Are you a manage or leader?

LEADERS and managers obviously have one thing in common they lead or manage teams; but as their titles suggest there are differences between leaders and managers.

As an executive search consultant I have interviewed many senior executives over the years and most of them have indicated that they would prefer to be led than to be managed.

However, I have observed that as an organisation grows it is almost impossible to scale up without a strong management structure. As such, I believe that leadership and management both have a part to play in the growth of an organisation.

The manager

My first encounter with a manager was on my first job. I was fresh out of school and had no knowledge of how an office operated let alone how to use the computer which ran the now obsolete Wordstar programme. I was in awe of my manager. She seemed to know where everything was and always spoke confidently regardless of whom she was addressing. She would also set our targets, monitor our progress and discipline us when necessary. If we accept the definition of a manager as one who directs and controls, then I would say that she played her role well but I found that I was doing the job because I had to and not because I wanted to. My manager was not concerned about engagement as long as we met our targets and would not entertain any queries that would challenge the norm. Whilst I didn't feel that she was someone I could confide in, I certainly respected her discipline and commitment to her job.

The leader

We have all come across leaders who have inspired us at some point in our lives. In comparison with the manager I mentioned earlier, the managing director of the same company was someone who was out to change the world. She was absolutely passionate about what she believed in and her passion was infectious. She spoke with such clarity of thought that I never questioned her beliefs and was glad to work weekends and long hours to be a part of something bigger than myself. Suffice to say that she was an inspiring individual who has influenced my professional and personal life even until today.

The difference

Warren Bennis lists the following comparisons between a manager and a leader in “On Becoming a Leader,” which was published in 1989:

• The manager administers; the leader innovates.
• The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. The manager maintains; the leader develops.
• The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
• The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
• The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
• The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
• The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader's eye is on the horizon.
• The manager imitates; the leader originates.
• The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
• The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
• The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

As such, we can conclude that not all managers are leaders and some managers may never become leaders. Whilst many of us have come across individuals commonly known as “born-leaders,” who simply thrive in situations that call for a leader to step up to the plate, there are also many who made the transition from manager to leader. This then begs the question: How does one make the shift from a manager mindset to that of a leader?

Given that any kind of change takes time and usually uncomfortable if not painful, I would offer these six areas as the first step in the transition process from manager to leader.

Something bigger than themselves: A leader usually has a cause to champion. A manager who strives to make this transition would have to find something that he or she strongly believes in, in the context of their own organisations or field of expertise. This could include something they feel needs to be changed or an innovative idea they want to see implemented. For instance, a regional sales director whom I interviewed as a potential candidate for an executive search project shared with me that he was hired by his current employer to develop the market for the company's products in Malaysia. However, he felt that there wasn't sufficient demand for their products in one country and he expanded the customer base into China. He successfully created a whole new market for the company and needless to say he was given a promotion for his achievements.

A strategic mindset: A potential leader would also benefit from developing a more strategic view of the business and the industry in which they operate in. For example, managers are usually focused on a function such as finance, sales or human resource. A manager who wants to transition into the realm of a leader would first need to understand how his or her role as a manager adds value to the entire company, the community and the industry. When a manager is able to see the bigger picture, then better decisions can be made that would benefit the business rather than the individual.

Ability to multi-task effectively: Most leaders have the innate ability to deal with many things at once. I'm not referring to being on the laptop or smartphone while meetings are going on, as this will probably be more distracting that productive. Multi-tasking effectively deals more with being able to group similar tasks together and work on more than one item at a time. When there is downtime, this period can then be used to review new information or put together a new group of tasks to be kicked-off next.

Recognising trends: A leader is generally able to see patterns and trends in seemingly unimportant data, even without the help of customer relationship management software tools. They are able to make sense of information whilst managers are often only capable of data gathering and some basic analysis of the information captured.

Long term vs short term: Leaders have a long-term view of the company's direction and the macro factors that affect the business. Their broader view of the situation also gives them an added advantage when dealing with obstacles as they are able to see beyond the immediate issue and make more informed decisions. On the other hand, managers may only deal with short- to medium-term goals and this lack of foresight may limit their ability to make decisions as compared with the strategic view that a leader is able to take.

Ability to communicate effectively: Communication is without a doubt one of the most important skills a leader must develop. Ideally, a leader would be someone who can communicate in a clear message by being both tactful and direct at the same time. A manager without sufficient foresight or empathy tends to be more directive and concise in delivering a message.

Would organisations prefer to hire managers or leaders?

