People Management and Leadership

Implications of the bus metaphor on people management strategies

One of the most important assets in an organization is human capital because it is the key driving factor in every business process. , and it can alter practices by either improving or worsening them. There are many strategies that organization employ in managing people, and they are tied to different aspects of job satisfaction and business objectives. Therefore, by implementing Jim Collins’ ideas of the bus metaphor, there will be many implications on the people management strategies.

Recruitment is an important factor for people management. It is the initial stage before an individual is hired to be part of the company; it is during this stage that the human resource determines if one is eligible to be part of the company. The bus metaphor has a significant implication on this process because this is the stage where the organization determines who is needed in the company. Recruitment is an initial stage before an individual is hired to be part of the company; it is during this stage that the human resource determines if one is eligible to be part of the company. So, the application of the bus metaphor, therefore, implies that during this phase, the role of the recruiters will be to determine who is needed to be part of the team. Rather than focus on the needs of the organization and how they much with the credentials of a potential employee, recruitment will shift to focusing on the needs of the team and how much they correspond with the abilities of the person under recruitment.

On the same note, recruitment based on the bus metaphor seeks first to consider the available position and expertise needed to perform in that role. In this manner, organizations will be able to pick the right person for the team. Still, under recruitment, the elimination of the wrong people is possible as this is where the organization identifies those who are not needed in the team as per the third requirement of Jim Collins’ ideas.

A significant implication on the recruitment process may be the need to employ different techniques to look for workers to ensure the best talents are recruited. Traditional job recruitment methods may need to be changed and more modern methods adopted. Modern recruitment methods ensure that a wider pool of talents across the globe is reached and therefore increasing the likelihood of hiring the most appropriate worker. Additionally, conducting interviews require that organizations employ the best tools for screening out candidates, adapting strategies such as behavioral interviews may assist in matching the needs of a job position with the right candidate. Therefore, the bus metaphor implies that the recruitment strategy needs to change in both the selection criteria and interview approach.

Continued team development is important for every organization, therefore, training and development is necessary for top talent retention within a business. Training and development enhance the performance of workers, through strategic people management a manager should identify employees with great potential and enroll them in a training program. The bus metaphor implicates the process of training and development as it dictates that the right people must have an inner drive, therefore, as much as training and development is required it must be directed towards workers who possess an inner drive. So, to conduct training, the human resource manager must predetermine that an employee is self-motivated and that they are still capable of performing even without training.

Another aspect of people management strategies is performance management. Jim Collins’ ideas have an implication on this aspect as it primarily focuses on evaluating job performance. The ideas advanced by the researcher seek to enhance performance by selecting the right people, therefore these ideas must have an effect on the performance management aspect. Performance management is essential because it enables an organization to evaluate if it is meeting its expectations. Is so doing every worker is evaluated and in the process, those that do not meet expectations are identified. In assessing the performance of every worker, the bus metaphor implies that the wrong people for the team are eliminated. Therefore the performance management process shifts to not only identifying the most performing work, but it also serves as a tool for removing underperforming personnel.

Performance management is also a tool for collecting feedback which can be used to improve the performance of employees. While utilizing the idea of the three simple truths, performance management as a feedback tool will also asses those employees that that are motivated and those that are not. So, it will also be a way of screening those workers that cannot motivate themselves to meet performance expectations. As such, these individuals will have to be removed from the team as they do not meet the needs of the team. Hence, implementing Jim Collins’ ideas in performance management will make the management strategy an approach to deciding who is not appropriate for the team.

Jim Collins’ theory is all about leadership as it seeks to describe leadership behavior that leads organizations to great success.  The leadership of an organization is significant to its success as it is the foundation upon which workers find direction and motivation. A good leader is one who leads a team towards attaining good results as per the set objectives, and they can drive activities using the available resources in the best way possible.

