5 reasons why Santa Claus is the best manager!

Ho, ho, ho! Christmas is around the corner and so is the annual visit from Santa Claus, the central attraction of the festivities! While we eagerly await gifts from the North Pole, here’s a secret about Santa: behind the endearing persona and the flowing white beard, is the world’s best manager.

Intrigued? 

When we’re busy enjoying our downtime with friends and family, Santa is single-handedly overseeing a world-wide operation, with a smile on his face, no less! Read on to know how Papa Christmas makes massive amounts of work seem like cakewalk… in a way only the best managers do. And who knows, maybe we’ll pick up some valuable lessons along the way!

Visible personal branding

Mr. Claus is a charismatic leader who maintains high visibility to ensure that he never goes out of style. Ahead of Christmas, his brand (image and name) can be seen everywhere, irrespective of linguistic and cultural barriers. Everybody – from eight to eighty years of age – knows who Santa Claus is and what he stands for!

Straightforward communication

He does not dish out any unpleasant surprises, hence people find it so easy to rely on Santa. In addition to his consistency, Papa Christmas, as he is lovingly called, has set his communication, brand message if you will, in stone: “Be good and you will be rewarded for it by the end of the year, be nasty and you won’t”. We all know what Santa expects from us and what we can expect from him. He is the ultimate Mr. Reliable, whose word is set in stone. As a result, both his subordinates and clients love him as they know they can rely on him.

He is an early mover

Santa might be old, however, he is quick to adopt new technology. There is no ‘it worked fine the old way, so why should we change?’ He possesses a natural curiosity, tries new things out and embraces change with open arms. He shared that his elves have been provided with some state of the art technology to help meet targets in a timely manner. Ever noticed how we’re getting the latest gadgets we requested for Christmas? That wouldn’t have been possible if Santa was not privy to an extremely dynamic world! Similarly, all successful managers are known to adapt promptly, especially in today’s challenging times, because what got you here definitely won’t get you to the next milestone.

He has streamlined all operations

Santa runs a productive and happy workplace, despite the intense pressure and numerous challenges, thanks to his style of working and the support of his employees.

He feels that workers are at the core of all leadership activities, hence he delegates extensively and avoids micromanaging them, encouraging them to share their knowledge with each other.

Nurturing talent

He manages a dedicated team of top-notch performers and doesn’t let the absence of one of his elves/ reindeer affect the end result, else we would have noticed it, right?

Santa knows that great performers don’t like to be taken for granted. Even though some may not admit it publicly, every good employee wants to be involved, recognised and rewarded. Santa uses specific techniques to make sure that his star performers’ motivation is always high. He gets them involved in decision-making, strategy-setting, procedure development and problem-solving.

He celebrates their accomplishments and successes while providing specialised training and other career development opportunities.