PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE MANAGEMENT

by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"

"Beware of your 'firefighters,' they are probably your chief arsonists."
- Bryce's Law

I have been thinking a lot about micromanagement lately. It seems the corporate
world is consumed with mini-dictators who are bent on directing the activities
of others. I also see this in Freemasonry and in other nonprofit organizations consisting of
volunteers and managed by leaders who can be rather ruthless. Nonetheless, I have also noticed
there appears to be an inclination for such managers to be reactive as opposed to
proactive in their style of management, and I cannot help but think that
micromanagement and reactive management are somehow related.

I have met a lot of reactive managers in my time. All exhibit the following
characteristics:

* Seldom has time for interoffice planning/organization meetings.

* Has trouble effectively communicating with the staff, particularly articulating objectives and plans.

* Not interested in or doesn't heed input from subordinates.

* Spends more time supervising than managing.

* Changes priorities on the fly.

* Rarely, if ever, produces priority lists (keeps it in his/her head).

* Bipolar - knows great enthusiasms and is easily depressed.

* Thrives on chaos - sees themselves as saviors. Likes to swoop in and solve problems.

As to this last point, we have encountered situations like this on more than
one occasion, but in particular we were contracted by a large insurance company in
the Midwest to audit the performance of two systems development groups in the
company. One group appeared to be well organized and managed; they quietly went
about their business and delivered their work products on time and within budget.
Another group was just the antithesis of the other; systems were installed prematurely
and never to the customer's satisfaction, and assignments were routinely late and
over budget. Nonetheless, the manager of this latter group was well respected
for being able to put out fires at a moment's notice.

When we finally presented our results to the board of directors, we made the
observation that their head firefighter was also the cause of all of the
problems he was correcting. Yet, whereas the manager of the group who quietly
produced superior work products was unrecognized, the head firefighter was being
amply rewarded for his efforts. Basically, he was taking advantage of the "squeaky
wheel getting the oil" phenomenon. Frankly, the executives were surprised by our
comments and that such a situation had arisen in their company.

There are two reasons for reactive management; either for political gain (as in the
insurance example above), or because people simply do not know how to be proactive.
One excuse commonly heard from reactive managers is, "We never have enough time
to do things right." Translation: "We have plenty of time to do things wrong."
True management is hard work, requiring skills in planning, analysis, organization,
leadership, and communications. To some, it is easier to let problems come to
them as opposed to trying to anticipate problems and take action before they
occur. In other words, they resign themselves to a life of reactive management.

The proactive manager invests his time and money in planning and, consequently,
spends less in implementation. In contrast, the reactive manager regards planning
as a waste of time and is content spending an inordinate amount of time in
implementation, thereby incurring more costs and, because of the ensuing chaos,
needs to micromanage people.

Young people coming into the workforce tend to learn from their managers and emulate
their style for years to come. If they see proactive management, they will believe
this is the proper way of conducting business and perpetuate this style, but if they
only see reactive management...

This leads me to believe we will be plagued by reactive management for quite
some time to come.


Keep the Faith!

NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not necessarily represent
the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction or any other Masonic related body.
As with all of my Masonic articles herein, please feel free to reuse them in Masonic
publications or re-post them on Masonic web sites (except Florida).
When doing so, please add the following:

Article reprinted with permission of the author.

Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.

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Copyright © 2008 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

I like this one. I listen to all the podcast versons of these:
http://podcast.lodgeroominternational.com/

Ditto!

I like podcasts because I can listen and do other things as well ;D