“Back by popular request.” You’ve heard that phrase before, right? A number of my clients and folks in my their organizations have asked me to start sending the Manager’s Minute eCARD on a regular basis. So, I’m officially reintroducing a biweekly eCARD focused on management.
As a reminder, the focus of Manager’s Minute will be helping you, and possibly your colleagues, improve managerial skills. In this edition, for example, I’ll share the five primary roles and responsibilities of the manager. These five roles apply to any managerial position, regardless of the organization. Whether you manage a police department or a pickle factory, the roles of the manager are the same.
The Five Responsibilities of Every Manager
Peter Drucker, my all-time favorite manager and thinker, says there are five fundamental roles for every manager, regardless of organization – in either the public or private sector. Those five roles are to set objectives, organize, motivate and communicate, measure and, lastly, develop people, including themselves. Let’s examine each role.
Managers Set Objectives
Why? Because what gets measured gets done. The manager’s role is to “get it done” and to “get it done on time.” Without clear, specific objectives, one has no way of measuring progress. Action item: Set a specific, measurable objective for each project or activity you’re responsible for.
Managers Organize
They assess the work to be done, then set about classifying the work, dividing it into manageable activities and further dividing activities into specific jobs. Managers must also make sure they’ve chosen the right person for the specific task at hand. Action Item: Create a daily activities list containing jobs to be done, the desired outcome of each job or project, and who will be doing the work.
Managers Motivate and Communicate
Managers make a team out of those responsible for various jobs. The glue that holds the team together is clear, effective communication. Motivation is an important part of the communication process. As Zig Zigler says: “Motivating is like bathing; the results don’t last long so you need to do it every day!” Action item: Communicate daily with those who work for you and let them know they’re valued and appreciated.
Managers Measure (Against Results)
Similar to objectives, managers need to establish yardsticks. Drucker says: “Few factors are as important to the performance of the organization and every person in the organization.” The two issues always needing to be dealt with are (1) “How much? (2) By when?” Action item: Develop the habit of measuring the results of everything you’re paid to do.
Managers Develop People – Including Themselves
Nothing stays the same, including skills and abilities. A critical role for any manager is to keep the learning curve from leveling out, or worse, starting to decline. Teaching, training, coaching and mentoring are key initiatives for every manager. Action item: Conduct ongoing skills assessments on yourself and on those who work for you.
Discovering the roles of the manager is important, but applying each respective role to what you do is what really matters. Conduct a self-test or ask the person you work for to have a discussion with you on how well you’re performing in each of these five areas. Once your baseline is set, start strengthening your skills in each of the five roles and responsibilities.
Tags: management, manager, manager's minute, managerial, managers, objectives, organize, responsibilities, results, role
Interesting post! I came across it while doing some research for a client project and realized that it was very appropriate for entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals as well. We often get so bogged down in serving clients that those 5 responsibilities tend to fall by the wayside. But they’re just as essential to our business as to ones 100 times our size. Maybe even more so, since there’s no one else to pick up the slack if we don’t get to all 5 areas.