Foundations for future managers

Who It's For

Aspiring and newly appointed managers in public services and the voluntary sector

Overview

Authority alone gets a new manager little; influence and trust do most of the work. Completing the Immerse Getting ready to lead, this half day begins with French and Raven's six bases of power, Weber's three types of authority and the ethical line between persuasion and manipulation, with Mandela and de Klerk as the case. It then explores resilience through change, from William Bridges and the Kubler-Ross curve to Seligman's explanatory style and Haidt's Rider and Elephant, with Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness. A century of management thought follows, from Taylor and Fayol to Mintzberg, McGregor and Project Oxygen, before closing on Edmondson's psychological safety and collective intelligence.

Aims

The ambition is to prepare future managers to get things done through influence before authority: choosing ethical forms of power, staying steady through change, recognising which management idea fits the problem in front of them and building the trust that lets a team speak up.

In summary, you will be able to:

1. 1Identify the bases of power and types of authority available to you and choose a form of influence that stays on the right side of the ethical line.
2. 2Apply Bridges' transition model, explanatory style and mindfulness practices to stay steady and within your window of tolerance through change.
3. 3Compare management ideas from Taylor to Project Oxygen to recognise which lens fits a problem, then build trust so your team's knowledge is heard.

What you'll develop

Across this Explore, you will develop the ability to:

1. 1Distinguish influence, power and authority, and identify which of French and Raven's six bases of power you and others are drawing on.
2. 2Use the 4 R's, the change curve and Bridges' transition model to name and normalise reactions to change, including time spent in the Neutral Zone.
3. 3Explain Kabat-Zinn's definition of mindfulness and distinguish it from relaxation, emptying the mind and escapism.
4. 4Explain the main schools of management thought, from Taylor and Fayol to human relations and Wiseman's Multipliers, and what each adds to a manager's diagnostic kit.
5. 5Explain Edmondson's definition of psychological safety and use the standards and safety matrix to place your team.
6. 6Explain the hidden profile problem and why groups tend to lose information that only one member holds.
7. 7Compare Weber's traditional, charismatic and rational-legal authority and assess the risk of an organisation depending on charismatic authority.
8. 8Assess an explanation of a setback against Seligman's three P's and revise it towards accurate rather than merely positive thinking.