Description of the Challenge

We are aware that management is usually faced with challenges that test the manager’s leadership and personal abilities. The main challenges are usually attributed to the nature of management roles. Pressure to perform well in line with the organizational goals is one of the biggest challenges that managers in the organizational development field face. It is usually a challenge to improve organizational performance and pursue specific functional and organizational targets (Golembiewski, 2004). This pressure usually demands the managers to put new strategies, undertake some structural changes to put in place corrective actions that will help in the production of better results for the organization.

How it is a Challenge for the Future Workplace

Pressure to give good results has been a significant challenge in the workplace. If a manager is pressed to produce good results in a period of financial turbulence, for instance, the pressure will also be felt by employees under the manager (Anderson & Ovaice, 2006). Being a manager, I would task the employees under me to work under pressure, and increase their pace in delivery. If need be, I can sack some employees, hire new ones, and even reshuffle them so that each one is in a strategic position for optimal delivery of service. This move can affect future work as the workers are compelled to adjust to the new working conditions.

Why it is a Challenge for Managers

The pressure to produce good results usually brings fear of criticism. Bring criticized can affect my reputation as a manager (Lipman, 2013). Criticism can have many negative implications, for instance, if the organization underperforms, or gets tied in a crisis such as legal concerns, political influence, and financial crisis, the manager may be at risk of losing a job, or being linked to a corruption scandal (Aranda, Arellano & Davila, 2017). On top of that, the pressure tasks the manager with an increasing span of control over a large team which can be very difficult to do timely and effective checks.

Why it will be hard for me as a Manager to Succeed

The demand for better results is constantly put on the manager. It is also not easy to improve the results always. Besides, in the phase of public criticism, or a significantly high target makes it even harder to achieve. The pursuit to achieve better results also demands the manager to work for long hours, work with constant pressure to limit expenses which makes the manager work with limited resources and aim to achieve maximum output (Schalock, Verdugo & van Loon, 2018). This burden laid on me as a manager can make it hard for me to succeed.

Skills needed to manage the Challenge and how they relate to me personally.

As a manager and a leader, I should be open to learning and manage public criticism while taking care not to taint the reputation of the organization (Head & Sorensen Jr, 2005). One of the skills I will need is collaboration skills so that I involve everyone in the delivery of positive results. Management is a balancing act which will need a collaboration of different minds to arrive at effective decisions and optimal strategies, and the positive performance. Another important skill will be communication skills for effective communication with my fellow employees for a good workflow.

References

Anderson, P. T., & Ovaice, G. (2006). Strategic Organization Development: A Seat at the Table. Organization Development Journal, 24(4).

Golembiewski, R. T. (2004). Twenty questions for our future: challenges facing OD and ODers, or whatever it is labeled. Organization Development Journal, 22(2), 6.

Aranda, C., Arellano, J., & Davila, A. (2017). Organizational learning in target setting. Academy of Management Journal, 60(3), 1189-1211.

Lipman, V. (2013). New Study Explores Why Change Management Fails – And How To (Perhaps) Succeed. Forbes.

Schalock, R. L., Verdugo, M. A., & van Loon, J. (2018). Understanding organization transformation in evaluation and program planning. Evaluation and program planning, 67, 53-60.

Head, T. C., & Sorensen Jr, P. F. (2005). The Evaluation of Organization Development Interventions: An Empirical Study. Organization Development Journal, 23(1).