In my view, an organisation needs both managers and leaders for sustainable success. Leaders are usually the ones we see in the limelight, who are highly influential in an organisation. They are also the ones who inspire the rest of the team with their good performance, passion or superb knowledge of an industry. However, they are usually not the ones who would get into the details and execution of projects. This is not an issue for organisations with sufficient structure and headcount to support these leaders but organisations with very leaner teams need leaders who can be hands-on when necessary; failing which the organisation would require the skills and expertise of good managers to fill the gaps. Therefore, in a world where many individuals are able to operate as either a manager or a leader; the ability to wear both the manager and leader hats interchangeably is a highly sought-after commodity.

Talking HR by Pauline NG

Pauline Ng, the managing director of BTI Consultants, encourages all managers who want to become leaders to make the transition but to keep their “manager hats” handy.

Good property management, maintenance add value

Stratified developments becoming a way of life

As stratified developments become a way a life, good maintenance and management have become an issue.

 

EARLIER this year, a new set of property managers replaced the previous one in the condominium that Siti lives. Not having a current account, she paid her quarterly management fees in cash. She was told that the receipt would be put in her postbox. It never came and she soon discovered that the property management company had absconded with the money.

As stratified developments which include condominiums, service apartments and gated and guarded projects become a way of life, good maintenance and management have become an issue.

Good management and maintenance will improve the value of the asset. This applies to all segments of the property market, be it residential, commercial or industrial.

Hence, the third reading of the Strata Management Bill 2012 on Monday is crucial, says Assoc-Prof Ting Kien Hwa, head of Centre for Real Estate Research at Universiti Teknologi Mara.

“Currently, property management is part of a service provided by valuers, who are regulated by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents.

The work of valuers can be broadly divided into three areas property management, valuation work and real estate agency work.

This means that property management is a regulated profession and delinquents risk having their licence suspended.

For the last five to six years, managing stratified properties has become an issue, he says. As more of us live in gated and guarded developments, and high rise condominium and serviced apartments, property management is evolving to become a lucrative industry.

Ting says the Board of Valuers is in the process of creating a third register to accommodate property managers. Valuers and real estate agents are governed by two registers and the Board of Valuers are working on creating a third one for property managers.

Says Ting: “This is a similar situation as in the early 1980s when there were many illegal real estate agents. They were given a one-year period to register with the board.”

Ting says the duty and responsibilities of property managers go beyond just collecting money and managing a property. The word “managing” covers a whole gamut of expertise and responsibilities. These include insurance valuation, the appropriate rate of service charges to levy on owners, managing service providers like security guards and cleaners, gardeners and managing tenants and rental rates among other duties.

Depending on whether it is a residential or commercial property, some issues may overlap.

To claim that valuers want to monopolise the property management industry is incorrect, Ting says.

“Some parties say they want to liberalise' the profession. Just as engineers and architects are regulated by the Institute of Engineers and Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia respectively, so property managers are regulated by the Board of Valuers because property management is part of the work of valuers. This is the situation in the United States, Britain and Australia. Shall we then liberalise' the achitecture and engineering profession by allowing more people who are untrained to practise as architects and engineers because architects and engineers are monopolising' the industry?” Ting asks.

Ting says this argument to liberalise the profession and cut out the monopoly does not hold water at all.

He says there are currently 8,000 trained property managers in the country and every year, 450 more graduates enter the job market.

The local public universities provided courses in property management in the late 1960s because they knew there would be a need for this.

Malaysian Institute of Professional Property Managers president Ishak Ismail says: “The Government was visionary enough to foresee a time when stratified housing will become part of the Malaysian property landscape. The first condominium was Desa Kuda Lari in the KLCC area.

“Today about four million people live in stratified projects. About 80% of all the stratified projects are managed by joint management bodies and management committees. About 20% are outsourced and of this about 58% are managed by illegal property managers.”

Ishak said over and above the various issues that fall under property management, two sets of skills are needed the hard skills in managing the property and the soft skills in people management.

He says there is a need to put in the proper regulations to regulate property managers in order to improve the value of our property assets. There must be no conflict of interest because it involves public money, be it house owners or tenants of commercial properties, he says.

By THEAN LEE CHENG The Star

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08 Nov 2012
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World's Simplest Management Secret

08 Nov 2012

Is property building management a professional?

Have separate board 

WE refer to the letter “Leave it to professionals”, (see article below) on the issue of strata management.

Building management is not a profession: it is a multi-disciplinary management function encompassing a wide range of skills such as engineering, architecture, accounting, law, vocational skills, etc.

It cannot and should not be the exclusive domain of any particular profession like registered valuers.

No country has laws that specify that only registered valuers admitted as property managers pursuant to Section 21(1)(a) of the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act, 1981 (VAEA Act) can undertake property management.

