Management by Walking About
Monday, March 17th, 2008This is a style of management commonly referred to as mbwa. It is variously lengthened to management by wandering about, or management by walking around. mbwa usually involves the following.
- Managers consistently reserving time to walk through their departments and/or to be available for impromptu discussions. (mbwa frequently goes together with an open-door management policy.)
- Individuals forming networks of acquaintances throughout their organisations.
- Lots of opportunities for chatting over coffee or lunch, or in the corridors. Managers getting away from their desks and starting to talk to individual employees. The idea is that they should learn about problems and concerns at first hand. At the same time they should teach employees new methods to manage particular problems. The communication goes both ways.