A manager, in simplest terms, is someone whose main job responsibility is to "get things done" by way of managing, directing, coaching, analyzing and planning. A manager has goals and objectives that he or she is tasked with achieving and usually has a group of people that assist in achieving those goals. What makes a "good" manager versus a "bad" manager? Sometimes that depends on who you ask. A front-line employee might view a good manager as one who steps back and lets everybody "do their job". A front-office director might view a good manager as one who get results. The problem with those viewpoints is that they each ignore the other. What an employee might see as "doing her job" might just be what is convenient or "the way it's always been done", while the front office's focus on results often ignores the fact that there are real people acheieving those results. A good manager balances both sides of the equation.
Even though I started this article over a month ago, I was motivated to pick it up again after listening to an NPR story about "best" and "worst" bosses. I mentioned to my wife that I would probably show up on both those lists!
What I am going to explore over the course of several blog posts are the qualities of a "good" manager, with reference to examples of "bad" management. Some of the characteristics we will look at are:
- The Purpose of a Business
- Delegation
- Influence
- Respect
- Knowledge
- Empowerment
- Teaching & Coaching
- Accountability
I may use examples of leadership in politics, the military and sports, but I will be focussing on the role of managers in business.
Hopefully these posts will give a good overview of management as more than just people telling other people what to do.
Hopefully these posts will give a good overview of management as more than just people telling other people what to do.
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