From a one-person band to the orchestra conductor: how holistic management can help you implement change

There is a traditional vision of management which is applied by default in many companies. Under the influence of rapid growth and progressive workforce expansion, a certain type of manager imposes themselves in an unplanned manner which is not necessarily the most optimal.

In this context, the Manager tends to hold on to control of all the company's decisions, big and small. They tend to impose on their team the decisions they themselves have made, alone, and which simply need execution.

However, there is an alternative.

There is a Manager who is less attached to imposing their views and who prefers to help their employees progress so they can gain in autonomy.

“What do you propose?”

How many times have you, as a Manager, spoken these words to a collaborator?

The holistic Manager uses this phrase to give more responsibility to team members. They then have a sufficient margin of action to draw up solutions, push their skills to the maximum, and therefore grow.

For the Manager, this means stepping back a little and observing their colleagues to detect strengths and weaknesses. In understanding collaborators’ potential, the Manager will be better able to evaluate and develop it.

Thus, instead of having employees at the service of the Manager, the Manager puts themselves at the service of their employees.

The paradox of holistic management

With this type of management, the manager derives their legitimacy from their ability to delegate, rather than impose. The stronger their employees are at their work, the more the Manager reinforces themselves. The Manager can benefit from (and take pride in!) the fact that the student surpasses the master. For this Manager, there is no need to remain omnipotent in the one-person band: they can finally play the role of conductor.

The consequences at the personal level are multiple: in delegating to their teams, the business owner can come to rely on a team that can work in the leader's absence. The business owner ensures the sustainability of their business beyond themselves as an individual. Finally, they can devote themselves to strategic decision-making and not just deal with things as they arise.

At the employee level, what a change, too! Sharing information and the company vision, taking initiative, enjoying the full capacity to conduct work in the best conditions, optimizing time, clarifying roles, developing skills... Here are all the keys to motivation and commitment to the company. This emerging new culture guarantees greater employee involvement and desire to grow in the company—and to make the company grow at the same time.

What is CEDEC's role in all this?

As a partner to the business owner, CEDEC provides them support so they have full control of their environment—without, however, being omnipotent. For this, an awareness is necessary: no, you do not need to know how to do everything. On the other hand, it would be useful for you to know how to have something done.

In the company analysis (CEDEC Analytics), CEDEC helps the business owner to:

• Clarify their values and the culture they desire for their company.
• Define a plan of action to transmit these values and culture to the whole organization.
• Bring employees together around these common values and culture to allow them to cultivate their pride in belonging to the company.
• Monitor, with the help of KPIs, the positive development of the implemented changes.

The different types of assessments implemented in CEDEC Analytics will help to determine precisely what the needs and required resources are to reach the expected results during the preliminary study. On this occasion, CEDEC precisely measures the company culture at a given moment at can compare it with the business owner’s idea of what it is or what they would like it to be.

Having this balance sheet is essential to subsequently implement measures that will help face certain changes. How indeed to reorganize a production chain without changing both the office-based and field-based teams? How to create a collective culture when the whole remuneration system is individually based? A single person—the business owner—cannot act on all these factors without delegating, without relying on everyone to be responsible, without setting up a dynamic of progress in which CEDEC can undoubtedly help.

Thus, in order to drop some weight and move from doing it yourself to having it done, some very specific actions can be implemented at different levels: help with time management, revision/review of managerial processes, implementation of KPIs to ensure dynamic progress, clarification of the nature of decisions to be taken at each level (roles and responsibilities), etc.

Without undertaking an inordinate amount of work, each action is a small victory that will make smooth change possible and bring us closer to Managerial Excellence.