III. Talent 3: A good manager can "muddle without a purpose"

According to the author, this is the most important talent that a modern manager is required to have. Paraphrasing the definition for this talent given in the article, a talented manager will always be aware of the fact that not all his programs and solutions are likely to be accepted and applied throughout the organization by the company's employees. In this sense, a good manager will recognize the futility of trying to successfully implement all his programs and will regard it as a successful venture if at least some of the programs are implemented and the movement is in the direction that he has seen fit.

This is not only something that should be related with directing and implementing, but also with evaluation and control. As such, if at the end of a certain period of time, the evaluation that the manager will perform will point to towards positive trends, trends that encourage the perspective that things are moving in the right direction, then there is no need to remain stuck with the idea that some of the programs and projects were not fully implemented. A global perspective on the corporation and the way it is progressing is preferred to an operational, minimalist perspective.

Such an approach to business and decision making is also likely to give the manager a greater flexibility in a market whose conditions and general characteristics are constantly changing. It helps in discovering and speculating on the different relationships that are formed within the organization...

In the end, such opportunities and relationship impact on and influence the decision making process, probably the most important goal of the top management.
The decision making process needs to take in account not only the business-related aspects, but also human resource issues, including 'politics' in the company etc. In this sense, the manager, in his role as the highest planner, will be able to ensure that the lower managers are aware of the importance of their role in the implementation of the strategic means devised by the top management. The managers at all levels are working together with the upper management, each in their particular field of activity (implementation vs. conception).

The analysis that the author has presented, corroborated with the five main talents or skills that the manager is required to possess, is not necessarily applicable only in a business-related environment. It is something that successfully works in any organization basing its activity on a strategic vision and planning developed at the upper levels of the hierarchical pyramid and implemented at all other levels by the operational managers. In this sense, a well-informed manager, a manager with a network of connections at all levels of the organization, by which he can both extract and diffuse information, as well as outside the organization, is a manager likely to succeed in a competitive environment.

Bibliography

1. Wrapp, Edward H. Good Managers don't make policy decisions. Harvard Business Review. July - August 1984.