Be a Manager or Surrender
- Category: Reviews
- Date 07-09-2022
- 448 views
“There Is A Way - How To Manage A Manager” portrays the joy, fulfillment and challenges associated with gainful employment today. Life is about management and leadership. At the helm of every society where both individual and societal goals must be met, there are always people to give a sense of direction. Whereas management consists of controlling a group to accomplish the set goals, leadership refers to an individual’s ability to motivate, influence and enable others to contribute towards the organizations’ success. There is power and influence in both leadership and management.
Venansio Ahabwe handles the subject of management in an unorthodox manner for he questions the notion that management is a top-down system where the ‘manager’ exercises power and control to influence the ‘managed’ in pursuit of an entity’s goals. Whereas the power and authority exercised may appear absolute at times, this influence is hinged on the mindset of ‘the managed’. Therefore, an employee can influence how an employer treats them.
It is said that ‘experience is the worst teacher’ because it turns things upside down; ‘experience starts by giving a test to the learner, and thereafter, gives a lesson’. Ahabwe writes from a wealth of experience as a manager and a subordinate, from where he draws lessons that make many a reader relate closely with the book’s subject matter. He thus states, “… the key issues handled in the book have been symbolised and personified through many imaginary characters and incidents that that would appear in a typical workplace.”
The book deals with the modern-day dilemma of employment. The importance of deliberate efforts to create and sustain healthy relationships both at the workplace and family level should never be underestimated if a person is to live a fulfilled and fulfilling life. The golden rule of management is, ‘manage others the way you like to be managed’. This cliché resonates in the mind of the reader when reading this book. The episodes and anecdotes therein relate well with what occurs in many workplaces; positivity, creativity and solidarity on one hand, and pessimism, pretense and intrigue on the other. An organisation’s growth, stagnation or collapse arises from here, and this book provides pertinent answers. A key issue that Venansio Ahabwe decodes is that most books about management are suited to the interests of managers. Yet, workplace relationships should be ‘a two-way traffic’ - catering for workers both at the bottom and top ends of an organisation’s hierarchy - for the benefit of both the organisation and its staff.
Ahabwe does not call for timidity at work. In fact, his book never falls short of inspirations. Each chapter ends with various citations in relation to the topic at hand. To all readers, even unkeen ones, there is a lesson, which is also graphically illustrated, and this witty twist to the book makes it easy and enjoyable. However, there is excessive use of quotations and scriptural references which some readers may find tedious.
The reader cannot miss Ahabwe’s scathing attack on how contemporary Africans handle the issue of death and funeral rites. In the poem, “Let No One Lie, When I Die” he expresses his views on life and immortality and displays contempt for a pompous funeral.
In this book, the author precisely uses simple style and language to propagate the view that institutional and individual fulfillment always lies not just in the hands of the managed but also of the manager. The book treats the subject of management from a new and interesting perspective. I found it handy. You too will.
Review by Jude Andrew Abaho
Source: The Observer
The reviewer, Jude Andrew Abaho, is Senior Education Officer and volunteer at Nyarushanje Community Library in Rukungiri District.