| McKinsey Classics | October 2019 |
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| In the Industrial Revolution’s heyday, frontline managers supervised operations, enforced standards and procedures, reported operational results, and escalated complex problems to higher levels. Leadership (as opposed to supervision) wasn’t required—or even, very often, wanted. This managerial model was suited to the mass manufacture of standard products in standard ways, and it prevailed in many service industries too.
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| But in today’s advanced economies, that’s no longer enough. Frontline managers should be more than cogs in the system; empowering them can improve a company’s overall productivity, agility, and profitability. The key is to help frontline managers become true leaders, with the time, the skills, and the desire to help workers understand the company’s direction and its implications for themselves, and to coach them individually. To learn how your business can adopt a leadership model suited to the new economy, read our 2009 classic “Unlocking the potential of frontline managers.”
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| Did You Miss Our Previous McKinsey Classics? |
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| As Peter Drucker wrote, “Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.” To learn how your company can manage time, read our 2013 classic “Making time management the organization’s priority.” |
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