What is Management ?
Management is the employment of human, physical and financial resources to achieve organisational goals and managers are the people who conduct these processes. Management focuses on the result of team work rather than individual efforts. It is the job of a manager to co-ordinate the work of others and he is held accountable for their work.
Hence, a good manager must chide when required, pull up when it is needed and extend a helping hand when sought. The important thing in an organisation is its people. So, a good manager should ensure that his team mates put in their best efforts and are held accountable for their actions. If he overlooks his team’s mistakes and fails to correct, the performance of his team suffers and this has a negative effect on the company’ growth. So, it is not all that good for a manager to be nice. Because, that prevents employees from achieving what they are capable of doing.
Push them to Excel
He must push them to excel. Outstanding results of organisations depend on outstanding performance of employees. When a good manager extracts the best from his team mates, he is ensuring the growth of both his team mates and that of the organisation. It is because employees growth and welfare are linked to the growth/welfare of the organisation.
Who is a good Manager?
Anyone can learn the basic mechanics of becoming a manager. However, there is certain amount of misery in defining that extra dimension of skills and traits that elevates people to a status of ‘good managers’. What is it ?
1. Be interested in them: Often leaders and managers think that the workplace should revolve around them as they are at the top and people should be interested in what they do and think. It is wrong. As leaders/managers they need to be interested in the needs/wishes of people working with them. When you take time to get to know your people, it is communicated that you care.
Decision-making
2. Involving people in decision making : No matter how smart they think they are, managers certainly do not know everything. Many of the best ideas come from the people around them and managers should find ways for people to express their ideas and get rewared for their contributions if the idea works out.
“If people have enthusiatic ownership of an idea, their idea they will make it work, even if it is a bad idea. If not, they can torpedo even a good idea.”
3. Recognising people: Recognising people for their contribution is one of the surest ways to secure employee loyalty. Further, recognition makes a person feel good and stimulates the desire to have it happen again. Recognition of efforts has a direct bearing on individual job performance.
“The rough marble already contains the statues. It is just a matter of extracting them.” — Michelangelo
So, there is already a fine employee in everyone. The good manager should help them chisel it.
4. Integrity values : A manager has to be seen by his supervisors and his employees as being honest and forthright. No one likes a sleazy character who cannot be trusted, especially when that person is in charge of the career of people.
A person without character cannot become ideal person, howver rich or erudite he may be. On the other hand, a man with charecter can achieve this status even without the other attributes.
“When you fight for values, first they ignore you, they they laugh at you, then they attack you. Then you win.” — Mahatma Gandhi
5) Be a good facilitator : A good manager must be within the reach to his team mates for any advice/suggestion, fixing a problem, etc. The mere feeling that there is someone to goad/guide/correct them is enough to spur them into action and give off their best.
Sree's blog on better management 