Is management a secret art?

The recent international conference, themed 'Working together in health and safety', highlighted the need for effective leadership in organisations.

The conference was a landmark event for Malta, because it brought eminent people from the world of risk management and business together with representatives of some of the most important organisations in the field such as the European Agency for Health and Safety and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Prof. Edward De Bono, the keynote speaker, focused mainly on the issue of creativity and how solutions to problems can be developed much quicker and more effectively using non-confrontational approaches rather than the usual brainstorming exercises which often create cliques of people defending and promoting their own ideas. His theories promoting the concept of 'possibility' show an exciting way forward, which we can use both in our private and professional lives.

Around the world, in companies and organisations and in acadaemia, hundreds of thousands of people spend much of their time trying to find new ways of conducting business to maximise output in terms of the products and services that they deliver, and in the personal and professional development of their staff.

Many devote their whole lives to this process, believing there is no conflict between helping improve the lives of staff and achieving ever-improving business results. The simple fact is that the two issues are inseparable and interdependent.

Why, then, do we so often ignore such ideas and principles and concentrate merely on the day-to-day operation of our businesses to the detriment of long-term development? This short-term view of things means that we often fail to see opportunities and to develop as we should, believing that as long as we produce the target output for that day, we have succeeded.

What if there was a way to increase that output merely by doing things in a different way? Will we be ready for the day when our clients no longer require that output? These are the kinds of questions that short term approaches cannot answer.

There is no doubt that management and leadership are an art; they are not something that can be imposed by brute force. Directors and senior managers, and indeed owners, need an awareness of what is going on in the wider world to keep up-to-date with the most effective methods of achieving the core business aims, bearing in mind that it is external demands that should shape their business strategy.

The people who should be carrying this strategy forward are the middle managers and supervisors by motivating staff and helping them to greater efficiency. Yet the development of this group is often ignored, and if these people fail in their role for whatever reason, the strategic aims of the business cannot be achieved.

If we could manage people in ways that make them feel that their work is valued and meaningful, and that they are respected for what they bring to the business, regardless of how sophisticated or apparently menial their jobs may be, then how much more motivated would they be?

The extent to which this may be achieved will be largely determined by the quality of the supervision and management they receive. Safeguarding the well-being of staff is part of this approach, and providing decent working conditions in which risk is carefully managed is essential. This is something that was mentioned several times during the course of the conference.

A course called 'Managing Safely' was specifically designed to help supervisors and middle managers understand their roles better and provide them with practical strategies with which to manage risk. This course is available at the Institute of Health and Safety.

Risk exists, whether we like it or not, but we should not be held to ransom by it. Instead we should work to understand how it arises in our businesses, what its potential effects are, and how it can best be managed.

It is people who generate wealth and not machines. Failure to recognise this immutable truth results in the neglect of the most precious business assets; the talent, energy and enthusiasm of staff which, if freed and properly directed, can fuel a business that can become a world-beater.

For more details on the course, call the Institute of Health and Safety on 2131 1966.

Mr Hudson is director of training and consultancy, Institute of Health and Safety.