8 Roles of a Manager
In the past few days, I have been thinking a lot about how much I have evolved as a manager. I think I am mostly coming to realize this as I am managing managers who have the same qualities and traits that I use to have few years ago, which revolves a lot around micromanagement. Every manager goes through the ‘micro-manager’ phase at some point in their career, and in most cases it’s at the early stage of their management career.
I am not sure if it’s a maturity thing, age thing, experience thing or the position I am in that my management style has significantly changed from being a micro-manager to being a leader, and I can see and feel that difference in my thinking and execution.
I have learned a lot about management and leadership in MBA school, in work place, reading books and articles, talking to people, etc. so here is a very small inventory of the leanings and concepts.
Becoming a Master Manager: A Competing Values Approach (from Quinn R.E. et al. 1996). This is a management model I learned in my MBA school that is well structured.
Image 1 is the basis of the model and Image 2 are the 8 roles of a manager and core competency for each role.
Leadership and Management Qualities
Leader:
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Soul
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Visionary
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Passionate
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Creative
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Flexible
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Inspiring
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Innovative
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Courageous
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Imaginative
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Experimental
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Initiates Change
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Personal Power
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Moving Between Paradigms
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Doing Right Things
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Creating Improvements
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Leading & Developing People
Manager:
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Mind
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Rational
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Consulting
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Persistent
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Problem Solving
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Tough-Minded
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Analytic
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Structured
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Deliberate
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Authoritative
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Stabilizing
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Position Power
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Working Within Paradigm
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Doing Things Right
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Holding the Gains
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Managing Process
The 5 Level Hierarchy
Level 1: Highly Capable Individual
Productive contributor; offers talent, knowledge, skills, and good work habits as an individual employee.
Level 2: Contributing Team Member
Contributes to the achievement of team goals; works effectively with others in a group.
Level 3: Competent Manager
Sets plans and organizes people for the efficient and effective pursuit of objectives.
Level 4: The Effective Executive
Builds widespread commitment to a clear and compelling vision; stimulates people to high performance.
Level 5: The Level 5 Leader
Builds an enduring great organization through a combination of personal humility and professional resolve.
Five Levels of Direction
Vision - what success looks like
Objectives - how we will win
Goals - how much, and by when
Strategies - what we will focus on
Initiatives - specific projects we will undertake
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Objectives
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overview of management process from theoretical and practical perspective
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learn sound management concepts and practice of concept in a changing management world
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communication with audience in variety of channel mediums and formats
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examine internal and external impacting manager’s responsibility
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develop approached for “effective management” keeping stakeholders and organizational goals in mind
Five Major Learnings
1) Managing in New Career article
2) Master manager roles consisting of eight roles
3) Modern vs. traditional communication model
4) Bridge between manager and individual
5) Visionary leader
8 Roles of a Manager:
1. Director is expected to clarify expectations through processes, such as planning and goal setting, and to be a decisive initiator who defines problems, selects alternatives, establishes objectives, defined roles and tasks, generates rules and policies and gives direction.
2. Producer is expected to be task oriented and work focused and to have high interest, motivation, energy, and personal drive. They are supposed to accept responsibility, complete assignments, and maintain high personal productivity.
3. Monitor is expected to know what is going on in the unit, to determine whether people are complying with the rules, and to see whether the unit is meeting their quotas.
4. Coordinator is expected to maintain the structure and flow of the system and be dependable and reliable.
5. Facilitator is expected to foster collective effort, build cohesion and teamwork, and manager interpersonal conflict.
6. Mentor is expected to engage in development of people through a caring, empathetic orientation. They are helpful, considerate, sensitive, approachable, open and fair.
7. Innovator is expected to facilitate adaptation and change. They pay attention to changing environment, identifies important trends, conceptualizes and projects needed changes and tolerated uncertainty and risks. 8. Broker is expected and concerned with maintaining external legitimacy and obtaining external resources.
7 Pillars of Vision
VISIONING: I know where I am going
MAPPING: I know how to get there
JOURNEYING: I am willing to start
LEARNING: I am open to change
MENTORING: I am open to others
LEADING: I will set an example
VALUING: I will do what is right
10 Qualities Shared By Visionary Business Leaders
1. They execute with confidence.
2. They’re self-created.
3. They aren’t worried about being liked.
4. They’re innovators.
5. They’re delegators.
6. They create learning opportunities.
7. They have high expectations.
8. They recognize natural talent.
9. They believe in action, not words.
10. They’re well balanced.
My Top 5 Management Values:
1) Communication: clear written and oral communication to reach people effectively
2) Discipline: moral conduct consisting of ethics, empathy, and respect
3) Integrity: honesty and work ethic
4) Responsibility: getting things done
5) Creativity: presenting work, communicate ideas, and solve problems
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https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm
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https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/leadership-styles
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https://engage.kununu.com/en/blog/leadership-concepts-expert-advice/
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