If the manager disappeared from his company for three months, for a year or forever, what would happen? This is the question that we, as leaders, are sometimes confronted with.

When we take extended vacations, how do we organize things to keep the business running despite our absence? How to maintain confidence in your teams while being far away?

If we believe that it is possible to manage our business remotely, are we ready to apply this principle to all of our employees, our HR department or our Sales Director? What is the impact of the absence of hierarchy or managerial layers on our business?

Reinventing the role of the leader

Our life as leaders is getting shorter and shorter, nine years today compared to 11 15 years ago. There are a large number of us: two million run businesses with more than 10 people in Europe.

So how do we reinvent the company, our profession? Is that possible? As leaders, we intuitively understand our limitations, even if it's hard to admit it.

We are three times biased and therefore perfect. By ourselves (e.g. vanity, narcissism, comfort zones), by others (e.g. courtship effect) and by our sector (herd instinct).

Towards collective management

We can see that we are not always, to say the least, an exceptional man (or woman).

We are often alone in managing and deciding, with more or less developed skills to do so. Are we irreplaceable? We have all heard real or urban stories of co-managing businesses. With magnificent failures and successes.

Case study: The absence of the manager as a catalyst for growth

Some businesses and major successes have done without a single manager. The Accor Group for example. More anecdotally, Belgium operated for a long time without a political leader at its head.

More recently, the company Chronoflex (Nantes), the European leader in the maintenance of construction equipment (300 people), operated for a full year without a manager. Alexandre Gérard, its manager, had left two instructions to his teams, before taking a sabbatical with his family.

The unexpected results

Take any decision within the framework of Chronoflex's strategy. If a decision has a budgetary impact, discuss it with the DAF. Once back in business, Alexandre noticed that his company's turnover had grown by more than 20% even though it was in a market with zero growth!

Redefining leadership: A set of rules

Aren't we big oak trees that shade smaller trees? Are we sure we are getting the best out of our employees and making them grow? Many governance systems successfully do without the model of the “Latin” leader, that of the charismatic leader.

Starting with the neighboring federal states (Switzerland, Germany) where particular attention is paid to the reduction of conflicts of interest, on short and sometimes non-renewable terms of office.

Co-association or cooperative systems also work well when business logic is placed at the heart of the project.

There is even talk of replacing us with robots! A first test, for a member of a board of directors, is in progress.

The question of the duration of our mandates is essential. We know that we give our best in the first three years of taking office, whether we are a manager or an entrepreneur.

This momentum generally lasts for 5 years, and generally leads to a fairly significant drop in motivation. Because the initial impulse and the recoil wear off over time.

What about our lifespan as a manager? So are we not interim, project-oriented leaders? This poses real questions for business leaders, second and third generation managers, and HR managers of large companies.

“Those who don't report don't realize.”

The checks and balances and advice of a board of directors or supervisory board and a strategic committee are essential for the smooth running of operations.

Shouldn't we be talking about multiple leaders rather than a single leader? Because the operational manager (the CEO) needs to be challenged by his Board of Directors when everything is going well and encouraged when everything is going wrong.

The eight rules of effective leadership

1. Imposing contradiction : In the cockpit of an airplane, the co-pilot has the obligation to give the contradiction to the pilot. Do we do the same with our employees, to explore the issues and make the best possible decision?
2. Develop the initiative : How to give a lot of leeway to all managers? How do you trust and give confidence?
3. Have a right arm at all times : Because we, leaders, have a short mission in time. Because we have to delegate to have enough time to dream and then have them executed. To mark out important and non-urgent projects.
4. Setting a clear course : “An employee without a goal doesn't go anywhere. He is quickly demotivated.” Are we applying this precept for ourselves, our company and our employees?
5. Know how to leave elegantly : Unless you are an exceptional and perpetually motivated manager, unless you are challenged by a perfect Board of Directors, you must know how to bow out. For the good of his company, for that of the employees and their families. Aren't we staying at our post for too long for the wrong reasons?
6. To report : Contradiction should always be created and encouraged. Upstream, via a Strategic Committee or a Board of Directors or both. Downstream, via a Management Committee and other implementing bodies.
7. Listen before making decisions : The more a manager listens, the more time and precision he saves. His speaking time, in a Management Committee, is around 20%. Our leadership role is to bring out initiatives and then to decide. And not the other way around.
8. Remain discreet and humble : You must always fight against your own narcissism (and not against your ego). Jim Collins, in “From Performance to Excellence” describes exceptional leaders (Level 5) as those who highlight their collaborators if there is success and blame themselves if there is failure. These same executives rarely make the headlines (except for product launches, of course).

As you can see, these eight rules are not exhaustive. They reposition the manager in his role of social and economic utility. This is the aim of this post: let us leaders be at the maximum of our abilities and practices!

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