Overcome the tyranny of the urgent by implementing a management style that responds to short-term needs without losing sight of long-term goals. In a fast-paced customer contact center environment, managers must often take immediate action to curtail service level degradation. They craft a quick solution to the problem, and if the solution works, they simply make it standard operating procedure. Unfortunately, these "fire fighting rules" rarely make good long-term solutions. Rather than manage in a maze of rules, the window style of management focuses on achieving both short- and long-term objectives by driving ownership and decision making to the level of greatest impact.

This article explains the differences between the maze and window styles of management. It provides a tool to assess your current management style and a step-by-step plan for migrating to a wide-open-windows approach. Using this article as a guide, you can focus your energy on demolishing barriers to excellence instead of building more!