Unmanaged: How Overmanaging Impedes Productivity and Taints Morale With Jack Skeels

The Cyber Business Podcast

Jack Skeels is the Founder and CEO of AgencyAgile, an organization that assists clients in creating a more collaborative, empowered, and inclusive workplace culture that brings out the best in teams. He has over a decade of experience working with agencies, digital shops, consultancies, and other project-driven organizations, driving them to achieve higher profits through productivity. Leveraging his background in finance, entrepreneurship, industrial engineering, and computer science, he delivers customized solutions that address the most endemic problems in the business world.

As the author of Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations, he synthesizes 50-plus years of behavioral and cognitive research insights with AgencyAgile's work with over 200 clients. In addition, Jack is a two-time Inc. 500 award winner.

In this episode…

In today's complex work environment, effective management plays a crucial role in facilitating team productivity. However, managers may sometimes inadvertently become an impediment to team performance. Leaders can help achieve the organization's goals and objectives by cultivating a high-performance team culture. So how can managers become positive forces within their businesses?

As a former executive, award-winning entrepreneur, and think-tank management scientist, Jack Skeels understands effective management techniques. Today, the way leaders manage is outdated and often carries negative connotations. In addition to finding excessive meetings and communications impede productivity, Jack notes that managers often burden themselves unnecessarily. To address this, he recommends giving workers more autonomy and utilizing their skills and talents to perform their daily tasks. Managers should only intervene when unsolvable problems arise, allowing employees to work more independently and effectively.

In this episode of The Cyber Business Podcast, Matthew Connor chats with Jack Skeels, Founder and CEO of AgencyAgile, about his book Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations. Jack reveals more of his research findings to explain the manager tax and how it impedes productivity, discusses how project management is misunderstood, and the inspiration behind founding AgencyAgile.