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L. Denise Jackson

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How many people work for a corporation as a manager and have challenges leading their team in this economy for whatever reason?

With budget and staff cuts, some corporate managers are having challenges leading their teams while progressing or simply maintaining their performance and quality. I would love to hear what others have experienced over the last 5 years.

Topics: Business Stratigies Corporate Culture Self-Sustainability change agent change makers corporate responsibility intrapreneur management people power corporate thought leader
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    L. Denise Jackson

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    Apr 16 2012: Thank you Fritzie! I appreciate this source.
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    R H 20+

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    Apr 15 2012: Also: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ Wharton business school has a site similar to the one above. But more directly, I have managed a team through the last 5 years. I watched as solutions were debated, implemented, and fail. What I observed is the corporate goals through these crisis' have little relevance to the people in their employ. Depending on how large the corp is, usually what happens is the best options for the board are not in the best interest of key employees. But we know employees are replacable, right? Especially in an 'employers market', right? We say things amongst each other like: "If they don't have faith in this company...!". But the employee sees no consideration in return. So, we get despondancy, apathy, resistance, fatalism, and the copier used to print resumes. We pander the employees thinking they don't know the 'lofty' problems we face. But the joke's on us. We can't do their jobs (and ours at the same time) as well as they can. That's why we have them in the first place. In my opinion, if we give them a real plan, include them in the discussion, show that we're 'cutting back' just as much as they are, and that we give-a-sh-- about them and their families as much as our own, productivity will increase and the only one's we'll lose are the one's we'd want gone anyway. And whalla, no re-training costs and loss of accumulated efficiencies through developed relationships. We now get a reputation as a good place to work, can attract top level talent, suffer less turn-over, and when things turn around and get better, we have an arsenal of dedicated employees who are positive about the company. Good will, in my opinion, creates a domino effect of an incalculable benefit. The reason I say this, is because I wound up leaving a Fortune 25 company specifically because of these phenomenon. I still get calls, 1 year later, from my former staff saying they wish I were still there, but understand why I'm not. It works.
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    Fritzie Reisner 100+

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    Apr 14 2012: A great online resource in this area is the e-newsletter from Harvard Business Review. You will see highlighted among the blogs and articles by Harvard profs, management consultants, and business executives many of the most typical challenges faced by managers and by members of teams and creative solutions to those problems. While there is no discussion format attached to it for readers to share anecdotal experiences, it's a very constructive way of getting rich ideas on the question you pose. And it comes at no charge to you!
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