Through the Responsibility for the Future Initiative, we want to point out to the general public the importance of the responsible role that managers have towards future generations and the living environment
Difficult times breed good managers. How difficult it is to be a manager in Serbia and what the challenges in managing companies are today, we talked with Jelena Bulatović, the executive director of the Serbian Association of Managers.
What attracted you to management as a profession?
Many years ago, I saw a Genex calendar with a picture of the building where their then-New York office was located. For me, an elementary school student at the time, that picture and the thought of someone working there seemed like the ultimate success. That little thing consciously or subconsciously directed me to enroll first in the School of Economics and then in the Faculty of Economics, all with the desire that if I learned about external trade it would lead me in the direction of an executive position and frequent trips abroad, which in the 1980s and 1990s was everyone’s wish. I didn’t get to work at the Genex office in New York, but I did get to do that coveted executive job, as it would be more appropriate to say today, a managerial position. Putting those childhood fantasies aside, my real love for management came when I completed management training in my previous job and realized that with good management of people and processes, you can do a lot of good, not only for your organization but beyond it.
How have business conditions changed in Serbia in the last decade?
This was a turbulent decade, in terms of numerous events at the global level. One of the most impressive global phenomena was certainly the coronavirus pandemic, which brought new challenges, but also new ways of doing business. It was a kind of demonstrative exercise of all the knowledge and experience we had acquired and which we put into the function of “surviving” and preserving the business. During the pandemic, we saw how necessary constant education and broadening of horizons are in the management profession. Also, geopolitical events that shook the global market (the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the latest conflict between Israel and Palestine) led to global changes that also affected business in Serbia. The market changes every day and there is a need for new types of energy, new supply chains, new knowledge, and new angles of seeing the needs of society and how companies can satisfy them. Managers changed accordingly – I think for the better.
What does being a manager mean today? What do you think is the biggest challenge for managers working in Serbia?
Being a manager today still implies being the link between the owner and the employees. What has changed compared to some earlier times and what I like is the new, humane, and emotional component of today’s managers. Good managers and leaders are more aware in terms of empathy, and emotional and social intelligence. They are also more aware of their responsibility towards employees, the company, community, society, and future generations. Managers abroad and here must quickly adapt to changes and acquire new knowledge, understand and use digitization, new technologies, and artificial intelligence, invent new solutions and new business models, view their role and purpose globally, be responsible towards the community, society, and the planet and able not only to manage people but also to develop them and truly care for them. The list of requirements is long and expanding along with the changes, so it will be interesting to see in the next 10 years how managers will navigate the world of artificial intelligence and the new way of life and business.
The 17th annual assembly meeting of the Serbian Association of Managers (SAM) recently took place with a record number of members since its establishment. Which successes of SAM would you single out as the most important and why?
I think the first success is that we have survived 18 years, as well as that we have grown both in the number of members, activities, and programmes we implement and that we have developed as an organization in every respect. We have gained the trust of over 550 managers and this is a great success that also carries responsibility, but it is also proof that what we do has value and that our activities and programmes are something that the business community needs. We have remained faithful to the goals and purpose set by our founders, which is to constantly work to make Serbia a better place for life and work, not only for us but also for future generations. I believe that one of the successes of SAM is that we gather managers who want to share and give back to society the knowledge they have acquired through SAM and engagement in our Association, develop existing employees, and help create new ones, ready for the future.
Young members can attend the SAM Academy, which, along with mentoring, is our best programme for human development.
What sets SAM apart from similar associations that have companies as their members is the focus on the individual. The question we constantly ask ourselves is what can we do to further empower that individual? That is why the professional development and education of managers and young people is extremely important to us, and many of our activities are dedicated to this. Something we are particularly proud of is launching key events and programmes such as the Managers’ Forum, the SAM Annual Awards, and the SAM Academy, which truly promote our values and mission. SAM Academy is an outstanding educational programme, as our lecturers come from the world of business. These are over 30 leading, renowned managers and entrepreneurs, with domestic and international experience, who manage the most successful companies in Serbia. Lectures are created in line with the latest educational trends in managerial practice. A modern curriculum, with top business lecturers, is what sets SAM Academy apart from similar educational programmes in the market. In the end, we consider it a success that we have a good reputation as an association, and that many look up to us because, according to them, we gather the best people that the Serbian economy has.
What kind of support do young managers and entrepreneurs receive from SAM?
Young managers and entrepreneurs can develop themselves through many initiatives and activities we have. First of all, they can get a mentor who works with them throughout the year and helps them develop professionally and personally. There is nothing more valuable than speaking directly with a successful entrepreneur who has grown their company from a small entity to a large business. Or with a manager who is the CEO of a multinational company and who started their career 20 or 30 years ago. This is a huge advantage that our young members have. Also, young members can attend the SAM Academy, which, along with mentoring, is our best programme for professional development. Finally, through a special programme that brings together entrepreneurs, our experienced entrepreneurs share their entrepreneurial stories and thus help young entrepreneurs to persevere and develop and not falter in the initial years when their companies are going through growing pains. We believe that sharing experience, learning from other people’s mistakes, and learning from the best business practices is the greatest value that an association of managers can offer to its members and the general business public.
The 2023 SAM Annual Awards ceremony was held late last year. Considering who were the award recipients, what does the future of business in Serbia look like?
Last year’s winner of the Manager of the Year award stood out, among other things, for introducing a four-day workweek, so maybe he will start a new trend among employers. The theme of the 2023 SAM Gala was responsibility and by that, we meant responsibility in the broadest sense – towards people, the community, the environment, and future generations. We hope that such behaviour will paint the economic stage of Serbia. One example of such responsible behaviour, which was awarded the Special SAM Award for an exceptional personal act, is the establishment of the Palace of Science by Miodrag Kostić. We hope that this extraordinary endeavour will inspire other business people to do similar things.
We are also planning a big June meeting of managers, where we will celebrate the coming of age of SAM, i.e. 18 years of operations.
What are SAM’s plans for 2024?
In 2024, we will continue to focus on the professional development of people. Also, we are planning two Managers’ Forums during which we will cover the topic of the implementation of artificial intelligence in business, as well as the role of people in the AI world. We want to additionally promote our Responsibility for the Future Initiative, which we launched last year and through which we want to point out to the general public the importance of the responsible role of managers towards future generations and the living environment. With this initiative, we appeal to companies to adhere to good business practices, invest in employees, develop good relations with customers, suppliers, and other partners, as well as to respect all market participants. In the coming period, we would like to expand the Initiative beyond SAM and invite all leading companies in Serbia to accept and sign it. We are also planning a big June Gathering of managers, where we will celebrate the coming of age of SAM, i.e. 18 years of operations, together with our members and partners. Every year, we give away SAM Annual Awards and thus highlight the best and most successful managers and employers, as well as the most responsible companies. We are going to have a lot of activities, many programmes, and nice gatherings and we will do all that with an abundance of positive energy that we get from our members. Their energy, desire, and commitment to change the individual, economy, and society for the better is what motivates and drives us. We hope that new generations, who in 18 years will lead SAM, will be proud of what we have done, created, and changed all these years