Jim Collins’ Level 5 Leadership Theory describes five steps upon which an organization can move from good to great. The development of the theory is from the research of companies in a bid to identify what leads to some companies leaping becoming great. The researcher evaluated 1435 companies and eventually picked up eleven of them and tagged them as truly exceptional. The leadership of the 11 companies is what led Collins to create the level 5 leadership theory as he perceived the leadership of these organizations to be led by leaders who he named level 5 leaders. The characteristics of leaders in these companies were similar as they did not seek to gain glory through the success of the organization, their interest in success is tied to the need to make the team thrive. Therefore, they are humble leaders. These group of leaders is also quick to carry the blame when a mistake occurs and at the same time the like to share credit for success. Thus the leaders are not self-centered, and, therefore, put the consideration of every team member in place. Additionally, these leaders are fearless in making decisions, and they are very stern particularly in making a decision that appear risky to other people, however, they are also shy. The five levels of leadership are as follows:

The first level describes a highly capable individual. Such a leader can make valuable contributions to their work, and they can coordinate activities within the team to produce desirable results. Therefore they are required to possess a wide range of skills and knowledge. They must also be talented in various field to be able to multitask the diverse needs of leadership. In the second level, a leader is expected to be a contributing team member. The purpose of making contributions is enabling the team to success by sharing knowledge and skills where needed. A leader must be able to make an appropriate contribution as because other team members expect the leader to offer guidance through giving directive as well as actions. By making contributions, a leader can effectively work with others since a good rapport is created when people interact during contributions. Hence, success is more likely to be achieved when leaders participate in teamwork.

The third level refers to managers’ competence. Leaders that move organizations from being good to great must possess competency in managing people. The required skill is the ability to effectively organize a team to attain the set goals and objectives. Effective group management entails identifying the various skills of team members and ensuring that they are aligned with the specific roles they play within the team. The fourth level of leadership is critical as it relates to being an effective leader. It is a trait that most leaders are expected to have although effectiveness may vary from one individual to the other. However, a fully effective leader is described to be important in making an organization great. An effective leader mobilized a whole department to focus on achieving the vision of the company. It is an extensive task as it requires collaboration within several organizational departments. A leader must be capable of effectively managing different departments and coordinating activities to ensure that they orchestrate to achieve a common goal. Achieving the vision of a company is a huge success, and therefore the workload involved is also a lot. Thus a lot of commitment on the leader’s part is necessary to ensure that all team is well coordinated. Finally, level five is depended on the attributes from the other four levels. Additionally, the humility capacity is a driving force towards achieving true greatness.

Jim Collins’ theory  assessment

Jim Collins’ theory as described corresponds to other leadership theories which similarly describe leadership and leaders. One such theory is the transformational leadership theory. The theory was introduced by byJames MacGregor Burns, and it refers to the positive, valuable transformation that a leader impacts on his followers. The theory asserts that a leader seeks to support the whole organization as well as every individual so that an organization experiences overall success. The theory is similar to that of Jim Collins as they both perceive the leader as an individual that is interested in the success of the organization and not for their glory.

Supporting team members is a critical trait that is shared by the theory. Both theories support the idea of individuals focusing on needs beyond their self-interest. The main focus is focusing on encouraging and supporting one another. Competency is also a necessity in a leadership position as per the theory since the leader is expected to set clear goals and lead the team members towards the expectations.

Skills theory of leadership also resonates with Jim Collins’ theory. The theory recognizes the necessary skills that a leader must possess to be a good leader that can lead an organization to greatness.  The theory identifies the characteristics of an individual which makes them perfect for a leadership position in a company. The skills theory present three levels of skills which every leader is expected to have, a leader must have human, technical and conceptual abilities. Human skills refer to the ability to manage and work with people, technical skills relate to proficiency in a role that requires practical expertise, and conceptual skills refers to the capacity to perform within an environment that entails dealing with broad ideas and concepts.

The skills theory correlates with Jim Collins’ theory as the characteristics of the type of skills it describes are found within the five levels of leadership hierarchy. Human skills are necessary for one to be a contributing and effective leader. It is through human skills that one can make valuable contributions within a team. Without the skills, successful interaction with team members is not possible and hence making teamwork and progress a significant hurdle to overcome. Also, to be an effective leader that several coordinate departments to achieve the vision of a company, people skills are essential. Managing people is critical in coordinating activities in a different department as communication plays a key role.

The characteristics of a leader with technical skills will allow them to achieve level one and three of leadership hierarchy. To be highly capable, one must possess the technical expertise to perform a particular role. Lack of technical ability leads o poor job performance which cannot support the growth of a company to greatness. Additionally, competence in management is dictated by the knowledge of the manager. The more skills and knowledge a manager has the greater their level of competence. As such, the technical skills supported by the skills theory are also endorsed by the five levels of leadership.