Entries with tag management .

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Blair McPherson
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04 May 2017 - 18:03

null Metro Mayors

  So now Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool have elected Mayors with some real power and control over some big budgets, probably not as much power or as big a budget as they would want but it's a start.    It's the U.S. Model. Will Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool be the next Chicago? What have we to look forward to? Chicago's Town Hall politics are notorious.  ... See more
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Blair McPherson
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19 Mar 2017 - 21:29

null A place in the sun

  How are you rewarded for failure at work? A trip to the big apple, soaking up the sun in Dubai or a golfing trip to Portugal? It's called team building its very popular with managers whose football teams have suffered a dip in performance during the long winter days after Christmas. Team building is also popular in the public sector and not just if a new manager is trying to bond a... See more
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Blair McPherson
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22 Mar 2017 - 02:51

null The difference between management and leadership

Management, as managers are fond of saying, isn't about being liked but I say leadership is. Human nature is such that if staff don't like you they won't like what you say. If staff don 't like you they will mostly deny you the opportunity to influence their thinking. Leadership is all about influencing thinking.  Management is about getting people to do what needs to be done. Managers... See more
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Blair McPherson
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01 Mar 2017 - 11:05

null Confrontational leadership

  A kick up the backside or arm round the shoulder. Delivered at the right time, in the right way both are recognised managerial responses. Some people respond better to one than the other. Managers may be predisposed to confrontational management or supportive management. Supportive management is presented as a good thing, although staff often complain there isn't much of it. Supporting... See more
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Blair McPherson
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21 Feb 2017 - 16:09

null The Italian way

The thing about the Italian way is there is no Italian way. It's an Italian thing to be different to go your own way. This means there is no model or way of doing things that can be copied in the hope of emulating success. Which explains why management consultants have focused on the Japanese way, the German way or how successful organisations do it in the USA. Japanese team work, German... See more
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Blair McPherson
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14 Feb 2017 - 18:48

null The chemistry has to be right

  Appoint a good manager and the results will improve. Appoint a great manager and success is guaranteed. Well that's the theory in practice past success doesn't guarantee future success. A good manager, even a great manager needs the right set of circumstances and the chemistry has to be right. You can have a great story that captures the mood of the times, a lavish budget, creaking... See more
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Blair McPherson
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08 Feb 2017 - 11:56

null Managing Maverick Managers

  Name me one TV cop who isn't a maverick. Wouldn't  we all like to stick two fingers up to senior management on occasions, to follow our professional instincts rather than inflexible procedures , do what we think is right rather than blindly follow instructions, do the job the way it should be done rather than hit arbitrary targets and struggle to stay within an unrealistic... See more
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Blair McPherson
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06 Feb 2017 - 11:11

null Three strikes and you're out

  February 6th is national "sickie" day, so called because traditionally absenteeism is at it highest at this time of year. Employers in the public sector have in recent years being getting tough on high levels of sickness leave and copying the strategies used by the private sector. If you work in the public sector you may not be aware of what happens to your counter parts in the... See more
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Blair McPherson
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03 Mar 2017 - 01:04

null More people with a business background would be good for local government, Not

  Donald Trump US president is appointing people with a business background to key posts in his administration because he believes government would be better if it was run like a business and who better to do this than people who have run successful businesses. For a number of years management gurus have told us the public sector should learn from the private sector about how to be... See more
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Blair McPherson
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06 Jan 2017 - 17:14

null Make my day punk

If only you were in charge you could sort this mess out. You know what needs doing and you know how to do it. But how long before you turn into Dirty Harry the Clint Eastwood anti hero  who is the epitome of ruthless policing and never hesitates to cross professional and ethical boundaries in his quest to get justice.  In senior management team meetings perfectly reasonable and... See more
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Blair McPherson
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15 Dec 2016 - 14:24

null Funsultant

Has your LA engaged the services of a " funsultant" to advise on how to make the workforce more positive? Have you come across a job advert for the post of " happiness officer". If LA stood for Los Angeles rather than Local Authority then you undoubtably would be familiar with the typically wacky approach to job satisfaction and employee relations in California. Our approach may be more... See more
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Blair McPherson
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09 Dec 2016 - 12:50

null Mansplaining

Mansplaining comes from combining the words “man” and “explaining”, and refers to situations where a person (typically a man) explains something to someone else (typically a woman), often in a condescending way and frequently disregarding  the greater experience of the person they are talking to. Someone who attempts to impose their views assuming they have a greater knowledge and... See more
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Blair McPherson
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23 Nov 2016 - 12:37

null Vampire managers

  Some chief executives want blood. They demand loyalty, ruthlessness and total commitment. Whether deliberately or by default they creat a culture of intoxicating machismo. The aim is to make a very tight senior management team that is determined to be a top performing organisation. The loyalty is personal loyalty and allows no room for doubt or debate.   When it comes to... See more
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Blair McPherson
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16 Nov 2016 - 23:00

null What are managers and professionals getting over enthusiastic about this week?

What are managers and professionals getting over enthusiastic about this week? Education, housing, environment, leisure and social services there isn't a local authority service that isn't periodically subject to the claim that someone, somewhere has come up with a way of providing a better service more cheaply.    There are management fads and social work fads.... See more
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Blair McPherson
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01 Nov 2016 - 12:47

null How to kill enthusiasm and stifle initiative

  I once stood up at a large meeting of managers to announce that the social service department was going for Investors In People (IIP) accreditation for the whole department. I said how impressed we were with the social work teams ,day centres and residential homes who had all ready archived IIP status through their own initiative. I said these teams could be proud of their achievement... See more
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Blair McPherson
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09 Oct 2016 - 06:20

null The nature of the game

The relationship between a local authority director and their chief executive is like that between a premiership goal keeper and his manager. We all know how much a manager values a safe pair of hands and a new manager likes to bring in some of his own players who will play the game the way he likes to play it. The new chief executive comes with a reputation. Already one of the directors who... See more
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Blair McPherson
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05 Oct 2016 - 10:06

null How to catch a monkey

The monkeys live in the trees to catch them the locals place a large heavy pottery vase at the bottom of the tree and place fruit, sweets and other things the monkeys like to eat inside. The bulbous vase has wide base and a narrow opening just wide enough for the monkeys small hand. At night the monkey climbers down from the tree reaches in to the vase and grabs a treat making a fist out of... See more
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Blair McPherson
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21 Sep 2016 - 12:49

null The tail of a lion or the head of a mouse

  Do you want to be the tail of a lion or the head of a mouse? Strange question and the answer is probably neither. This may be an unusual way of phrasing a very real dilemma for staff and managers. In the context that this expression was used the question is, would you rather be part of a struggling organisation in the top division or a leading organisation in a lower division. If... See more
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Blair McPherson
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06 Sep 2016 - 15:42

null My special powers

  Have you seen that romcom in which the young man inherits his fathers ability to travel back in time, not a long way back only back to a previous incident in their lives. He can go back and change things, not big things like stoping wars , assignations or  plan crashes but small things, those embarrassing moment can be erased from history, words you wish you had never spoken could... See more
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Blair McPherson
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18 Jun 2016 - 11:35

null How to stand out

  The US work place is not kind to introverts. In the US the aim is to stand out. Those who stand out get the promotion they feel they deserve, so speak up at meetings, offer ideas, do things with out being asked, be enthusiastic, be positive, do more than your job requirers. This won't work in the UK. Standing out in the UK involves blending in, keeping your head down and being a safe... See more
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