For years, businesses have operated with a rigid organizational structure or hierarchy. It determined who made company decisions. As a new generation of employees enters the workforce, companies are realizing that this status quo must be changed. We will help identify and understand the most recent trends in project management to help you get the results that you desire more efficiently.
1. Rethinking the Management Structure
Management is not dead. Managers at all levels of the hierarchy need to learn how to engage with employees at different levels for different reasons. There was a time when only those in the top and bottom of the hierarchy could speak with you. Younger employees are more comfortable with a democratic approach and wise leaders will soon adopt this. Employees won’t feel intimidated or triggered to speak up, and any conflict or tension will be quickly resolved.
2. Focus on the results
Employers are looking to find creativity and “outside of the box” thinking. Companies are shifting away from following rigid methodologies and embracing goal setting. It is less important for your employees to plan how they will achieve these goals than to make sure that the end result is achieved. It is important to make sure your employees are aware and avoid doing anything illegal or immoral. It is fine to check in with everyone at times to make sure everyone is on the same page. You should not be afraid to challenge any style or method that doesn’t meet you expectations. As long as the job is done satisfactorily, let the employees decide how they want to do it.
3. Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of employees
It is becoming more apparent that a “one-size-fits all” approach to managing employees does not work well. This can lead to a loss of time and poor results. It can be frustrating and aggravating to try to ensure that every employee has at least 10 skills. It is important to make sure everyone knows their responsibilities. This will allow them to focus their energies in the best direction. Recognize the strengths of your team members and make the most of them.
4. Facilitate communication
It is important for decision makers to keep in touch with those who are actively working towards the company’s goals. It is important for the leadership to be approachable and open to listening. The best ideas often come from those who are in the trenches. Because of the inability of breaking the “chain of command”, brilliant ideas were ignored for years. This mentality prevented top-tier workers from interacting with the front line workers. Many great ideas were lost or left untapped when employees went to work for competitors.
5. Transparency is increasing
This type of project management works best when there is an open door policy. If both sides know each other’s work, they can work more efficiently together. Everyone ends up working in the dark when your organization is divided into groups. This is because the groups don’t interact with one another. It is vital that decision makers have all the information necessary to make informed decisions about the direction to go to achieve their goals. It is possible to endanger a project if you don’t get the critical information you need in time.
It is important that everyone in the organization understands the basics of the budget. This will allow them to understand why they don’t have the latest technology, or why another department can order supplies.
Conclusion
These trends are all co-incidental. That is the best part about them.
