Management & Leadership:

Management & Leadership:

Successful companies and leaders of companies understand that the best resource available

to them is people, and that the human capital at their disposal has to be managed and

developed into a more valuable resource in order for the company to progress.

Managers in professional companies spend a lot of time worrying about marketing and selling

their companys services, but few give much thought to developing the product that the

company is trying to induce its clients to buy: the knowledge and professional skill of its staff.

Precise definitions of professional skill are hard to come by. The true value of professionals

lies less in what they know than in what they can do. While professional knowledge can be

codified and easily shared, professional skills can only be developed through practice. By

managing and leading a companys human capital it is able to develop and add to the main

resource it has to sell: professional judgement and talent.

However, even more important in building human capital is adding to the companys skill and

knowledge. A company should be constantly seeking to increase its understanding of client

industries, to improve service, and to add to technical capabilities.

Possibly the number one responsibility of a CEO is to develop other leaders who can carry on

the legacy of the organisation. However successful companies strive to create leaders at all

levels of the organisation, in order for those leaders to develop future generations of leaders.

Over the years it has been recognised that successful leadership is a quantifiable skill as

opposed to a personal character trait. Successful companies and leaders hone their business

knowledge into teachable points of view, and pass this knowledge to others in the

organisation. In turn, these leaders learn from the employees they are teaching. This is known

as a virtuous teaching cycle.Managers and leaders can be seen as dichotic entities, but no great paradigm shift should be required for a manager to develop leadership qualities.

What is Management?

Management concerns the division of works required amongst the available human resources, and co-ordination of the individuals concerned in order to achieve set objectives.

The manager may be responsible for identifying and clarifying the work objectives, but these generally combine to support an overall aim or vision. These are just as important as the initial vision, as they keep everyone grounded in the reality of practical needs, such as meeting programme and costs.

In essence, the manager should ideally be a constant, long term presence dedicated to keeping the works progressing, and maintaining all resources including people. This will involve monitoring and developing personnel, sometimes making difficult decisions such as dismissal.

A good manager encourages his team to reach their potential. I believe that managing people effectively, (as opposed to managing the process), is an example of leadership.

What is Leadership?

A leader decides what is wanted, in terms of broad aims. The minutiae of achieving the aims is usually delegated to managers, who are better geared for putting ideas into practice.

'Using one's own personal power to win the hearts and minds of people to achieve a common purpose', Leadership Trust

The popular image of a leader is one who has personal charisma, i.e. he/she makes you want to do what he/she says.

A leader may not be a long term presence, but who appears to inspire the team. A good leader can keep the team interested and productive, which I believe is an example of management.

Leadership and the ICE

The ICE now differentiates between Incorporated and Chartered Engineers partly on the basis of whether Leadership and Vision are exhibited. The two classes are meant to be considered equal, but the perceptions of the membership and employers are still to be modified.

An Incorporated Engineer may be very experienced and qualified technically, but has chosen not to develop towards leadership. While I support the raised profile of Incorporated members, I believe that technical vision is of great importance, and may not always be present in Chartered Engineers.

Conclusions

A manager may exhibit leadership characteristics as part of his innate personality, but can also learn to lead.

A leader who does not attempt proficiency in management may not achieve their full potential.

Managerial and leadership skills should be considered to be complementary.

Different styles of leadership behaviour are required depending on the individual work situation.

A manager aspiring to leadership should be positive, flexible, and able to change to meet different situations.

Leadership skills are needed at all levels of a pro-active organisation.

Interpersonal skillsInterpersonal skill means not only person to person interaction but also in groups. It is a vitally important skill for success in both work and social environments.

The ability to communicate involves three keys skills:

Listening

Questioning

Observing

Listening

Managers spend between 50% and 80% of their time communicating with others staff, customers, suppliers and bosses - informally in social situations and formally at interviews, meetings, and presentations among other interpersonal situations.

One researcher has suggested that the average breakdown of communication is:

Writing 9%

Reading 16%

Speaking 30%

Listening 45%

Despite this it has been found that 75% of oral communication is lost, ignored or misunderstood. The remaining 25% is forgotten within weeks

Questioning

The ability to ask the right question of the right source at the right time is an important managerial skill. The natural tendency is to talk too much. This can result in leading others to our way of thinking at the expense of the value of the information gain in a discussion.

There are two basics types of question:

Open Question a question to which there are many possible answers e.g. what design options are there?

