Article: “The Five Minds of a Manager”
The article “The Five Minds of a Manager” by Jonathan Gosling and Henry Mintzberg presents five crucial aspects in the process of a manager’s way of thinking. The authors claim that in order to manage a company effectively every manager should consider several mind processes at the same time, and only after a detailed and accurate juxtaposition of all five mind-sets a successful management may take place at the company.
Jonathan Gosling and Henry Mintzberg assert that in recent years very little attention has been paid specifically to the way a manager should think in order to get the company to the top. They offer the structured approach to management which is the part of their new master’s program – the system of five mind-sets of an effective practicing manager. The latter includes such aspects of the managerial mind as:
the reflective mind-set;
the analytical mind-set;
the worldly mind-set;
the collaborative mind-set;
the action mind-set.
Each of the above mentioned mind-sets contributes to the successful management and plays its own role in the manager’s way of thinking and their ultimate decisions; however, these mind-sets cannot not be fully beneficial outside the system of all five, separately. Only competent and rational combination of the five main aspects of management thinking can lead to successful actions. The lack of any of them, as well as overabundance, can inflict harm and lead to the unwanted consequences.
The authors dwell on the importance of each of the above mentioned managerial mind-sets in detail.
The self is defined as the major subject of the first mind-set – the reflective one. According to the article, every manager should not only experience some issues and happening in their career, but also take some time to ‘digest’ them and go through any experience thoughtfully and with thorough introspection. Apparently, this is a simple way to get the best out of any managerial experience – a lesson it teaches with all its prerequisites and consequences.
The dominant subject of the analytical mind-set is organization. It is clearly stated in the article that any decision-making requires previous decomposing, or analysis. The main purpose of this mind-set is to make a complex phenomenon as simple as possible, at the same time simplifying general understanding of the task along with providing the measurement of the performance. However, the authors also assert that there is no need to do too much analysis on the issue as it can be harmful for the company. The main point here is to keep the balance.
Context is positioned as the key point of the worldly mind-set in the article. Jonathan Gosling and Henry Mintzberg suggest that it is absolutely useless and not practical to make any decisions outside the context – in fact, a manager has to immerse in a strange world before taking any further actions regarding it. Unless the area is not researched on the inside, there is no point in discussing its characteristics that are visible from the outside. A very important thing here is to be able to consider all the small worlds surrounding the company as each of them requires a specific product, suitable only for that specific world.
The collaborative mind-set is characterized as the manager’s ability to give up the conventional vertical system of hierarchy and be always ready to dive into the network, as it is impossible to see what happens there observing it from the top. The authors condemn the influence of economic theory as it led to perceiving employees as ‘assets’, ‘resources’, but not as people who can contribute greatly to a company’s success given an opportunity. The article comments on the importance of being an engaging manager who listens more than talks and who gets out of the office and goes to collaborate with the others. Moreover, it is of vital importance to create conditions of interaction and equal relationships rather than a strict hierarchical structure that can result in passive observation and lack of actions from the employees.
The quintessential issue of the action mind-set is managing change, as defined by Jonathan Gosling and Henry Mintzberg. What they suggest is that a good manager should not be obsessed with the idea of a change in every aspect of the business. The main purpose of the effective action mind-set is to distinguish those things that really need change and focus all the energy and determination on them rather than on things that do not actually require change, although the world imposes the need for change in everything and everywhere. A manager should have in mind that what changes are inclined to do is to improve the general performance and not just follow the world trend of changing all the time.
The conclusion of the article aims at convincing the readers in the importance of using all five mind-sets together, as they are interrelated and interdependent. Only combining and weaving the reflective, analytic, worldly, collaborative and the action mind-sets smartly may lead to an effective performance and, thus, effective organization.
I fully support the authors of the article in their attempt to structure the way all managers should think. However, it is more like an ideal utopia when it comes to practice: a manager is not capable of thinking five different ways at the same time. There always will be situations when a manager neglects one mind-set and overuse another one.
At the same time, when there is a set of rules, it can be much easier to realize their importance and imply them into practice (perhaps, not all of them at the same time, but at least some can be used by a manager). This will result in better performance and, surely, in constant learning, personal and professional growth of the manager.
What is really valuable in the article is pointing out the importance of collaboration. I personally consider it to be the key principle of any company’s success – people who work for the company determine its further development and its place in the world of business. The more a manager demonstrates that he or she is of a higher rank, the less active and motivated their subordinates will become. It is crucial to keep the balance between being a manager and at the same time being a part of the team – moving altogether to a common goal will definitely pay off shortly.
The article would be helpful for both – practicing managers and those who are currently learning how to become one. Using the five principle of a successful manager’s thinking and combining them wisely will help to set the best managerial style possible.
