What is Management by Wandering Around (MBWA)?

If you are a CEO or a manager, you need to have a connection with the team you are leading. When you are connected to your team, you will get to understand your team members, stay updated about what is happening and find solutions for suitable needs. It will eventually affect the success of your entire organisation.

Management by Wandering Around (MBWA) is a management technique which enables employers and managers to connect with their staff. It involves literally walking around, interacting with staff, asking questions and offering help where needed. 

 

Why MBWA is good for your organisation

Trust: You will improve trust once your team gets more comfortable around you. As a result, you are likely to share more information with them, therefore eliminating communication barriers.

Approachability: When people start seeing you as one of them, they are more likely to talk to you about their issues. You will also get to know about problems before they become worse.

Accountability: As you communicate more freely with your staff, it will be easier to hold them accountable to their responsibilities.

Business knowledge: Getting consistent information and feedback from your team will give you a better idea of how to run your organisation. This will likely result in higher productivity.

Morale: When people know that their ideas and opinions are appreciated, they are likely to have higher morale.

 MBWA focuses on a manager that cares about the wellbeing of their staff.

How to put MWBA into action

But, MBWA is not just simply about walking through your workplace. MBWA is about a sincere desire to understand your employees, their roles and what can be done to improve their effectiveness. These are some tips on how to apply MBWA in your organisation:

 

1. Practice 'active listening' 

When it comes to MBWA, listening is a vital skill. But, If you want to become a better listener, you need to apply active listening. You should pay attention to whoever is speaking and read their body language.

This way, you will know what is being said beyond the words. Don't be tempted to interrupt the speaker before they finish their sentence. After listening, you can then provide a respectful and sincere response to what was said.  

 

2. Relax

If you're having overly serious and formal conversations with your employees, you will only receive rigid and cold responses. What you should do instead is to lighten up when talking with your team. When your employees sense your relaxed self, they will feel more comfortable to respond to you.

 

3. Allocate your time equally 

Resist the temptation to spend more time in some departments than others. You do not want to give the impression of favouritism. Also, don't only talk to people of a specific job rank. You should provide equal access to everyone, despite their job position.

MBWA is a way for managers to be more approachable.

4. Hold meetings 'on location'

While walking around the office, you can actually have meetings with team members at their work stations. When in familiar surroundings, your team members are likely to be more comfortable and willing to open up.

 

5. Offer spontaneous recognition

Find the employees who are doing a magnificent job and commend them on the spot. Public appreciation of their efforts will go a long way in raising their morale. Though, if you're addressing mistakes, make sure you're doing it in private.

 

6. Chat casually

Don't limit your communications to only business matters. Have casual chats with your workers, for example,  ask them about their hobbies or get to know more about themselves and their family. Bonding at a personal level will considerably improve relationships with your team.

 

These are the tips on how to manage by wandering around, keep in mind that it is not the same as playing a manager who walks around to make sure everyone does their job. It's more about being an approachable manager who is always there for their employees.

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Source: Career Addict

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