Staying analytical, impartial and open to new ideas can be challenging when you are invested in a role and a business.
It’s a shame, but we often find that managers develop a certain valuable clarity on their organisation only when about to leave a role!
Don’t leave it until you’re changing roles to get the benefit of an aerial view of the organisation. Here’s 5 ways in which thinking like a management consultant can benefit your role and your business.
1. Be impartial – take an outsiders view of the business – Take time when you can to step outside the day to day – it can stop you chipping away at small issues and help you to see the larger challenges at play.
2. Be investigative – but only spend time tracking down the information that really tells you how the business is performing. Always ask yourself – is getting your hands on this information going to give you you valuable insight into the business – or is simply going to drain your time and that of others? In the longer term, this means setting and tracking the right key performance indicators whether it be for yourself, your department or for the organisation as a whole.
3. Value your own time – we don’t all have the benefit of a set project schedule for our job – once months turns into years it is easy to fall into unproductive habits. Every now and then think; if you were charging your organisation as a supplier, would you be doing what you are doing now?
4. Ignore company boundaries.. be a channel for good ideas – always be on the lookout for other individuals and organisations for ideas that are relevant to your business. Open innovation is not the preserve of tech companies – it’s simply about taking from the environment around you that which can benefit your business.
5. ..and finally, treat management as your profession – management is relevant to multiple fields but there are practices and behaviours that drive performance in all. Stay up to date on the latest management publications relevant to your role. Staying connected to what works and continuously developing your expertise means you will be more likely to leave each organisation better than when you found it.
Eva Maguire is Strategic Projects Manager at IMI, 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.