Leadership 
Proving guidance and direction to others, often offering a shared vision which encourages and motivates others to follow.
Leadership Continuum
A theory developed by Tannenbaum and Schmidt in 1958, later updated, which places seven different styles of leadership behaviour on a range from autocratic to democratic, although implementation could routinely vary within a work situation depending on the demands and pressures of the situation. The seven styles are:
• Tells. An autocratic approach with the leader using their authority to the maximum extent. For the long-term success of an organisation, this approach would be used very sparingly, primarily where safety critical issues are required, or where new employees are having health and
Continue reading about this
Leadership Styles
Effective leaders provide a framework and conditions in which managers can manage effectively. Different approaches can be taken to empower managers and individuals, although an underlying requirement for a successful leader is that of developing trust with followers and employees.
Goleman identifies six styles of leadership which might be appropriate for different situations, a couple of these ideally being only used sparingly and in very specific situations:
1. Coercive (Autocratic): For crisis management situations only.
2. Authoritative: Providing vision and clarity.
3. Democratic
Continue reading about this
List
A command / instruction word used within an exam situation or when trying to communicate something to another person. To list something in a written situation you would either bullet point, or use numbering, to state key words, features or statements. For a verbal list you would probably use a numbering sequence for clarity of speech. The purpose of a list would typically be to demonstrate a general awareness of the subject matter.
Management By Exception
Situations will arise outside of that which has been planned or normally carried out. Unexpected interruptions to activities or processes need to be actively managed to ensure no significant negative impact on productivity or workflow occurs. This can especially arise during project work, such as the construction of a sports facility, so thinking in advance about possible problems and issues and how they might be addressed will provide a pre-planned contingency for such events. Employees would typically be responsible for addressing issues in the first place as many might be minor and can be r
Continue reading about this
Management By Objectives
Setting clear, achievable, goals (i.e. objectives) in the management of work activities to aid managers in planning workload and to provide clarity to an individual in understanding what is expected of them. This helps an organisation to provide and allocate adequate and appropriate resources to support an individual and team in achieving their goals and those of the organisation.
Monitoring and assessing inputs and outcomes helps the process of continuous improvement, which is needed not just to maintain desired goals but to improvise and innovate to improve productivity, product quality a
Continue reading about this
Management Characteristics needed for Excelling as a Great Manager
To excel as a manager requires a number of characteristics that are applied in the workplace to distinguish what Google calls a ‘Great Manager' from that of a ‘normal' manager. Research has identified a number of core characteristics that make the most significant contribution towards this outcome and they are what most people would probably consider are an important requirement, but maybe they would not have included them all within the top 10 as identified by the research. The top 10 characteristics of a ‘Great Manager' are:
1. Being a good coach, emphasizing constructi
Continue reading about this
Management Functions
Managerial Grid
An assessment model, in the form of a grid, to determine a leadership style, developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton in 1964. The grid has two dimensions of concerns: Concern for people (y-axis) and Concern for production (i.e. results) (x-axis), with each axis having a scale of 1 (low) to 9 (high). Five different behaviours for leadership styles can be plotted within the grid:
1. Country club management (1,9). Leaders focus on ‘people skills’ creating a motivated, socially integrated, happy workforce. However, business outcomes will suffer, leading to reductions in staff numbers, especial
Continue reading about this
Managing Change
Change within a workplace is often viewed as undesirable and unwanted, but in many cases, change is needed over time to ensure working practices keep up to date with new technologies. A manager will often be the person involved in explaining the need for organisational change, whilst the majority of employees will be those required to apply the required changes.
A manager will need to fully understand the organisational need and requirements for the change, being able to explain the benefits to employees, and the likely impacts change will have on working practices and how it may affect s
Continue reading about this