Closed Question a question to which there is only one answer e.g. Do you agree with my point?

Aim to use open questions as much as possible in most interpersonal situations using a limited number of closed questions to check facts and control in discussions.

ObservingWhen we communicate, understanding and judgement comes from:

Words 7% - Words are the labels and listeners put their own interpretations on them.

Paralinguistic 38% - The way in which something is said accent, tone, inflection etc.

Body Language 55% - What the speaker look like and does with his /her body during the interaction

At a general level there are three important aspects of interpersonal skills to be aware of: Communication skills development; Understanding yourself and Understanding othersResearch and write a summary on Effective Communication

Effective communication is the cornerstone of all aspects of modern life and work. Being able to

communicate professionally, clearly and accurately is a skill that is required in all areas of business. It is

literally the exchange of information and idea without which individuals will not be able to understand each other. In the world of civil engineering, it is of outmost important that communication should be done effectively as by and large civil engineering projects involve multi-disciplinary parties. Clients and

professionals from different educational backgrounds, with different interests and, often in the UK, of

different cultures work together in order to achieve certain goals or to complete certain tasks. It would be impossible that a project can be successfully completed if the idea or the expertise of one party has not been effectively conveyed to the rest of the design team or the project players.

Communication can be a unilateral process in which party A convey his message to party B. However, a

valid communication requires party B to have received the message sent by party A. it is clearly highlighted in the Contract Law whereby communication must be received. However, is it enough? Participants in a civil engineering project do not just send messages but aim to influence other parties: clients expect the designer to fully understand his brief and requirements, designers want to influence the clients such that the civil engineering project is will be realised through professional means, they also expect the contractor to fully understand their design. Likewise contractors and sub-contractors will ensure everyone on site understand what to do. A chain or a loop of communication normally exists in the form of bilateral communication in the world of civil engineering. If done ineffectively, the chain or loop of communication may be broken and message/idea be misapprehended. The consequence can be serious.

The way of human communication has been evolutionary from the basic form of facial expression, gesture, language, to a more civilised form of drawings, characters, words, publication, and to a technological state of telegram, phone, TV, email, instance messaging and the like. Some people prefer writing letter some prefer emailing through blackberry. After all, the main purpose is to communicate effectively using the most appropriate means offer and acceptance by means of contract documents, technical advice in the form of reports, construction information on engineering drawings, etc. Would anyone agree that communication for the purpose of conveying construction information be effectively done by means of a mere letter? Language is of no difference from the form when effective communication in question. It is of no help to use highly technical language when talking to laymen nor it is efficient to use simple language when talking to a professional of similar educational background. As such effective communication is a matter of judging a particular situation and choosing an appropriate way of conveying idea.

So, to judge a particular situation, it may be necessary to carry out research, know the party and

understand the subject in question. Accurate and concise information should be prepared and should be

conveyed and understood properly by the intended recipients.The Importance of CPD

A commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is included in the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) rules of professional conduct (no 5). It states that All members shall develop their professional knowledge, skills and competence on a continuing basis, and shall give all reasonable assistance to further the education, training and CPD of others.

There is good reason for this being a requirement for members; In the global economy of today, technology, client requirements and global challenges change rapidly and Civil Engineers should be aware of, and capable of adapting to, these changes.

Since CPD is at the core of the ICEs requirements, being a member identifies a commitment to continuing development to clients who require it of their consultants and contractors.

There are definite advantages associated with a structured CDP programme for individuals. Weakness in knowledge or understanding that is impairing ability in production or management can be dealt with. This leads to personal performance improvements and the associated benefits of being able to cope with increased responsibility.

For companies, CPD can be used to increase the knowledge of employees as a whole as well as a way of monitoring the learning of employees and a way to rectify areas of deficiency in an individuals knowledge. In this way it can be used to give a competitive edge to businesses. It is also essential to enable the demonstration of good quality assurance practices and in areas where competence is required to be shown such as under the new CDM regulations where clients should ensure that their consultants are suitably qualified.

Since CPD covers a wide range of topics it can be successfully tailored to an individuals requirements or areas of interest. It also allows the whole range of requirements of a Civil Engineer to be covered from Health and Safety to Sustainability. Sustainability for example is at the forefront of Civil Engineering today. Since it has only recently emerged as an area of prime importance, and new legislation brought into effect, without targetted CPD these requirements may not be understood by engineers who have been in the workplace during the changes. In this way CPD is an essential requirement to ensure compliance with legal requirements.

