Business management is not easy. It is difficult to manage any company nowadays, because the competition is getting harder every year. Therefore, management issues need to be given due attention, skillfully combining traditional management practices with the latest. One of them is management 3.0. Let's talk more about this innovative management practice and how it can be useful.
Evolution of management practices
Recently, the notion of management 3.0 has become increasingly popular in the world. This style of management originates from the IT sphere and project management. Having proven to be effective in the mentioned spheres, it now extends to other types of business, including auditing and consulting.
However, this style of management did not appear out of thin air. He was preceded by management practices such as management 1.0 and 2.0.
Management 1.0
The main feature of this type of management is the company's complete dependence on its manager. As the vast majority of audit firms in Ukraine are small, this management practice is now widespread. The company manager assigns tasks and controls their execution. Essentially, such companies have no rules because they are set and abolished by one person.
Communications under these conditions are one-sided and vertical. The tasks come from above, and employees should perform them in the way that the manager deems optimal. People are run like machines, and they are manually operated. The organizational structure has a clear hierarchy that is difficult to adjust.
Management 2.0
In an organization where management 2.0 is used, everyone recognizes that “people are the most valuable asset” and every manager should become a “servant leader”. This version of control is more flexible and perfect. The company has rules that everyone – both staff and executives – must adhere to. Communications are multi-vector. There is ongoing dialogue between the manager and the staff. Moreover, teams and subordinates are empowered to make decisions on their own or to influence the decision-making. The organizational structure resembles a matrix.
Management 3.0
This management style is a complex adaptive system that does not have a permanent and clear structure. The team is self-organized, flexible and capable of achieving goals quickly. The manager in this system does not give orders and does not control their execution. He/she is rather a mentor, an ideological inspirer and a consultant. The manger has no special status, playing the leading role in achieving a common result. Management ceases to be solely responsible. This is a necessary function. The goal of leadership is to expand the business, create the conditions for developing talent and meeting customer needs.
Management 3.0 advantages
Management 3.0 is the future of management. It is important for managers to respond immediately to environmental changes in order to be effective.
A self-organized and flexible team is the key to success of any company. Working with clients does not tolerate slowness, unnecessary bureaucracy and dogmatism. Responses to customer requests should be not only of high quality but also timely. An approach where tasks are not solved without a manager is hopelessly outdated.
The manager’s status is not something permanent. Today, a specialist can work in a project by performing the work assigned, and tomorrow – to manage the project, if proved to be more useful in this position. Everything is measured by efficiency here and now. There are no permanent roles.
Among the advantages of management 3.0 is its adaptability. In fact, organizations that operate under such rules can get used to anything. They easily overcome any obstacles, confidently feel in the conditions of uncertainty, quickly navigate in everything new.
Risks and disadvantages
Management 3.0 will not work immediately. Self-organization does not arise by itself. For this, both the manager and the team must work some way up. Special skills must be honed – self-discipline, proactiveness, leadership, confidence and more. Staff should be gradually trained, imparted with such skills, engaged in training and workshops, and encouraged to use the competencies acquired in practice, in specific work situations.
It is clear that companies need to learn to adopt this style of management as a philosophy – interesting, fresh, but one that takes some time to learn and then to implement. To do this, you need to accumulate a sufficient number of successful cases for further transformation into a clear framework.
Psychological readiness for this style of management is a stumbling block for companies. If in theory everything seems clear and ready for application, then in practice the situation may be radically different. That is why you should be prepared for the most unpredictable scenarios and not try to act quickly. Take your time, think through all the details of this job and embark on this difficult journey.
