A Successful Manager, and I mean a truly successful manager is a term used by many and understood by few. Some people measure a manager simply by their ability to get projects completed in a timely manner, others will define success by their ability to have a smart team under them, and some believe being able to back up team member with either business, operational or technical knowledge to complete an assignment constitutes a successful manager. In a sense these are all important characteristics of a good manager, but we will focus on what it takes to be a successful manager in the real world of business….a manager that is a true leader and someone that inspires a team of people. Let’s look at a different way, how about the person that defines what the projects are that need to be completed or the person that creates the right team to get the job done or the person that chose you because they knew you could back up the team members.
The Real Job of a Successful Manager is to create a multi-tiered environment of talented people and show them how to achieve goals that they did not know they were truly capable of and have them become Successful Managers in their own rite creating their own multi-tiered teams. This defines the culture of an organization that is achieving new and ambitious goals and accomplishments that differentiate one organization from another. The culture becomes infectious within an organization and can redefine an entire way of conducting business. Now, there are many people that are reading this and nodding their heads saying yes and others that don’t get it. If you don’t get it and you are relatively new to a management role that interpretation is expected. Please read.
To start with, I believe that leadership is not really a learned skill, but is part of your personality trait. Some people are born leaders and others are not. To be a real successful manager, CEO material, you need to be a great leader. You already know if you fall in that category, so if you feel you are a leader please read on. If you are lucky you will work with good managers that will help nurture you to become a better manager. If you are truly lucky you will work with a Successful Manager and that is when things really take off. Unfortunately, most people have to do it the hard way. That is why many organizations hire “Management Coaches” for their up-and-coming management team. Some firms try to do it on the cheap and assign “Internal Management Mentors” from within the organization. This is a great concept, but typically doesn’t work out well. A firm that understands this value doesn’t use the Management Mentor approach. Management coaches are clearly the best way to learn, and if your firm offers them, try and get one. Why are Outside Management Coaches the best way to go? They tend to be Successful Managers that have retired from that role, so they know what you need to become Successful within your organization. They have no political goals or ambitions within your organization that can get in the way. There success depends on making you a Successful Manager. The list is endless, don’t waste time with Internal Management Mentors, if they need to be assigned, then they aren’t really mentors.
Managing Down
If you are currently in the management chain of command you have responsibility for one or more, maybe over 100 concurrent projects. It is impossible for one person to know the details and specifics of over 100 concurrent projects at any one time, just ask any CEO. However, you are responsible and accountable for what you manage. Pick the right team, define aggressive goals with clear metrics. Be there for your team when they are having challenges and when they celebrate success. Challenge their methods and decision process. Remember, this will follow the waterfall effect and they will do the same with their team. Always remain confident and remove weak subordinates quickly.
Managing Up
Everyone attends meetings that are defined as status meetings, brain storming sessions, project reviews, etc. One of the other objectives of these meetings is for managers to identify the up-and-comers in the organization. All firms do this in one form or another. At these meetings you should always have a thought or opinion on a subject, but more importantly it is your thought process that supports your decision that people will evaluate. Look for the Successful Managers in your organization. There aren’t many, so choose wisely and try to work with them. This is how you should work with a mentor, it is unlikely that a good mentor will ever be assigned to you because everyone already has latched on to the good person and so should you. By the way, this person is probably a Successful Manager.
Create the ideas that lead an organization. Think out of the box, but not out of this world. Look beyond what everyone else is thinking and introduce new ideas and thought processes. Define the rules of engagement, don’t assume because they exist, they are good. A good example is New Coke. Once something is a commodity leave the product alone and refine the process for producing the product. Create the next beverage i.e. ”Snapple”. Coke had an Unsuccessful Manager where Snapple had a Successful Manager. The best you can do with a commodity is to redefine its value proposition to improve the pricing. In other words, “Think like a business owner, not just an employee”
This is meant to be a primer of the ultimate goal for a Successful Manager. We will focus on managers at various levels next and what they should be doing to be successful and move to the next level.