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The Global Insight

Is management by walking around good?

Author

Michael Gray

Updated on March 05, 2026

Management by Wandering Around can be an effective and practical way to keep up with what’s happening within your team and your organization. Make the effort to reach out and build relationships with your people. This can pay off significantly with the information that you’ll gather and the trust that you’ll build.

What is the main aim of management by walking around?

The purpose of this exercise is to collect qualitative information, listen to suggestions and complaints, and keep a finger on the pulse of the organization. Also called management by walking around. Management by Walking Around is a term coined by management guru Tom Peters.

What does managing by walking around give leaders a chance to do?

Instead, they can use a leadership tactic known as Management By Walking Around, also known as Management By Wandering Around (MBWA). Using MBWA, they explore where they work in a way that teaches them more about their jobs, their companies and their fellow employees. That knowledge will make them better managers.

What is management by wandering around and why would it be useful to project managers?

What is Management by Wandering Around? Through face-to-face interactions, project managers are able to stay in touch with what is really going on in the project and build cooperation essential to project success.

What are the components of management by walking around MBWA )?

There are three elements, which are essential for the style: walking around, striking up conversations, and creating networks. These are the key objectives the management must focus on in order to implement an MBWA strategy.

Why is management by walking around MBWA considered effective communication?

MBWA can help you better understand what is happening in the organization and to create an environment of authentic and open communication. It can help create a more meaningful relationship between the management and the subordinates, which can lead to enhancing the organizational efficiency.

What does walking around mean in Business Management?

Management by wandering around or walking around refers to a style of business management which involves the manager well – ‘wandering around’ – in an unstructured manner. Now this doesn’t mean, walking around merely observing almost like some sort of overlord.

How does management by walking around ( MBWA ) work?

In his book, Peters outlined three components behind successful MBWA. According to Peters, the method works when: Managers listen to people – You can’t just walk around and talk, but you have to listen to what subordinates are telling you. As a manager, you have to become good at reading the subtle signs people are telling you.

Is it easy to manage staff by walking around?

Managing your staff is not easy. You are dealing with all kinds of personalities and if you are handling a big team, it could be very hard to divide your attention among each one of them. Management by Walking Around or Management By Wandering Around (MBWA) is a management style that is slowing making noise in the management world.

How is management by walking around helps you improve your management style?

Learn how management by wandering around can help you improve your management style. A technique was used by Steve Jobs and Howard Schultz. Management by wandering around or walking around refers to a style of business management which involves the manager well – ‘wandering around’ – in an unstructured manner.