Hallo everyone, and welcome to this short launch blog of my latest book: Management 0107 – The Master License to Lead (amazon.com/author/jacquesvanzyl) and (https://bit.ly/3oMKjhW). For twenty-six years, I have coached, counselled and worked with numerous people. I engaged with them in psychology practice, management training as well as management development. I have experienced and observed at first hand, the effects of various management styles, approaches, and execution thereof on the organization, employees, and the managers themselves. Some outcomes had been very positive, although, in many other cases, not so. In the event of the latter, I believe it was a matter of not yet having achieved competence in the managerial role. It is analogous to a medical intern, who, although familiar with a stethoscope, requires many hours of application and practise before they are efficient in using the instrument confidently and competently. Organizations assume that once a person has been promoted to a management position, they will automatically be amply equipped with the knowledge they need to perform their managerial role.
I find this intriguing, as it is the management cadre who is ultimately responsible for managing the organization on behalf of all its stakeholders, including its employees and shareholders. If they are not fully competent in executing their roles, the ship goes down! Yet, scant attention gets paid to their ongoing development and professionalism, as is the case in other vocations, for example, medical and legal professions.
The concept of leadership is also often divorced from the managerial role, and countless numbers of books and articles attempt to describe the difference between the two. My view is that they belong in the same profession, i.e., that of the professional managerial leader. This book then describes specific professional managerial leadership competencies, and how they could be acquired and developed. In the process, I draw on numerous personal experiences, stories from others as well as existing management science and its many contributors.
The field of managerial science is vast, so this book does not strive to cover everything contained in this domain. It should serve as a ‘compact read’ of some of the major ideas and approaches offered therein. I selected twelve primary competencies in managerial leadership to illustrate the points I am making, especially regarding professionalizing the cadre. These competencies include, human capital management, thinking & problem solving, quality & operations, and various interpersonal competencies, such as EQ and team management. The reader is encouraged to read broader to add to their repertoire of applicable competencies.
While in the process of writing, the Covid 19 pandemic engulfed the globe. Even in my own practice, I had to swiftly adjust to the ‘new way’ of doing business. My days fill up with many Zoom and MS Team meetings and sessions. I have limited physical contact with my team as well as colleagues and clients, and my business traveling volumes have dropped to virtually zero – I truly miss those exchanges. To remain relevant, I then offer a short concluding chapter on the application of managerial leadership competencies in the present low- to no-touch economy we are operating in.
Finally, managerial leaders are not overseen by a professional board, such as the medical profession, nor are they formally licensed to practise. This book, Management 0107 – The master license to lead, offers a self-coaching compact read, for those who are serious about their profession in the field, and in professionalizing their own managerial leadership practice.
Thank you for reading.
