It’s that time of year when ambitious lists of resolutions get made – and while these usually include the standard roll-over of not quite achieved health and lifestyle commitments from last year – January can be a good time to refresh your approach to management too.
See below 3 resolutions that you can take in 2012 which our recent research has shown will improve your own management and the performance of the organisation.
1. Take an honest look at where you could be managing better. Throughout the year we are often too busy with day to day operations to investigate where improvements need to be made. If possible, look to benchmark your organisation externally with others in your sector to look at where you might be weak in comparison to competitors and where your organisation might gain an advantage.
2. Make decisions based on the evidence. Try this – next time you are discussing the performance of the organisation with colleagues – stop to consider: Are the performance indicators you are discussing up to date and relevant to the operation of your business? Do you have the information you really need to make effective decisions and if not, what do you need to do to get it?
3. Take the initiative to improve efficiency. When focussing on shorter term targets it’s easy to end up deferring decisions which might benefit the organisation in the longer term. If there is a project you know will bring operational improvements – propose it now and push for it!
Eva Maguire is currently leading IMI’s research project into management practices and productivity which seeks to globally benchmark the management of indigenous and multinational organisations operating in Ireland.