To put things in perspective, the Building Management Association of Malaysia (BMAM) is not objecting to registered valuers managing stratified properties.

What we are strongly opposed to is the creation of a monopoly favouring registered valuers if the Bill is signed into law in its present form.

The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents is offering to open a sub-register for non-valuer managing agents to be admitted as property managers.

We are not accepting the board’s proposal as it would only further entrench its monopoly over property management, given that the admission, suspension and even eventual deregistration of non-valuer property managers will be at the sole discretion of the board.

We are calling for the establishment of a separate multi-disciplinary Board of Building Managers under the jurisdiction of the Housing and Local Government Ministry with regulatory support from the Commissioner of Buildings (COB).

There are more than 4,000 stratified projects (80% of them residential) in Malaysia at the moment, and about five million Malaysians belonging to the low and middle income groups live in them.

Since the common properties and facilities in the flat and apartment premises cannot be sold or subdivided and are meant for the exclusive use of the residents, all that the owners need is a building manager to maintain the common areas and facilities, and not a property manager whose portfolio includes leasing, collection of rent, promotion of sales, etc.

A building manager appointed by the joint management body (JMB) or management corporation (MC) upon mutually agreed terms and conditions of scope of work and remuneration would be significantly cheaper than a property manager whose fees are subject to a schedule under the VAEA Act.

The building manager is only expected to carry out his duties and responsibilities according to the terms and conditions of his appointment as well as the instructions of the JMB or MC Management Committee.

All fiduciary responsibilities, particularly the management of the Building Fund Account, are undertaken by the JMB or MC pursuant to the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act, 2007 and the Strata Titles Act, 1985.

These records are submitted to the COB every year after the annual general meeting.

PROF S. VENKATESWARAN
Secretary General
Building Management Association of Malaysia

Leave it to professionals

THE public deserves an unbiased understanding beyond the shadow play leading up to the third reading of the Strata Management Bill 2012 in parliament.

The proposed Act stipulates that a managing agent for stratified property must first be free from any potential conflict of interest (i.e. independent) and secondly, a registered property manager.

The Act replaces the Building and Common Property Act, which did not emphasise that such functions are to be performed by a registered property manager.

The key problem is that property management at present is also practised by an unregulated group and such parties are not accountable to a regulatory body unlike registered persons i.e. property professionals or chartered surveyors.

The new Act aims to rectify this disparity by uniformly regulating all property managers of stratified properties.

Under the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act (VAEA), a Registered Property Manager must possess:

1) An academic qualification from an approved institution of higher learning or recognised professional examinations; and

2) Pass the Test of Professional Competence set by the regulating body.

These robust standards and established processes are aimed towards registering professionals of sound qualifications and adequate competency levels.

A registered property manager is continuously subjected to a code of conduct, professional standards and various stipulations under VAEA to ensure they discharge their duties in a manner that serves the public adequately and to the highest possible industry standards.

The registration of property managers and firms is undertaken by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (board).

The board, a governmental regulatory body under the purview of the Finance Ministry, was set up in 1981 to regulate Estate Agents, Valuers, Appraisers and Property Managers in Malaysia.

It is legislatively empowered to deal with complaints from the public and take disciplinary action against any errant registered persons or firms, including stripping them of their licence and barring them from further practice, amongst other possible disciplinary measures.

Given the established competency requirements and standards imposed on registered property managers, I cannot see beyond reasonable logic for such professionals to utterly fail in their professional duties to a joint management corporation, management corporation or individual owner.

The board, in the spirit of laissez-faire, has opened the registration of property managers to include these non-regulated practitioners.

Property management was always the domain of property professionals but only in recent history, primarily property developers and others have set up property management businesses to rival property professionals for the property management trade but in an unregulated fashion, taking advantage of the limitations of statutes. This is where the battle lies and the public should take notice.

If a non-regulated practitioner wishes to practise as a property manager in efforts to legally comply with the greater standards as demanded by the new Act, I cannot see why they should shy away and not readily subject themselves through the established process and competency test in order to become a registered property manager.

The process is not designed to penalise individuals but to assess if a candidate has the required level of competency, in order to be accountable to the public as a practising professional.

The merit of regulating the property management profession far outweighs any self-serving agenda, and the public must insist for high standards in lieu of the nation’s Vision 2020 agenda.

To the lawmakers and members of Parliament, my plea is to make the right decisions in cognisance of standards, accountability and professionalism.

The last thing we want is a mushrooming of “urban slums” in our beautiful country.

A. PADMAN  Kuala Lumpur - The Star, Nov 5 2012

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