Are You a Successful Manager?

This first tier is the foundation on which the manager can build.  This is the command of basic facts such as the long and short term goals of the organisation. It also includes product knowledge, key people in the organisation and inter-departmental relationships.  In addition to this category includes relevant professional knowledge.  This may include technical knowledge, e.g. marketing, production technology or relevant legislation.  It also include basic management principles and theories, e.g., planning and controlling 

The successful manager is very perceptive and tuned in to what is going on around him or her.  This means that they are responsive to both hard and soft information such as facts and figures and the feelings of others.  The role of the manger involves making decisions, and this requires them to make judgments whilst assessing the pros and cons of situations.  They should have the ability to cope with uncertainty, striking a balance between subjectivity and objective logic.  The third element of this category points to interpersonal skills.  The successful manager develops a range of such social skills and abilities.  These are necessary tools in business:

- Communicating

- Delegating

- Negotiating

- Resolving Conflict

- Persuading and Selling

- Using and Responding to Power

The successful manager is also expected to possess emotional resilience.  This means maintaining self- control under pressurised conditions.  They also need to be proactive as oppose to be re-active.  This means they must have a purpose or goal to achieve whilst taking responsibility instead of ‘passing the buck’ down the line.

This category is partly concerned with the ability to be innovative, not just personally, but able to recognise it in others.  Meta qualities also refer to the mental alertness of the manager, with the ability to think quickly, seeing the big picture, grasping problems and solutions with multi- tasking ability.

Successful mangers are more independent learners and are not dependent on others.  They are able to generate their own theories and practical ideas.  This means they are flexible learners.  In order to be successful Pedler et al argues that successful managers have to adopt three learning processes:

Finally, the manager also requires self knowledge- skills of introspection.  He or she must be aware of such personal knowledge such as values, strengths, weaknesses and the part they play in influencing actions and decisions.

If you don’t meet this brief- don’t fret because managers are not born but are made, so there is hope for all those still aspiring for success.  You can rely on you own experiences but may need some careful coaching and guidance in helping you to select the most useful aspects of your experiences and ideas.  There is room for more successful managers and you could be one of them.

 

If you would like to develop your skills, register to attend our London  or Liverpool  Professional Coaching Skills Training Programme.