So, You'd Like To Become A Good Manager

So, You'd Like To Become A Good Manager
Becoming a good manager takes time and patience. It's great
when we get some initial training, but that doesn't always
happen. To start, check your current status as a manager -
how effective are you now? There are many self checklists
available on the web. You should also consider having a 360
degree review completed. Once again, there are many good
ones on the market.

Once you have an accurate picture of your strengths and
weaknesses, start by focusing on your strengths - what are
you really good at? What do others say that you do well?
Consciously focus on maintaining these. Put a note in your
personal diary to ensue that you review one of your areas
of strength at least once a week. As Peter Drucker once
said "Most people think they know what they are good at.
They are usually wrong. More often people know what they
are not good at - and even then more people are wrong than
right. And yet, a person can perform only from strength.
One cannot build performance on weaknesses, let alone on
something one cannot do at all."

Now for your weaknesses - how do you manage these? Many of
these are things that you will not easily change. Often
managers spend an inordinate amount of time and energy
trying to change things about themselves that they are
unlikely to be able to change. But, there are some short
cuts. My advice is to look at how you might best manage
(not necessarily change) your weaknesses. For example, in
my own case, I am not good at following up on detail type
things. Therefore when I am working with a team, I find
someone else who can do these for me. If I am working by
myself, I make sure that I have a good diary system that
keeps reminding me to do these things.

Additionally, for each of your weaknesses, ensure you have
a good reference or support (process, person, network) that
you can access when you need it. As a suggestion, list out
each of your weaknesses and against each list a:

* tool, technique or process that you will use regularly
and / or consult when the going gets tough

* person to whom you can turn for advice from time to time
or when faced with a difficult situation

* book reference that will help get you through your
challenging moments.

>From my experience, many of the problems managers encounter
with managing their weaknesses have to do with the people
issues. For example, being too assertive (or not assertive
enough), managing conflict, giving (or not giving)
appropriate feedback, and so on. One of the best references
I would recommend for the is "People Skills; How to assert
yourself, listen to others and resolve conflict" by Robert
Bolton. Every manager, no matter what style or level of
proficiency they have, should have this reference book on
their desk for when they are faced with that difficult
people issue.

Two more things you should consider to help in your
progress toward becoming a good manager. Firstly, have a
good personal management plan. This should include not only
your job priorities, but also your planned personal
development actions and your team leadership activities.

And that brings me to the final point - team leadership.
Sometimes you will have the opportunity to select all or
certain members of your team. As well as their ability to
do the job, new team members should be selected for:

* their ability to fit into the team and

* for the diversity they can add to the team.

You can do this informally (perhaps with the help of your
team) or by using a profile such as the Team Management
Profile (see Team Management Systems www.tms.com.au/) or
the Belbin Team Roles Profile (www.belbin.com/). Even where
you don't have the option of selecting your team, it's a
good idea to conduct a team exercise using a profile such
as the Team Management Profile to assess the team's
preferences and in particular, any gaps that may cause the
team to perform at a less than optimal level.

And one final piece of advice - plan to undertake some form
of formal training / development at least every 18 months.
This will not only help you learn and develop your
management skills, but often also provides a much needed
dose of self motivation or energy surge.

----------------------------------------------------
Bob Selden is the author of the newly published "What To Do
When You Become The Boss" - a self help book for new
managers. He also coaches at the International Institute
for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and the
Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney. You can
contact Bob via http://www.whenyoubecometheboss.com/