Strategic Planning and Leaders

¶ … Limitations of Supervision and Leadership in the Workplace The world has changed significantly in the last five decades or so. There have been tremendous technological advances, globalisation, political and regulatory changes, as well as socioeconomic shifts. As Mckinsey & Company managing director Dominic Barton puts it, "we are living in quite turbulent times" (Mckinsey & Company, 2011). These changes have presented new challenges for managers and leaders in the modern workplace.

Two particularly important challenges that today's leaders grapple with are increased demand for workplace flexibility and the ability to inspire action. This paper focuses on these two challenges. The paper specifically focuses on the implications of the challenges on leadership, how the challenges reflect the society, how and why workplace supervision has changed over the last five decades, as well as the impact of the changes on strategic planning and the role of supervisors and leaders.

Flexibility A major challenge for leaders in the modern workplace is to offer flexibility at the workplace (Helmrich, 2015). Today, employees increasingly demand greater flexibility in both their personal and work lives. This is particularly true for younger generations. Employees want jobs that offer a reasonable balance between work and non-work activities. They desire to succeed in not only their career, but also their personal life. Historically, employees have grappled with rigid work schedules and poor work-life balance, which has been a significant source of physical and emotional stress (Worldatwork, 2015).

The modern worker is keen on avoiding work that does not regard their overall wellbeing. Today's employees demand not only greater flexibility, but also more transient jobs and more exciting work experiences. Traditionally, employees tended to be tied to long-term employment contracts. Employees would remain in one organisation for a much longer period of time. Today, however, employees tend to prefer short-term employment contracts. This explains why it is now more possible for a worker to have more than one job at the same time.

The demand for greater work flexibility and more transient jobs is largely a reflection of the wider society. The modern generation of workers has grown up in an era of unparalleled technological advancements. They have grown up in the age of the internet and mobile revolution. Today, everything -- from home to school and work -- can be done at just the click of a button. Shopping, learning, communication, and other ordinary processes can now be done via the internet, and on the go.

This has offered immense flexibility and convenience. Arguably, today's society prioritises flexibility and convenience more than anything else. Everyone wants quicker service delivery, convenient shopping, flexible learning, and so on. The emergence of a mobile and transient workforce has had significant implications for strategic planning and organisational management as a whole. It is now important to provide flexible work arrangements (Worldatwork, 2015). Indeed, employers have increasingly changed work hours as well as patterns and locations of work. Job sharing and telecommuting are now common practices at the workplace.

Casual practices have also gained popularity in the modern workplace. For example, employees increasingly desire to be allowed to do more casual wear at work, or combine formal and casual dressing. This means flexibility has become an important aspect of consideration as far as strategic planning and management is concerned. Without incorporating flexibility into strategic planning and management processes, an organisation is less likely to attract and retain talent, which may injure its competitive advantage in the long run (Helmrich, 2015).

In fact, incidents of younger employees leaving organisations in search of a more fulfilling work environment have been on the rise. Adding flexibility to the workplace has also meant changes in crucial human resource practices such as compensation and benefits, job design, as well as recruitment (Worldatwork, 2015). Today, employees demand higher pay for their skills and knowledge. They also demand flexible benefits such as paid parental leave, childcare services at work, and more comprehensive health insurance.

The implication is that organisations now have to allocate more toward compensation and benefits, which may affect the bottom line. Additionally, workplace flexibility means job characteristics and recruitment practices must revolve around flexibility. Managers must hire individuals with proven flexibility, they must incorporate flexibility when designing work, and they consider employee flexibility when making strategic decisions. Increased desire for flexibility, exciting work experiences, transient work, and casualness has also changed the role of supervisors and managers.

First, supervisors and managers must be more ready to manage a mobile and transient workforce. They must be more receptive to flexible work arrangements, they must be able to supervise workers remotely, and they must play a frontline role in acknowledging the importance of flexibility in the modern workplace (Worldatwork, 2015). Flexibility relates to not only work arrangements, but also decision-making processes. Majority of organizations have traditionally been characterized by rigid and bureaucratic structures, which offer little or no room for different ideas.

Today, employees increasingly desire to be involved in decision-making. They yearn for an environment where they can offer their perspectives and views. Organisations such as Google have done a commendable job in this regard, and the outcomes have been amazing. Flexible decision-making structures imply that supervisors and managers must allow their subordinates greater autonomy, they must reduce or avoid micromanagement, and they must view their subordinates as collaborators as opposed to mere juniors. Indeed, the abandonment of bureaucratic structures in favour of more democratic ones is becoming a common trend.

Inspiring Action The shift from autocratic or authoritarian structures to democratic structures brings to the fore an important challenge for leadership in the modern workplace. Leaders must now inspire action by knowing how to get the job done and being actively involved in generating results. According to Simon Sinek, a leadership think tank, leaders have traditionally had authority but little power to effect change (Behind the Brand, 2015). Citing the example of dictatorship, Sinek explains that leaders have historically kept their followers at a distance in order to maintain their authority.

They only instruct their followers on what to do or not to do while at the top. This behaviour is not unusual when viewed from the perspective of the society at large. It is common for people in authority to want their status to be recognised and respected even when no outstanding accomplishments can be attached to their name. Such an approach results in leaders who are not responsible for the job or results -- they are just responsible for the people responsible for the work or results.

In essence, such leaders do literally nothing to affect the results. In most cases, leadership is granted by promotion. Individuals are gradually promoted to higher positions within the organisational hierarchy predominantly on account of their outstanding performance. Eventually, they become leaders, but without any training or preparation on how to be a leader. They are simply expected to be excellent leaders. A major challenge with this thinking, according to Sinek, is that leadership ability is presumed to come from gaining rank (Behind the Brand, 2015). Brown (2011) shares a similar sentiment.

Simply because one is an outstanding performer at their job does not necessarily make them a great leader. Indeed, even if one is naturally a leader, they require training on leadership over time. As Sinek puts it, leadership is a skill -- it requires years of preparation, training, and education (Behind the Brand, 2015). Brown (2011) further posits that leadership involves more than just exercising authority. With intense preparation, leaders are better placed to inspire their followers. They become responsible for not only their followers, but also the results.

Being responsible for the work and results mean that leaders must become more involved with the work. This places leaders in.