Christmas... The richly decorated Christmas trees, carefully wrapped gifts, excited children and a touch of magic in the air... But what would Christmas be without the legendary “Santa” ? The big guy dressed in red, adored by young and old alike, is the key figure in this much-loved event. To bring joy to children all around the world, he has perfected every key stage of his strategy, from the recruitment of his elves, to the logistics of his sleigh not forgetting his close attention to his special “chimney” diet. Santa could teach us all a great deal about management!
1. He unites his teams, focusing them on a shared project
What’s Santa’s secret for a successful Christmas? His team of course!
Santa is smart: he knows that a strong team spirit is his key strength and he ensures that he motivates and energises all members of his little band. Where would he be without his little elves, who make the gifts all year round? Or without Mrs Christmas, to whom he delegates all kinds of tasks to improve productivity? Or without his amazing reindeer, who carry him from one region to another in the blink of an eye?
Santa understands that it’s by displaying trust in his team and encouraging his workers that he fosters a team spirit. With this in mind, he communicates with his team, displaying a clear vision of the task at hand along with measurable objectives and a set deadline. His objective? Quite simply to ensure that the world’s 2.2 billion children should all receive their gifts early in the morning of 25th December!
2. He encourages a kindly attitude and exemplary behaviour
Developing a team spirit... This is another important lesson in management revealed by our beloved Santa. That’s why he organises special “Christmas” karaoke sessions every Thursday evening with his team members. He’s a pro when it comes to teambuilding!
As well as fully assuming his responsibilities as a manager, with his many public appearances he has fully understood that it’s important to firstly get the opinion of all his little helpers. Thanks to his kindly and directive (or rather paternalistic) behaviour, he inspires his team, giving them a sense of security. Guiding others is second nature to him. And in doing so, he sets a good example, never being afraid to roll up his sleeves and get involved in making the toys himself if his little elves have fallen behind when a surprise order comes in.
Santa is, therefore, a showcase for a benevolent management style, forging a family spirit in his team along with respect for others. That’s his secret for ensuring that his team stays motivated all year round!
3. He supervises every stage of the project
Santa has a colossal task ahead of him... That of bringing joy to children all around the world! To meet this objective, he is resolutely results-focused. He readily delegates tasks where he can, dividing his team into several sections: the logistics section with its elves wearing their pointy hats, the cookie-making section run by Mrs Christmas and finally the sleigh traction section, a task handled by his trusty reindeer. Like any good manager, he involves his staff at every key stage both in terms of production and decision-making. In the gift production workshop, each elf is assigned a precise task.
To ensure the results are achieved within the required deadline (Santa can’t distribute his gifts on the 26th of December), he scrupulously monitors the work and the state of progress of each team member.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/S8M2S314y2s.jpg?itok=DvNG1r5t","video_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8M2S314y2s","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"730","height":"411","autoplay":1},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive, autoplaying)."]}