Business
Players, Managers and Leaders pt 3 We have been talking about the roles different people play on the same team. Those roles may be delegated roles. That means titles assigned by virtue of authority. For example, “coach” or “manager,” or “captain” of the team.Then there are the roles that are earned through respect and demonstrated leadership ability, even though the official “title” is not delegated from above. Players on the team have those peers that are looked up to. That are emulated and admired for their ability, their knowledge and their wisdom. That is what we talked about last time.Today, I want to move into the official titles. We will talk about managers today. Although I am using a baseball or sports analogy, this can be used in businesses as well. You can see this being played out in offices, shops, stores, repair shops, etc. on a daily basis.A manager is in charge of two areas: people and mission. On the personnel side, they are responsible for taking care of the people working for them. There is the also the job of “accomplishing the mission of the organization.” That is the objective the upper echelon leaders will be evaluating.If a manager is liked by subordinates and peers, but continually fails to accomplish the organizational mission, they will eventually be replaced. The mission is everything.While motivating and training the subordinates in completing all of the assigned tasks on time and in a proper manner, the manager must also be cognizant of what is going to happen in the near future.One thing managers need to be aware of is not getting too personal with the subordinates. The manager must, at all times, be cognizant of the the role they play in the leadership structure. Managers that get into trouble in this area are usually the ones who try to best friends with everyone. Do not do that.The hardest part of being promoted from within is breaking off the friendly relationships with those who “you left behind.” It is harder than you think. If you are promoted from within, begin the process of extracting yourself from those close, too friendly, relationships. You need to be the manager, not their friend. You need to be the manager, not their confidant. You need to be the manager, not the enemy of your superiors.Remember, manage the people and accomplish the mission. That is the role of the manager.Next time, I will talk about the role of the “Leader.” This is different than that of the manager (though the can sometimes by the same person – just different thought patterns.).Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and be notified of when another episode is published!