The state of the labour market forces companies to rent managers
We will talk to Pärtel Vurma, one of the owners and CEO of the design agency Velvet, about the values of interim managers. Velvet has had experience with VVT interim managers since 2014. “At a gathering attended by Eela Velström, I talked about the challenges Velvet had or encountered at that moment,” Pärtel Vurma recalls.…
Interview with interim manager: who sees the big picture and is capable of bringing to life all opportunities
Interim sales manager Argo Sildvee believes that a successful interim has to enjoy the work with people and to manage to perceive the bigger picture. These skills are fundamental. Reaching out to Argo we have tried to find out if it is true that every situation or circumstance hides an opportunity that may benefit our…
Key Principle of a Leader #51: When seeking a solution, think outside the box
Solutions are often within reach. Sometimes it may feel that something’s impossible, but there’s always some way…
Key Principle of a Leader #50: Take note of good work, save praise for excellence
Good work and salary are an agreement. Excellent and successful work is not an everyday thing and it needs to be recognized – with a bonus, promotion, pat on the back.
Key Principle of a Leader #49: You take a job that suits you, you leave if the leader doesn’t
Who among us hasn’t experienced the excitement of going to a new job – the desire to do one’s utmost, to enthusiastically apply one’s skills and learn new ones. For their entire probationary period, a new employee has a minor case of “stage fright” in the new environment and a major desire to prove their…
Key Principle of a Leader #48: Take pride when a subordinate gets promoted to outside organization
If you’re a good manager and are able to keep your people’s motivation and desire to learn high, they will develop at a torrid pace. It might even happen that the organization you work for will end up being too small for them, as there is no work that is commensurate with their new skills.…
Key Principle of a Leader #47: Direction requires clarity and justification
The decisions made and actions taken by a manager must be comprehensible to team members as well as to partners and customers. The message and values mustn’t change depending on the situation and the person he’s dealing with!
Key Principle of a Leader #46: The sales pitch starts when client says no
Selling is like art and it starts by offering the customer value added to increase the customer’s satisfaction. Imagine a situation where the customer brings the goods he’s picked out up to the counter: The salesperson rings up the purchase, issues the receipt and reels off some words of thanks for the purchase.
Key Principle of a Leader #45: Excessive praise is risky and counterproductive
Praise is good for a while, warm and provides encouragement, but if it continue too long, it can blind, fatten and cripple the recipient. An overly high opinion of oneself resulting from too much praise from a manager spreads like wildfire within the organization, unfortunately.
Key Principle of a Leader #44: All sales are personal events
Customers want to feel that their purchase isn’t just a means of increasing the seller’s turnover and making a profit the service provider has to care about whether the customer actually needs the good or service. Very good sales are always personalized.
Key Principle of a Leader #43: A good team has diversity, yet similar values
People with different skills and personalities are able to see the big picture. A team (manager) will feel more secure making decisions if the ideas and actions are thought through from all aspects before starting.
Key Principle of a Leader #42: A leader doesn’t flutter every time the wind changes
To stay on course and reach your destination, a manager has to learn to sail in different wind conditions. Maintaining common values and making progress toward credible goals is the secret of success.
Key Principle of a Leader #41: Know when to quit
If doing the work you do at present is boring and there’s no spring in your step, summon your courage and give up the money.
Key Principle of a Leader #40: People matter, not numbers
A number is a yardstick and nothing more. The point of life and endeavors is to be engaged in things and topics that we care about and bring us happiness.
Key Principle of a Leader #39: Time flies for the dedicated worker
If you do work that’s exciting, you can completely lose track of time. Employers who can offer employees work that is exciting and full of substance don’t have to worry about their motivation. View all the the key principles of a leader from our blog or YouTube channel.
Key Principle of a Leader #38: There are no dumb questions
Asking, arguing and expressing opinions are just about the most important things for a company’s esprit de corps. Otherwise groupthink will result, and affects the quality of the decisions made.
Key Principle of a Leader #37: Today’s achievements are tomorrow’s norm
Lifting the same weight a second time is harder but it’s also human nature to try harder. If you’ve reached your goal, it’s customary to keep on moving and lift new weights.
Key Principle of a Leader #36: Estonia is not the belly button of the world
National boundaries are part of ethnic identity, not the domain of business. If you want to know your business well, you have to be able to see farther.
