Boosting or Draining Productivity: The Role of Leaders

Boosting Productivity: The Critical Role of General Managers

In today’s fast-paced business environment, general managers (GMs) hold a pivotal position in driving productivity. Their behaviours can either enhance or impede the performance of their teams and organisations.

In this blog, we’ll explore the essential lenses through which GMs can significantly impact productivity, including examples of productivity drains across various levels.

Understanding Productivity Drains

To effectively boost productivity, it’s crucial to identify the drains that can occur at different organisational levels. Below is a table that outlines some common productivity drains and their sources (its by no means an exhaustive list!)

Key Insights for General Managers

1. Organisational Lens:

   • Importance of Strategic Alignment: GMs must ensure that their teams are aligned with the company’s strategic direction. When there’s a lack of clarity, it leads to confusion and inefficiencies.
   • Actionable Tips: Do you have a clear sense of your organisation's strategy and what it means for your teams? Regularly communicate the strategic vision and hold strategy check-ins.

2. Departmental Lens:

   • Encouraging Collaboration: Break down silos by promoting interdepartmental communication and collaboration. Understand your colleagues, take the time to build bridges between departments and align with your peers, encouraging your team to do the same. 
   • Actionable Tips: Facilitate regular cross-departmental meetings to share updates and collaborate on shared goals.

3. Team Lens:

   • Cultivating a Positive Environment: GMs should foster a collaborative culture to sustain energy and enhance productivity. Seek and weed out the things that make work harder. The drama triangles, the unresolved conflicts, the political games. Encourage a culture of curiosity, challenged and psychological safety. 
   • Actionable Tips: Notice team dynamics. Set the culture of behavioural expectations. Think about the shadow you cast as leader and how to role model curiosity and non-judgemental collaboration towards a shared goal. 

4. Individual Lens:

   • Managing Personal Stress: GMs would benefit from managing their stress and promote well-being within their teams.
   • Actionable Tips: Encourage time management practices and mindfulness initiatives to support individual productivity. Recognise the shadow each leader casts on their team and make it a motivating one.

Conclusion

The behaviours of general managers play a crucial role in shaping the productivity landscape of their organisations. By understanding productivity drains at various levels and implementing actionable strategies, GMs can create an environment where productivity thrives. For those looking to enhance their management skills and drive productivity, our coaching and development programmes focus on that which will make the biggest difference for those taking a more strategic position in their organisations.

Find out more here: The Bridge: 1-1 Organisational Transitions Coaching