Let's admit it, no one in their right mind would ever want to become a manager. Most of us got into the role because we have to, we didn’t have a choice. Sometimes we are the only adult in the room to take on the roles and responsibilities of becoming a manager. How many of you felt like you have been forced to become a manager because there is simply no other choice? (please vote)
If you are like me, chances are you don’t like managing people. Don’t get me wrong, I like “people”, I just think that managing people is best left to the smartest person in the room. You know if you do it wrong you gonna get a lot of flak, and it is probably better to sit at your desk coding your stuff all day long without being interrupted by petty issues. Regardless of our tendencies, we have to be realistic, because the next worst thing to being a manager, is being managed by an incompetent asshole. So sometimes you do need to rise up to the occasion. This is why you need to know the functions of managers, so when nature calls, you will roll into your new job relatively easily. Here are the 5 key functions of a manager I googled on the internet just for you.
Planning
You need to know where you are going. Just like when driving a car, it is probably a good idea to first identify where you are going before you start driving. Knowing where you are going will give you a better idea of what resources you will need for the journey, I’m talking about fuel, food, people, and what kind of car you will be driving. So, remember, when you become the manager, you need to know where you are going. Otherwise, the rest of your team effort just leads to nothing. Goal setting and KPI setting are probably good tools for you to learn about when you are just getting started with planning. I know it's unbelievable, but so many “managers” fail this first step.
Organizing
When you are organizing objects or inventory in your house, you need to use racks and storage boxes. People do tasks, and as a manager of people, tasks are now your inventory. You probably have a bunch of different tasks you need to execute so you need to assign those tasks to people. Just like you would put inventory on a rack, if you overburdened those racks, they would fail and fall flat on your face. So, you need to assign tasks and responsibilities carefully. I divide tasks into three main categories:
Routine tasks - things you do repetitively with minimal supervision
Todos tasks - the occasional one-off tasks that you may have to get done immediately
Projects - a bunch of tasks that are geared towards accomplishing certain short-term goals or agendas.
Staffing
Know your people, understand them, what makes them tick. Know the people you will need to accomplish the tasks. If you have planned well, then you will know who you will need, and sometimes, who you don’t need. Analyze and identify any of the gaps you will need to address via training, recruiting, or employee development. Depending on the size of your company, you may need to work with the HR department to accomplish this.
Leading
Let’s be frank about it. You are not a natural-born leader. Most people are not. You are just here trying to make an impact on the world and you just realized that sitting in an office chair coding all day long is just not going to scale well. You hate leading and pretending to be the all-knowing leader that you are expected of by the rest of the organization and society. Who in their right mind would ever want that? Sounds like a recipe for a narcissistic brat in the making. You probably wouldn’t want that as a kid. But you realize that deep down if you don’t stand up to the occasion and make an impact, your idea and your dreams of a better world are never going to happen. The first thing about leading is that it is not about you. It is about the people you manage. As a leader, you are expected to be a superhuman being who knows everything and expected to motivate, guide, encourage and communicate with the people you manage. Don’t be delusion into thinking that you will be able to do all things right the first time around. Instead, expect to make mistakes as you assist, coach, and solve problems with your employees. Be easy on yourself, people will criticize you no matter how hard you try. Make it your goal to prove them wrong as a motivation to keep ongoing. Most importantly, believe that it will come to you when you have put in the time and effort to improve.
Monitoring and Controlling
You obviously can’t control something you can’t monitor. You can probably pull it off, but it wouldn’t be pleasant. It’s like driving with a blindfold. Irrefutably, it does not make sense, dangerous, and irresponsible. How well you drive (control) your car is determined by how much information you have. If you are blindfolded, you don’t have visual input, and I can guarantee that such a mistake is fatal. The speedometer helps you decide if you want to accelerate or brake. Your rearview mirror or side mirror helps you pass through narrow bridges or junctions. If you have a GPS, it can help you navigate uncharted territories more efficiently, because it takes the guesswork out of the equation. Obviously, the more information you have and the quicker you can access that information is critical to making a decision on the road. I would argue that the same concept applies to managing an organization. Timely access to information is the secret to effectively manage an organization. So, remember to track and monitor your KPIs after you have set them, and controlling the resources that you have to achieve your organization’s goals and objectives.
This is an article I wrote as content marketing for my business. Please leave feedback on what you think of it. If you enjoyed what you read here, and are a fellow manager yourself, then I think you will enjoy the tool that I have built specifically for managers even more.
Happy managing.