Le Livre en papier • Advocating Excellence A call for Professionalism in Management de André Schorochoff

Here is the synthesis of the various themes developed:

1 The 3 responsibilities of a professional manager
A professional manager is at the same time a guide, a conciliator, and a coordinator:
As a guide he must orient the action of the group for which he is responsible towards the satisfaction of the basic needs of the individuals who compose it.
As a conciliator he must gather and unify the energies of its members in effective collective action. United we stand, divided we fall.
As a coordinator he must synchronize the actions of each member of the group to achieve desired results.

2 Managing change processes.
Collective action must generate progress, and therefore a change that cannot be conceived and implemented without consideration for the psychological conditions of change, non-change, and resistance to change. Implementation of the changes to move forward requires methodologies. Change necessarily sparks opposition between advocates of the status quo, the conservatives and the promoters of the innovations required for progress. A culture of change must be introduced so that it is perceived positively as an opportunity for progress and not negatively as a threat.

3 Managing conflicts.
The promoter of change faces opposition resulting from conflicts of interest hindering his initiative. To overcome them, he must use proven methods and develop specific skills.

4 Planning desired changes.
Planning is the starting point of managerial activities. It is a logical, coherent, sequential process. The success of any change project depends on the quality of its planning.

5 Organizing the implementation of the plan. It consists of:
Defining productive relationships between members of the group that supports the projected change.
Concretizing this structure by the recruitment of adequate personnel, the acquisition and installation of suitable equipment and premises.
Training the personnel to build up knowledge and skills required to assume their responsibilities.

6 Controlling implementation progress.
Controlling is the process by which the manager measures and analyzes the results obtained and takes the corrective actions necessary to achieve his objectives and/or adapt to changes in the environment. Evaluating the performance of leaders of a change project is fundamental for success.

7 Motivating personnel to implement the plan.
The theoretical basis of this important chapter is founded on the work of Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg. We act and therefore work to satisfy our needs. Some require material resources for their satisfaction, but as Herzberg demonstrated, we have psychological needs and the resources for their satisfaction are inexhaustible.
There are about twenty factors to consider, ten requiring material resources and ten requiring psychological resources,

8 Harmonizing human relations.
To perform effectively, members of a social group should act permanently in accordance with the standards defined by behavioral psychology. These standards are proposed by Transactional Analysis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Group dynamics. They are fundamental to the success of any change project.

9 Developing successful teams.
A social group is not a team. The implementation of any change project requires each member to become an efficient team member. It is up to its manager to foster this change. A "team building" model is proposed. The manager grows into a leader. Leaderships skills must be mastered.

10 Professional time management.
A manager, whatever his level, is faced with a very uncomfortable reality, the time available to perform a wide range of duties.
Time is a unique resource, it is irreplaceable, it is irreversible, it cannot be advanced, delayed or stored, it “flies inexorably”, but it is distributed equally to everyone.
The manager faces three problems: lack of time, loss of time, waste of time. Professional time management is imperative.

11 Communication.
Communication is too often a neglected area of managerial skills. We communicate spontaneously since childhood, some of us with great ease, too much, even sometimes: others, do not dare to communicate and are handicapped in their social relationships. The quality of human relations depends on individual communication skills.

12 Managerial professionalism
A professional is a person recognized for his superior results. He is a "master" in his field. Professionalism is opposed to amateurism. Amateur manager, or professional manager? That’s the question! A scientific and "Gaussian" diagnosis would show that there are 20% of professionals or "masters", but also 20% of nullities. The rest, so 60%, would be semi-professionals, or even more or less serious amateurs! The stakes are high. It must be initiated at the top and propagated to the execution level. A long-term strategy is essential and exemplarity a must!