Changes in management style

＊This article was originally written in Japanese by our CEO, Yoshihide Arai.

Recently I’ve got questions on how to improve management skills of mid-level employees from several entrepreneurs, so I write my thoughts on it.

When we think about a person called “manager”, we tend to imagine a person who makes strategies, decides what to do and directs members’ execution. The nature of the role is administration, meaning watching and checking the members are working as supposed to do, or not.

A manager was supposed to have many experiences and deep insights in some field and hand down the knowledge to younger employees. If the person was smart enough and have some magnetism, the job was done. No problem.

However, I believe, that kind of managers can’t make a huge difference anymore in newly emerging business environments such as industries driven by new technologies.

As many say, the new environments are much filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. What was right in the past may be wrong now. What was right this morning might even be wrong this evening. The world is changing so fast.

I couldn’t imagine the world where Google could potentially damage TOYOTA’s sales by creating auto-driving cars and TV broadcasters have intensive battles with online contents providers such as Netflix and Youtube. The battles between companies aren’t occurring only in the same industry. We’ve got potential competitors EVERYWHERE. Having great experiences in some area itself does not guarantee success anymore.

Considering this new environment, what should managers do? What is their job?

My answer is this. Create a team filled with culture that lets the team members be highly motivated and make the highest performance. In other words, do everything that is needed to let the members be truly mission-driven.

Then, what should we do to create the culture?

First, we’ve got to understand each member’s strength, weakness and philosophy, and then, based on that understanding, create a goal or vision that gives the members great passion.

Once the goal is set, the next step is to constantly communicate with the members to ensure that each member could understand why he or she is needed in the team and how big contribution they are making in the team.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that managers are not “superior people”. The role exists in order to support its members and let them make the greatest performance. Sometimes managers might look like servants for the members, rather.

I believe this is the new style of management that fits today’s business environment.

To do this, it is critically important to measure how the team members are feeling about the work environment. That is where wevox comes in. This service opens up the new possibilities and opportunities for managers.

We believe the new type of management is the next standard of high performing companies, and Atrae will never stop doing this.