Effective Multi-unit Leadership. Local Leadership in Multi-site Situations

Citation

Nolan, S. (2013), "Effective Multi-unit Leadership. Local Leadership in Multi-site Situations", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 12 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2013.37212caa.011

Effective Multi-unit Leadership. Local Leadership in Multi-site Situations

Effective Multi-unit Leadership. Local Leadership in Multi-site Situations

Article Type: Recommended reading From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 12, Issue 3

Chris EdgerGower Applied Business ResearchISBN: 978-1-4094-2432-1 (hbk),ISBN: 978-1-4094-2433-8 (ebk – PDF),ISBN: 978-1-4094-6072-5 (ebk-ePUB)

This book is specifically addressing leadership within multi-unit enterprises – organizations with geographically dispersed branches or units, such as retail outlets, banks, hotels, restaurants, shops or leisure facilities, that are grouped and managed by area. According to the author, these organizations dominate the service sector, which represents a significant chunk of employment and gross value added (GVA) in developed countries.

Leaders within such organizations, such as area managers, retail operations managers or regional business managers, therefore have a considerable role to play in developed economies. Their roles are complex in that they involve balancing the standards and requirements of central control with the intricacies of local implementation and management. In recent years, the service sector has come under huge pressure, facing challenges from online retailers, the recession and changing consumer demands, and its leaders today have the added challenge of dealing with uncertainty and change.

A practical model

It is against this background that the author has gathered together academic findings and case study research to discuss effective multi-unit leadership. Professor Edger holds the chair of Multi-Unit Leadership at Birmingham City Business School, Birmingham City University, UK, as well as teaching at Warwick Business School, UK. In addition he has over 20 years of experience of senior leisure and retail multi-unit operations, having held area management, operations director and sales MD positions.

This combination is reflected in the book, which balances academic theory with practical applications to create a practical model. It encompasses three behavioural practices – generating commitment, ensuring control and implementing change (3Cs) – and the personal characteristics of successful multi-unit leaders – expertise, emotional intelligence and energy (3Es) – as those that impact positively on activities and outcomes – service, systems and standards (3Ss). The model comes from the author’s research of multi-unit leaders and the recognition that the top quartile performers do things differently than their colleagues, and with a high degree of convergence. Each element is identified and accompanied with details of how they are achieved in practice, drawing on case studies to highlight particular processes and programs.

This is book is a detailed and informative read, but its layout and organization of information means that it can be broken in to units of learning. It can be used by multi-unit leaders looking to improve their own performance or by those responsible for training regional or area managers.

Sara NolanEditor, Strategic HR Review