Personnel Management in Cyberspace

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN CYBERSPACE By: Richard Burry In business, institutions and on teams, the most effective manager is the one who makes the job look easy. Managing people is an art, and it takes a special talent to lead a successful organization remotely, in cyberspace.

This is true of so many aspects of the online world, the place where I work as a global entrepreneur and investor. When online businesses work efficiently, a consumer might easily believe that running such an enterprise is effortless. A well-oiled, seamless e-commerce operation can appear deceptively simple.

From the customer’s perspective it takes only a few taps on an iPhone or clicks on a keyboard to bring a chosen product or service across the world to the doorstep. Scrolling through screens of inventory is easy and fun; payment is billed instantaneously; and the delivery van lumbers up the driveway within days, or even hours.

Online retail looks easy when a founder has mastered the essential skills of cyber success, from the process by which new companies are created to the ways professional relationships are forged; whether it’s across the floor of a downtown office or across the world, joined by chat, emails and Google Meet.

My base of operations is Cascais, a small seaside town in Portugal. Not long ago the career site Indeed reviewed some of the common types of management styles, and their choices are well-suited to the modern, logged-on workforce.

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN CYBERSPACE

The old top-down hierarchical approach doesn’t cut it anymore, especially when communicating across great physical and even cultural distances.

Persuasion, consultation and teamwork based on shared values and mutual respect provide the winning formula for a motivated, effective crew, their oars perfectly synchronized with the cadence set by their manager.

Here is a synopsis of the various management styles cited by Indeed:

Collaborative/ Teamwork I’m reminded of one of Michael Jordan’s memorable quotes: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” He was certainly speaking from experience.

Teamwork and collaboration are two sides of the same coin. Managers who value this approach believe employee morale is an important metric in the success of a business. Collaborative managers want employees to feel fulfilled, professionally and personally. Higher job satisfaction enhances pride and self-esteem, and raises output. This management style is also a good strategy for nurturing future leaders of the company.

Consultative/ Participative As Indeed frames it: “Consultative managers ask employees for feedback consistently and take employee concerns seriously. They often have an open-door policy that encourages employees to share what is and isn’t working in the organization.”

Participative management takes the consultative perspective to another level. Employees are actively involved in guiding initiatives and departments, broadening the decision-making responsibility within a business (and typically slowing it a bit). This approach works best when the manager sets an overall vision for the organization. When everyone is focused on the same goals, participation is less diffuse and better organized.

Laissez-faire

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN CYBERSPACE

Here, managers often seem more like mentors than leaders. This is a hands-off management style that gives employees the freedom to sink or swim. Depending on your business, your team may thrive with this kind of autonomy. But many employees need direction and will feel rudderless without a more engaged management presence. To make this management style work, accountability is an essential ingredient.

Persuasive

Transparency is central to maximizing the effectiveness of this management strategy. If employees believe the arguments a manager presents are honest and genuine, they can be persuaded to buy into a particular decision. The opposite is also true: If employees believe the intent of outreach is to manipulate or mislead, this approach can lead to distrust.

Transformational This management style requires a high degree of employee engagement.

Team members need to view their role as something more than just a job.

They may see it as a calling, even a mission. Such individuals will follow a transformational manager, but it’s a poor fit for employees with a punchclock perspective on their work.

For online businesses that move at the speed of innovation, there are no punch clocks, fortunately. We accelerate toward success at warp speed, bending time in our wake.