks and will have a greater chance to produce better results. It is very important for any organization to identify people with leadership potential, nurture them and place them in appropriate positions”.
It is important for an organization to have both the managers and leaders. While these two skills are not exclusive of each other, the reality is that all the leaders are not great managers and all the managers are not great leaders.
“Leadership is about creating an enabling environment for your people to innovate, be creative, perform and give their best effort and excel in what they are doing,” says Rumee Ali.
This is such an important point many companies fail to grasp. Many organizations tend to put rigid systems and processes in place and allow its people very little opportunity to experiment, make decisions and act. This is not only detrimental to the growth of your people, but it is also equally unhealthy for the company. When people get the opportunity to act, they take initiatives and make things happen what they otherwise would not do.
Every one of us has something exceptional to contribute to the world. Sometimes some people find it out themselves and others not so good at it. The job of a leader is to help people find their true potentials.
“I believe in mentoring people and helping them to achieve their personal and institutional goal by integrating both of them,” says Rumee Ali of BIAC.
By mentoring an employee, one can know better about his capabilities. What he can do and what he cannot. From that, he can also help him to improve his capabilities which eventually help the organization to achieve its goals.
Respecting people regardless of position and situation creates a virtuous cycle of more effective collaboration and teamwork. At the same time, it inspires people to work hard because it sends a message of equality and justice.
“Every person has something that he or she is good at, as a leader your job is to put the right person in the right place. In my long career, I have seen time and time again people and an entire team to fail miserably and then again the same people to come out with great success,” says Yasir Azman, Deputy CEO of Grameenphone.
An effective leader is a person who creates an inspiring vision of the future, motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision. He not only leads a team but also supports a team.
“Sometimes leaders make mistake by riding on team’s success”, says Yasir Azman. “As a leader, it is your job to give credit and visibility to your team, make them shine, and help them build confidence. Allowing your team to take credit for the works often helps build trust and eventually help build new leaders.”.