CPD does not stop when you become chartered. It is continuing development that takes society forward and as custodians of Civil Engineering it is imperative that as a whole Civil Engineers improve their knowledge to allow best practice and improvements to be filtered through in all projects that are carried out.

The Importance of CPD

A good engineer should combine technical expertise, practical experience, up-to-date product knowledge and soft skills such as management ability. As a recent graduate from university, an engineer is likely to have a high level of technical expertise, but will be less capable in the other areas than their more experienced colleagues. Whilst an engineer will learn a certain amount through simple on-the-job experience, it is important to supplement this learning, through CPD time, to ensure that all facets are developed sufficiently. This should leave the engineer in a position to carry out their work to their best of their ability, and fulfil their potential within the profession.

CPD is perhaps of most importance to engineers in the early stages of their careers, looking to move from positions as Graduate Engineers, through into Chartered Engineers. CPD can take many forms, from technical training days, through product awareness seminars to less engineering focused activities, such as challenge weekends or student mentoring. Whilst the benefits to an engineer of CPD activities such as a training course on an engineering subject, or a highlight outlining the capabilities of a product available on the market are obvious, those of the less technical aspects of CPD are a little harder to quantify.

Technical training courses will allow an engineer to expand and build upon the knowledge that they have gained at university, and will give them a greater understanding of the fields in which they work. In particular courses such as these are likely to cover more niche areas of understanding than any university course for example a course covering vibration of composite office floors. Technical highlights covering the practical uses for a particular product (which may be new to the market or simply new to the engineer in question) will also give a clear benefit to the attendee, allowing them to specify the most suitable product for a job. The benefits of less technical CPD activities, whilst perhaps less immediately obvious, are of equal importance. For example a training course covering soft skills such as time management and effective delegation may allow an engineer to work far more efficiently. Or mentoring a group of school children working on an engineering project may allow an engineer to develop management skills that will stand them in good stead in the later stages of their career.

So far, I have covered the importance of CPD to younger engineers, who are at the lower end of their personal learning curves. However, it must be remembered that CPD is also of importance to more senior engineers, either as their role develops with seniority, or the industry develops around them. Even the most experienced engineer will need to ensure that he is aware of new products and techniques available to them. In addition to this, as they gain seniority, engineers may need to develop skills for which they have had less requirement earlier in their careers, for example management or presentation skills.

In summary, in a profession that is itself continuously developing, through the introduction of new products, materials, standards and techniques, no engineer is in a position to say that they themselves have no need for further development. CPD allows us to keep abreast of this progress in the industry and make sure that we are delivering the best, most up-to-date and suitable solutions to our clients.

Effective Delegation

Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person to carry out an activity. It is a shift of decision-making authority form one organisational level to another lower one.

Three aspects must be established for effective delegation:

Responsibility refers to the task itself and intended results. Task must be clearly defined, but the employee should not be prescribed how to do it.

Authority refers to the appropriate power given to the employee in order to allow him to make decisions. It is essential to clarify boundaries (budget, sub-delegation etc).

Accountability refers to the fact that the employee must be responsible for his actions and decisions along with the rewards and penalties that accompany them. This should not be misinterpreted as blame culture.

Benefits to the Manager/Supervisor:

Relieves workload and allows them to deal with other high level issues

Means of assessing suitability for promotion/succession

Develops trust and rapport with the employees

Benefits to the employee:

Provides professional growth opportunities and training

Elevates their (self-) image and self-esteem

Enhances their value to the organisation

Benefits for the organisation:

Economical as a result of the optimum use of human resources efficiency

Increases flexibility of operations

Promotes teamwork and professionalism

Increases commitment to goals of the organisation

Barriers to delegation:

Lack of time

Belief that subordinates are not up to the job

Fear of surrendering authority

Affinity for the task and reluctance to pass it on

Fear of delegation being misinterpreted as dumping

Common pitfalls:

Reverse or upward delegation

Dumping

Grabbing the glory/Abdication

Task assignment rather than delegation

Participative decision making

For effective delegation bear in mind the above and relate to the employee stress WIIFT (whats in it for them). Before speaking to the employee plan the delegation. Define boundaries clearly deliverables, priorities, timescale and listen to employees response and comments. Offer back-up, but dont hover. Aim to get the employees buy-in and be encouraging. Recognise and reward the person for successful completion of the assignment.