Manage By Walking Around – The Good & Bad
You Can Effectively Manage By Walking Around If You Do It Right
In my previous post, manage by objective, I detailed out the pros and cons. In this post I will follow the same format and detail out the pros and cons for managing by walking around. You can manage by walking around and have it be extremely beneficial. However, you can also manage by walking around and have it completely ineffective. There is a balance to most things, and any leadership tactics need a balance. If you currently manage by walking around or are unfamiliar with the term, keep reading as I will unpack it so that it will help you to manage by walking around more effectively.
Manage By Walking Around – What Is It?
Managing by walking around is basic. Instead of simply only managing by objective, or managing one on one in a closed room, managing by walking around means getting out of your office and checking in with each person that reports to you. I will get into the benefits and negatives of managing by walking around shortly, but sometimes the simplest ideas and concepts are easily forgotten and go unpracticed. There is enormous value to being a leader who does manage by walking around. It can’t be your only method, but when you mange by walking around correctly it can build trust and loyalty rather quickly.
Manage By Walking Around Benefits
Managing by walking around has been proven to be highly effective on many levels. One level is that it will constantly allow you to have one on one personal interaction with those that you lead. Another benefit to manage by walking around is that if done right, you will be able to spot more readily when projects are operating effectively and ineffectively. Managing by walking around also reduces barriers of communication to those you lead. For some, it is difficult to approach a person in a senior leadership role, or manager role for that manner. If you as their manager and leader are seen managing by walking around and interacting with all levels of those you lead, it creates more of a human element rather than an authoritative dominating element. Perhaps one of the main benefits of managing by walking around is that it will allow you, the leader, to tap into the emotional side of people. Emotions impact all of us, whether we want to admit that or not. Giving recognition when due, making sure that during hard times people know they can emotionally lean on you will increase moral and also increase your human capital wealth as well.
Manage By Walking Around Cons
Like many aspects in life, there is always the other side. If you manage by walking around that is great, but you can be doing completely wrong. If you manage by walking around and simply say “good morning” or anything that is short and brief you are not doing it justice. If you manage by walking around to enlist fear on your direct reports you are doing it wrong. A leader should drive out fear, open up channels of communication and trust. I am not saying that you don’t hold your authority when needed, but managing by walking around to create fear in those you lead is ineffective and emotionally draining approach on others. If you decide to manage by objective and never peer into those who you are talking to on a deeper level, their goals, how their current job can be improved, personal aspects, and the like you are not managing by walking around effectively. Everyone you lead and manage is a person in a role. Not a role in a person. The moment you get that and actually apply it will be the moment you see a change in those you lead, trust will form, and productivity and loyalty will increase. Managing by walking around is simple on the surface, but if that is all you take away from it, you are not tapping into the true benefits.
Final Thoughts On How To Manage By Walking Around
All leaders, yes all leaders need to manage by walking around. A leader who never does manage by walking around is creating isolation and an array of barriers to those they lead. To manage by walking around is to dig a bit deeper into those you lead, to have a pulse on the culture and feel of your team, and to ensure that productivity remains high. Make sure you incorporate effective ways as listed in this post to manage by walking around
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