Introduction
In any organization, the success of an organization is not only determined by the effectiveness of Leadership and direction in management and planning or organizing of resources but also the ability to influence the people to carry out their duties. The management is said to be a combination of interconnected functions; planning, organizing, directing, and controlling that combine to be able to ensure success of an organization. Of all these functions, directing is the most people-oriented role since it directly concerns the aspect of influencing, guiding and motivating workers to work towards common goals. Even the most well-engineered plans and structures can never deliver desired results without appropriate guidance.
Directing requires leadership, motivation, communication and supervision, which are very important in coordinating individual work to organizational objectives. With proper guidance, the managers are able to turn plans into action and motivate the employees to give their skills, energy and devotion. This article discusses directing as a management skill with special reference to leadership style, motivation, communication process, and supervisory behavior. It points out how leadership and effective communication motivate employees, promote coordination and eventually, improve organizational performance.
Awareness of Management Function on Directing
Directing is the role of the manager which triggers action in the company. It is the process through which managers can control, direct and oversee the employees to achieve organizational goals. Directing is active and ongoing as opposed to planning and organizing which are so conceptual and structural. It entails day to day communication between the manager and employees and thus it is vital in the success of the operations.
Directing is simply a response to the question: How do we make people do what should be done? It makes employees know their roles, be motivated to work, and be advised when need be. Management scholars state that there are four important components of directing, namely, leadership, motivation, communication, and supervision. The factors combine to affect the behavior and performance of employees.
Key Components of Directing
Leadership
The foundation of direction is leadership. It describes how a manager can influence, inspire and guide employees towards the realization of the organizational goals. Leadership and direction in management goes beyond giving commands, but entails leading by example, trusting, and developing a vision that is worth following.
Leadership styles influence the manner in which direction is felt in an organization and implemented. For example:
- Centralized decision-making and strict control are the characteristics of autocratic leadership. Although it might be useful during the crisis or other well-organized environments, overusing it can decrease employee creativity and morale.
- Democratic leadership has the benefit of involving employees in decision making. This kind of style usually results in an improved level of job satisfaction, improve teamwork, and enhance commitment.
- Laissez-faire leadership provides employees with high degree of autonomy. It can be productive when the employees are competent and they are motivated to work but it may cause confusion in the case where there is lack of guidance.
- Transformational leadership and direction in management is all about motivation and inspiring employees with vision and innovativeness in form of personal development. This type of style best works in competitive and dynamic settings.
- A good leader knows when and how to use these styles based on the requirements in an organization and the competence of his or her employees and the circumstances. In leadership, the managers offer guidance, which coordinates the behavior of individuals towards organizational objectives.
Motivation
Motivation refers to the process of arousing the employees so as to attend to actions that contribute to the attainment of organizational goals. It is a very important component of directing since even the competent workers might not perform optimally when there is no intention or willingness to work.
There are two broad categories of motivation:
- Intrinsic motivation which is caused by internal satisfaction like personal growth, achievement and recognition.
- Extrinsic motivation which is motivated by external rewards like salaries, bonuses, promotions and job security.
There are numerous motivational theories that lead the practice of managers. An example is the hierarchy of needs that Maslow developed to highlight the need of satisfying physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs of employees. Herzberg two-factor theory identifies two types of factors (motivators, achievement, and recognition) and hygiene factors (salary, working conditions) in motivating job satisfaction.
Good leadership and direction in management demands that managers should be aware of things that motivate their workers and come up with reward systems that will attract high performance. Employees who are motivated and feel that they are valued will tend to put their efforts in line with the organizational goals and work at high levels.
Communication
The blood of directing is communication. It is the process whereby information, instructions, ideas and feedback are shared between the employees and the managers. Lack of proper and effective communication makes direction ineffective, creating misunderstanding, errors, and conflict.
Directing communication flows in more than one direction:
- Downward communication involves managers directing employees on matters of management, policies and expectations.
- Upward communication, employee feedback, suggestions and reports to the management.
- Horizontal communication which is between employees and departments of the same level so as to have coordination and teamwork.
This is achieved through clear communication so that employees know what is required of them, why they are doing it and how their efforts can benefit the organization. It also enables managers to detect issues in time and make the required changes.
Supervision
Supervision is a process that involves monitoring employee performance in order to ascertain that tasks are performed as per the plans and standards. It is about directing of employees, correcting and assisting in case of difficulties.
Supervision is not about micromanagement but a process of maintaining clarity, accountability, and an improvement process. Supervisors serve as an intermediary between the employees and the management, and convert organizational objectives into action.
Good supervision helps in directing by means of:
- Assuring compliance of employees to instruction and protocols.
- Giving on-the-job feedback and coaching.
- Identifying training needs
- Having discipline and morale.
Managers guarantee that direction is conducted through supervision to make sure that direction is adopted consistently and effectively throughout the organization.
Directing through role of leadership style
The type of leadership has a great power in the way employees receive and respond to the direction. Trust, commitment and enthusiasm can be nurtured using a supportive participative leadership style though too inflexible a leader would lead to resistance or lack of interest.
Indicatively, transformational leaders engage employees by aligning their own interests to that of the company. This fit brings about a sense of direction and makes employees go an extra mile. In contrast, transactional leaders use rewards and punishments to influence behavior since they can be effective in sustaining standards but do not always encourage commitment.
A successful manager will be adaptable in his or her leadership approach to fit the organizational culture, need of the employees, and the environmental status. This flexibility increases the quality of directing and performance in general.
Co-coordinating Personal Performance and Organizational Goals
Directing helps to focus on the efforts of single employees to the organizational course. Employees enter organizations with different backgrounds, skills as well as personal goals. Directing assists in bringing these differences together through a sense of purpose and direction.
Managers, through leadership, define the organization vision and values. They achieve this by motivating the employees to believe in these objectives. They make responsibilities and expectations clear through communication. They do this via supervision thus maintaining consistency in performance. All these factors allow the establishment of the correspondence between personal activities and organizational objectives.
In case of alignment, the employees feel how their efforts are contributing into the greater picture and the result is more engagement, efficiency and job satisfaction.
Effect of Directing to Organizational Performance
Good directing is positively and directly related to performance in the organization. Much of strong leadership, motivation, communication and supervision are practiced in organizations that tend to enjoy:
- Increased productivity of employees.
- Better work morale and satisfaction.
- Less conflict and turnover.
- Increased coordination and collaboration.
- Achievement of organizational goals at a higher rate.
Poor directing on the other hand may lead to confusion, lack of motivation, poor performance and failure to meet goals. This assertiveness points out the role of directing as an ongoing and dynamic management activity.
Conclusion
Directing is an important management activity that helps in closing the gap between actions and planning. Managers inform employees how to achieve organizational goals by emphasizing on leadership, motivation, communication and supervision. Leadership and direction in management builds trust and commitment, motivational performance, communication clearness and alignment, and supervision standards and accountability. It is simply not possible to afford ineffective leadership in the modern dynamic and competitive business world. The ability of the managers to consistently upgrade their directing capabilities is needed to ensure that the efforts of the individuals are directed towards the objectives of the organization, as well as to enhance the performance. Finally, directing is an essential part of the management practice since it can make or break an organization based on the human potential.
Moreover, directing enhances the association between the management and staff since it fosters faith, responsibility, and understanding. Open communicative, fair motivational, and constructive supervising managers make a favorable working environment, in which employees feel important and powerful. Not only does it increase the performance of individuals, but also teamwork and sustainability of the organization in the long run. That is why the process of directing cannot be regarded as a single managerial process but can be discussed as a continuous process that influences employee behavior and organizational culture.
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