Reflecting on your CV and career aspirations, what are the two main management skills that you wish to personally develop as a future manager? Drawing on the theories on management skills examined in this module, discuss why these two skills are important for a manager.
Managers and problem solving
Developing self awareness
Analytical problem solving
The Focused Leader Daniel Goleman:
Attention as a leader has to be split. It can be split into 3 broad buckets.
Focus on yourself
Focus on others
Focus on the wider world
Whetten and Cameron
Developing your self awareness is key to being a successful leader however there is an enigma to it. People often avoid personal growth because we fear finding out we are not all we would like to be. Self-awareness is a prerequisite for and motivator of growth and improvement, but it may also inhibit growth and improvement. It may lead to progress and advancement or to stagnation and defensiveness because of fear of knowing more.
The sensitive line:
This concept refers to the point at which individuals become defensive or protective when encountering information about themselves that is inconsistent with their self-concept or when encountering pressure to alter their behaviour. Crossing the sensitive line creates rigidity and self-preservation. How can increased self-knowledge and personal change ever occur? There are at least 2 answers:
Self awareness helps you to develop the ability to appreciate differences and not to emphasize distinctions. Distinctions divide us where differences bring new ideas and concepts together.
Important areas of self awareness:
Cognitive style- refers to the manner in which you gather and process information. Researchers have found that individual differences in cognitive style influence perception, learning, problem solving, decision making, communication and creativity.
Orientation towards change – methods people use to cope with change in their environment. Knowing your orientation toward coping with change is an important aspect of self-awareness. Two dimensions: Locus of control and intolerance of ambiguity.
Personal values – they are “the core of the dynamics of behaviour and play so large a part in unifying personality.”
Core self-evaluation: a construct that captures the essential aspects of core personality.
Emotional intelligence- the ability to correctly diagnose and manage one’s own emotions and relationships with others – has been identified as among the most important factors in accounting for success in leaders and managers.
Creative problem solving
The steps to analytical problem solving.
Limitations:
Simply learning about and practicing these 4 steps does not guarantee that an individual will effectively solve all types of problems. These problem solving steps are most effective mainly when the problems faced are straightforward, when alternatives are readily definable and when a clear standard exists against which to judge the correctness of a solution. But many managerial problems are not of this type. It may not be clear how much information is needed what the complete set of alternatives is, or how one knows if the information being attained is accurate. Some problems are simply not amenable to systematic or rational analysis. Sufficient and accurate information is not always available. Outcomes may not be predictable.
Limitations:
Multiple approaches to creativity
Achieving creativity through imagination:
Refers to the creation of new ideas, breakthroughs, and radical approaches to problem solving. People who pursue creativity this way tend to be experimenters, entrepreneurs and they define creativity and exploration, new product innovation or developing new possibilities. When facing difficult problems in need of problem solving, their approach is focused on coming up with untested possibilities and unique solutions.
Achieving creativity through improvement:
This works by developing incrementally better alternatives, improving on what already exists or clarifying the ambiguity that is associated with the problem. Rather than being revolutionaries and risk takers, they are systematic, careful and thorough. Creativity comes by finding ways to improve processes or functions.
Achieving creativity through investment:
The pursuit of rapid goal achievement and competitiveness. People who approach creativity in this way meet challenges head on, adopt a competitive posture and focus on achieving results faster than others. People achieve creativity by working harder than the competition, exploiting others weaknesses, and being first to offer a product, service or idea, even if it is not their own.
Achieving creativity through incubation:
Creative activity through teamwork, involvement, and coordination among individuals. Creativity occurs by unlocking the potential that exists in interactions among networks of people. Individuals who approach creativity through incubation encourage people to work together, foster trust and cohesion and impower others. Creativity arises from a collective mindset and sharing ideas.
Reflection
Self awareness
Managers and problem solving
I would like to improve my creative problem solving abilities. I would like to achieve creativity through incubation. I struggle with conceptual blocks in particular: vertical thinking and artificial constraints
I feel like I could develop focus on yourself
Could develop on orientation towards change