Key Principle of a Leader #35: Don’t mix work and private life
Important! Mixing up personal and professional life can do serious damage to your health. If you habitually take your work home and act like you’re running a company at home or if the work gets in the way of your hobbies, see a GP without delay.
Key Principle of a Leader #34: Set a good example outside the work environment
Heed my actions, not my words. A manager is also a manager in their free time. Even in case of a great temptation to do something really bad, you have to show restraint. View all the the key principles of a leader from our blog.
Key Principle of a Leader #33: I will try to be the best
You can become a professional in your field if you enjoy what you do. Those who know what they want and what they really like are the fortunate ones.
Key Principle of a Leader #32: Cancel all unnecessary meetings
Have a meeting when you need to get some clarity on the activity or goal. But the more meetings, the less clarity and time you have to get to goals. View all the the key principles of a leader from our blog.
Key Principle of a Leader #31: Don’t be afraid of making unpopular decisions
Don’t be afraid of making unpopular decisions. If you as a manager don’t, no one will! Many decisions made by managers are unpopular – they force someone to exert themselves more, stick to the rules or give status reports on the work.
Key Principle of a Leader #30: Overpaid workers are as ineffective as underpaid
The thing about work is that it’s important to dedicate yourself to the activity and the goal and under no circumstance to just earning money. When we’re working, we shouldn’t be distracted by an empty stomach (“I have to find something better-paying”), or extra pounds (“Why am I slaving away, I’ve got enough money as…
Key Principle of a Leader #29: Trusting and delegating are essential
If we want our customers and partners to trust us, we have to trust our own people and company at least just as much. No organization is able to get around dividing roles and responsibility, not even the smallest organizations.
Key Principle of a Leader #28: Listening and understanding is harder than speaking
You learn from listening and you learn less when you’re talking. The greater your responsibility, the more people on your team, and the more you have to take them into consideration and listen to them.
Key Principle of a Leader #27: Overtime requests may reflect ineptitude
Working overtime isn’t an indicator of enthusiasm. Instead, it means that we were unable to plan our activities or that we want to squeeze out the last drop. 🙁
Key Principle of a Leader #26: I have no fear of responsibility
A manager has to have enough courage and confidence in their decision-making. The manager has to trust themselves and be sure that they are able to carry out the decisions taken. The manager has to be able to include their team in the decision-making and do so in a way where the entire team is…
Key Principle of a Leader #25: Make sure, that tasks and roles are attributed fair and square
If management and employees have a different view of the right and fair division of roles, this will lead to resistance and conflict. An analytical and pragmatic manager is likely to be able to make the right decision, but the division of roles must be fair and comprehensible for team members as well.
Key Principle of a Leader #24: A leader should always look in a mirror
Foul-ups will happen at work 🤓. If you want to know who’s to blame in the latest foul-up, look in the mirror. Did you give your subordinates good enough instructions, tools and possibilities for successfully fulfilling the task?
Key Principle of a Leader #23: Tired workers are poor performers. Give them some days off.
Progress won’t be made if the job is in the hands of a tired worker, and they’re also a security risk to the company. Similarly to a fatigued driver, a tired worker can commit simple lapses or cause significant damage for a company.
Key Principle of a Leader #22: Excellent performance requires better rewarding
The ones who do their work with enthusiasm and whose goal to develop professionally and realize their abilities generally also earn a higher salary. In general, they don’t work for money but for self-actualization.
Key Principle of a Leader #21: Bigger responsibility means a bigger paycheck
Even if it seems that managers seem to have the luxury of sitting back, they are ultimately completely responsible for the employees’ – and the company’s – results. They have to be able to get the machine working so that people are content and profit is rolling in.
Key Principle of a Leader #20: Relatives shouldn’t work together
Blood is thicker than water and that is pretty certain to affect the quality of decisions. We simply don’t see or don’t want to see the flaws in those closest to us. At the same time, unequal treatment of employees and back-room decision making become problems, like it or not.
Key Principle of a Leader #19: All job categories and assignments are important
It’s essential to emphasize that every position in important in a company. Even the employee with the most complicated function, on which the most is riding, has to understand that they aren’t the only one doing work.
Key Principle of a Leader #18: There are no inept workers, you just have to assign the right duties
All people are good people if they do the work that is suitable for them. Unfortunately, as people we often have the wrong idea of what we’re good at. We call that wishful thinking. We deceive ourselves by considering ourselves someone else – manager, guide, king….
