Top Management Story

Writen by Andrew E. Schwartz

JUGGLING DEMANDS: All leaders constantly juggle a multifarious array of demands from those of their organization, employees, and themselves. Good leaders, never drop one demand at the expense of another equally important requirement. They give each demand its fair share, while balancing the organizational goals with their employees' needs, while still fulfilling their own personal/professional purposes. Successful leaders meet both these business and personal needs through their staff. They learn about their staff's aspirations, their strengths and potential contributions to the organization. From this knowledge, they mesh together a successful working team. Sounds easy, doesn't it? For starters, it becomes much easier if you know your organization.

JUST HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW UNDERSTAND YOUR ORGANIZATION? Knowledge of your organization's business field is invaluable. If you don't know the basics — the product, market, or technology, you are likely to short-change yourself goal wise and the organization. Not knowing the basics might leave you feeling inadequate come decisionmaking time. Even though you only may be the Director of Personnel, you still need to know what your organization does, how it does it, and what it's goals are. You still need to know the employees from the bottom to the top in every department and some personal information about each of these people. Supportive team work is often accomplished based on such knowledge and its insight/application to work relationships. Don't work in a vacuum; do your homework—get to know the organization, and its employees.

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CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.