Managers, Leaders and Labourers

“The art of choosing men is not nearly so difficult as the art of enabling those one has chosen to attain their full worth.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

There are many factors that determine the success of a business in Jamaica. Ask any Jamaican businessman about the things that stifle the growth of his business and more likely than not listed amongst the top three you will find: (a) access to affordable financing; and (b) access to quality labour. On the reverse, ask any Jamaican labourer why they think the business in which they work isn’t growing, and you are just as likely to hear amongst the top three reasons: (a) the boss is unrealistic in his/her demands and sets the labourer up to fail; and (b) they don’t think the manager is adequately distributing company resources (aka the labourer’s are not paid enough). What then, at the firm level, are truly the factors inhibiting growth?

Napoleon’s quote shown above establishes some notable precedents – and as one of the world’s most successful managers and leaders, with one of the world’s most renowned group of followers, we believe there is worth in his words:

  • The first precedent is that he supports what most Jamaican business owners espouse as a major challenge to their success – the availability of quality labourers. He emphasizes the act of labour-selection and calls it an art of sorts. We view this as a management precedent: the selection and allocation of resources.
  • His second precedent however, supports the stance emanating from most Jamaican labourers – that it is the manager’s duty to enable a labourer’s growth into his or her full potential (and we would add: whether that full potential is to continue as a labourer or to become an entrepreneur). We view this as a leadership precedent: the maximization of resources towards the transformation of circumstances.
  • The final precedent Napoleon establishes is the one most tend to overlook. He places the full responsibility for success or failure squarely on the shoulders of the manager.

Napoleon, and others centuries after him, have established a view that a businesses success and/or failure lies with the manager and his/her prowess at the tasks (management) and attitude (leadership) that are required of him/her. In the upcoming #JaBizChat we will look at management, leadership and followership in the Jamaican workplace. Our discussion and questions will examine how these three things have their effect on firm competitiveness and further, how to get the most mileage out of each towards the growth of your company.

To stoke the fire we’d like to leave you with three more quotes we thought we notable:

“An army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions” – Napoleon Bonaparte

“Always mistrust a subordinate who never finds fault with his superior” – John Curtis Collins

…and last but not least, John Gotti with: “If you think your boss is stupid, remember you wouldn’t have a job if he was any smarter”

 

See you Wednesday – 12 noon EST – http://bit.ly/BizChat . First time participating in a Twitter-based chat event? Check out our guidelines here.

Credit for image: GettyImages.com