Key Principle of a Leader #17: A leader walks the tightrope
Managing is an unceasing search for balance and maintaining the balance. Managing is like walking a tightrope – you need to find the balance between the many ways to fall.
Key Principle of a Leader #16: Concentrate on goals, not on the means to achieve those.
A shovel in itself is a useless thing – you need a hole. The means helps you reach the end, but the means is not the end. In life, everyone is often busy doing what they’re doing and they lose sight of the agreed-upon goal.
Key Principle of a Leader #15: Team must operate efficiently in leader’s absence
The company’s work has to be organized so that everything functions even in the manager’s absence. It isn’t the manager’s job to do the work themselves.
Key Principle of a Leader #14: A leader is always a bit lonely
A manager might jokingly be compared to a meat patty in a hamburger – employees on one side and employees on the other. A manager is the link between the two sides, the translator of information and filter between them.
Key Principle of a Leader #13: Let subordinates lead subordinates
If you’re a team manager and leader, it isn’t permissible for your direct supervisor to give assignments to your team members – even if your boss has informed you of it. Your motivation dips into the negative and your team won’t understand what’s going on.
Key Principle of a Leader #12: Praise in public, criticize in private
Praise and criticism are part of everyday work. Take note of the little successes, too, and let the people who achieved them know. In a situation where things don’t work and people can’t get on with the work, the manager has to display humanity and caring even when chastising employees.
Key Principle of a Leader #11: When on vacation, leave work behind
A fast pace of life blurs the boundaries between rest time and work. It especially affects people who are officially responsible for the company 24/7, such as management board members. There are fewer and fewer people who can “unplug” when they go on holiday.
Key Principle of a Leader #10: Perseverance is the answer
Business is not a lottery and miracles occur only rarely. It isn’t important what you do. It’s how you do it! Even in a very competitive area of activity, it’s possible to achieve great results. To do so, you need to be better than the others. That takes time, though.
Key Principle of a Leader #9: Don’t play favorites with subordinates
A good manager is able to evaluate all team members using the same yardstick. One who uses different standards will end up building a monarch’s court instead of a team. Favourites on a team cause a situation where the manager’s decisions are biased. View all the the key principles of a leader from our YouTube…
Key Principle of a Leader #8: Hire people smarter than you
Even a very good manager can’t be a specialist in all areas. Therefore, responsibility should be shared. A manager and their employees must make up a team whose members trust one another and help and support one another.
Key Principle of a Leader #7: I can be replaced
The company’s managers inevitably have much influence. Power can be intoxicating, however. Competence and decision-making power shouldn’t be concentrated in the hands of one person in the organization.
Key Principle of a Leader #6: Dreams and ideas bear fruit
The company’s vision is like a shared dream. Once the vision is in place, it’s easier to attain the goals together. The more employees are dreaming together with you, the better. View all the the key principles of a leader from our YouTube channel or blog.
Key Principle of a Leader #5: Nobody should put spokes in your wheels
Any sort of backbiting in the organization has to be out of the question – this principle becomes more and more important the bigger the organization is. Teams have to have a good ethic and commitment to reaching the goal. It requires clear and understandable assignments, and also mutual trust and respect. We use the…
Key Principle of a Leader #4: An organization without a leader is a pipedream
It’s true that a company has to be able to operate without a direct leader. The longer, the better. That’s assuming that everyone knows what to do when and how to do it. Unfortunately – ‘or fortunately – life is unpredictable. Thus, during a certain period, it will always be necessary to make changes to…
Key Principle of a Leader #3: Expenses are always too high
Keeping costs under control is something that has to be dealt with constantly. Expenses have an amazing quality of growing imperceptibly, especially when the company is doing well. View all the the key principles of a leader from our YouTube channelor blog.
Key Principle of a Leader #2: Sales are always too low
Sales are the driving force behind a company. Maintaining strong sales is the hardest part of business. Even if sales figures are good enough that you don’t need to expend effort today, it’s hard to recover once sales take a downturn.
Key Principle of a Leader #1: One should never belittle any competitors.
Simple, clear and concise principles that are especially important for working as a manager. On the basis of our own (VVT) experiences. We’ve created a small series of tips. This is the first set of principles. For distribution free of charge. View all the the key principles of a leader from our YouTube channel…
Äripäev: From time to time, every manager needs to be relieved
In every company, emergencies occur when a temporary external manager would be of help, says Martin Schneider, the CEO of interim agency Brainforce Group in Germany and Switzerland.
