General Managers and Defence Force Senior Officers
Plan, organise, direct, control and review the strategic directions, day-to-day operations and major functions of commercial, industrial, government and defence organisations through departmental managers and subordinate executives and officers.
A week at the top of the pyramid
You are the general manager of a large company that runs freight, warehousing and a retail arm through three divisional heads. It is Monday morning. You have a divisional head who is struggling, a customer complaint that has gone to the top and a board paper due on Thursday.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I need to tell you that my numbers will be down this quarter, and it is partly my fault. I made a call on staffing that did not work out. I wanted you to hear it from me, not from the report.
Thank him for the honesty, ask what he has learned and what he needs from you to fix it
Alistair relaxes, and the conversation turns practical. Because telling you the truth was safe, you hear about the next problem early too. That kind of trust is hard to build and easy to lose.
Tell him that results matter and he needs to explain this at the next leadership meeting
He is clear about the expectation, but he now thinks twice before volunteering bad news. The meeting is tense and the others see how you handle errors.
Say it is fine and everyone makes mistakes, then move on
Warmth is good, but you have skipped the lesson and the plan. The same staffing problem returns next quarter, and now it looks like you tolerated it.
Your freight division missed a delivery, and I have told your manager three times. Nobody seems to be listening. I am calling you directly because I am considering taking my business elsewhere. What are you going to do?
Apologise, find out what happened, and tell her who will contact her and by when, within the day
She feels heard and the response is sensible. But you do not name a clear outcome, and she hangs up not quite sure it will really be fixed.
Take charge, promise to fix everything personally and give her your direct line
She is delighted for a week. Then she keeps calling you for every small thing, and your freight head feels undermined and sidelined.
Apologise, then bring the freight head onto the call to own the fix and set a follow-up date
Ms Gill gets a real answer and the freight head gets a chance to fix the issue. Showing customers that the manager below you is trusted matters as much as the apology.
I have heard rumours that two of your division heads are unhappy. I would prefer not to be surprised. Is there anything I should know before Thursday's meeting?
Tell her everything is fine, because you are handling it internally
You protect your people, but if the unhappiness grows, she will feel she was kept in the dark. The board expects to hear about risks before they become events.
Be open about the tension, what you are doing about it and what you may need from the board
Beatrix appreciates the early notice and offers support. Bringing a problem to the board with a plan makes it a shared matter instead of a hidden one.
Name the two managers and describe what you think is wrong with each of them
The board starts judging your team before you have finished working with them. Sharing too much, too soon, can damage careers that could have been repaired.
How it went
By Thursday the board paper is done, the customer has a clear contact and Alistair has a plan. A general manager works through other leaders, so much of the job is trust, honesty and knowing when to step in. Would you enjoy leading people who are better than you at their own parts of the work?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: Two units, one depot
A fictional case set in a fictional regional logistics and supply operation, and the senior leaders who oversee its many units.
The situation
General manager Priscilla Wanjau oversaw both the freight and the warehousing divisions of Outback Supply, a fictional company that served mining towns. Both divisions needed the same large depot for the busiest months. The freight head said trucks would sit idle without it. The warehouse head said stock would overflow without it. Each had a good case, and each was a capable manager she did not want to lose. They had stopped speaking to one another, and it was starting to affect their teams.
What they did
Priscilla did not pick a winner straight away. She sat the two managers down together and asked each to explain the other's problem first, before their own. Once they understood both sides, she asked them to propose a joint solution. They came back with a shared schedule, where the depot switched use between days. She backed it, set a review date and made it clear she expected them to resolve future clashes before they reached her.
How it turned out
The plan was awkward at first and needed two changes in the first month. Both managers felt they had given something up, and both teams got most of what they needed. The two heads began meeting weekly, and Priscilla found that fewer problems landed on her desk.
What would you do?
- Why did Priscilla ask each manager to explain the other person's problem first?
- When would you step in and make the decision yourself, instead of waiting for them to agree?
- What does it take to lead people who each know their own area better than you do?