What Is a Professional Manager?
AS YOU PROBABLY REALIZE, ACHIEVING the objectives of a successful manager is an arduous job. Managing a department effectively is an ongoing process that consists of developing mutually rewarding relationships with your employees. You will need to create healthy partnerships with each of the people under your influence.
You'll know you've successfully created healthy manager -- staff member relationships when your employees feel the department belongs to them as well as to you. That feeling, in all likelihood, will motivate them to be vital contributors to the department and will discourage them from the subtle ways in which disgruntled or dissatisfied employees can hinder departmental development. Once a genuine team spirit evolves and bonding occurs, you, your staff, and the organization for which you work will profit in every way -- emotionally, intellectually, and ultimately financially.
As the manager, you need to enable the formation of such partnerships. You must preserve the integrity of each of your manager-employee relationships and protect that integrity from being threatened or invaded by negative staff members or negative workplace situations. As challenging as it may be in the diverse and decentralized workplace to create and uphold the partnerships between you and your employees, that's what you must do to succeed as a truly professional manager.
KNOWING THE TERRITORY
That feeling, in all likelihood, will motivate them to be vital contributors to the department and will discourage them from the subtle ways in which disgruntled or dissatised employees can hinder departmental development. Once a genuine team spirit evolves and bonding occurs, you, your staff, and the organization for which you work will prot in every way -- emotionally, intellectually, and ultimately financially.
As the manager, you need to enable the formation of such partnerships. You must preserve the integrity of each of your manager-employee relationships and protect that integrity from being threatened or invaded by negative staff members or negative workplace situations. As challenging as it may be in the diverse and decentralized workplace to create and uphold the partner-ships between you and your employees, that's what you must do to succeed as a truly professional manager.
To achieve the status of professional manager, take the following actions:
Assume responsibility for creating a fertile workplace culture -- an atmosphere that stimulates people of diverse abilities, personalities, and backgrounds to be productive and to work harmoniously with one another. (You know your departmental culture is fertile when its members contribute willingly, enthusiastically, and fully toward their personal and company goals.)
Make it safe for your staff to communicate openly and productively with you and each other, and to take intellectual risks without fear of repercussions.
Create a structure that fosters personal and career development and growth.
These are tall orders, but they are, in part, the responsibilities you assumed when you donned the mantle of manager. When you accepted this position, your implied promise, assuming you want to be the best leader you can be, was to be an effective teacher, a sensitive counselor, and a master gardener. A professional and successful manager assumes all three roles.
Before we examine the nature of these roles, let's discuss what it means to be a professional manager -- or, for that matter, a professional in any occupation -- and what distinguishes professionals from non-professionals. The distinction between professionals and non-professionals is based on more than the results they achieve or whether or not they get paid for their work. Rather, the basic differences center on how they approach their work, how they interact with their clients or customers, and how they present themselves to the world.
Professionals Versus Non-professionals
Professionals know what they're doing and are in full control of their domain. This control, which stems in part from professionals' thorough knowledge of their areas of expertise, enables them to execute responsibilities with utmost confidence. Conveying a true image of quiet strength, they engender trust from the people under their influence. Conversely, non-professionals are unsure of themselves, in part because they lack the knowledge and experience to be surefooted. This lack of confidence in what they're doing causes them to be defensive when their decisions
A Professional Manager's Primary Role:
Be an Effective Teacher
To be an effective teacher, dedicate yourself to expanding your "students'" knowledge, skills, vistas, and problem-solving abilities. Your challenge is to provide them with all the tools and encouragement they need to become independent thinkers and productive contributors to your department. To illustrate how you might go about achieving these results, let's go back in time and identify possible role models. You may want to note your observations in your manager's journal. Recall one or two of the best teachers you ever had. Envision them in the classroom, interacting with you and other students.
PART II Establishing a Solid Departmental Foundation
If someone were to ask you, "As manager of your department, what is your main overall objective?" you might say something like, "I want to build a strong and productive departmental structure." Few people would argue with that response. It's a goal that is not only reasonable but also achievable. The first step toward achieving your goal is to build a solid foundation, one that can support the departmental structure you want to create.
Building a foundation of which you will be proud is the subject of Part II. Each chapter provides an essential building block in the foundation of a problem-solving culture. Success in your managerial role is driven by how well you incorporate one or more of the five elements into your foundation. Some of the elements in this part are described below.
In all likelihood, whatever impressed you about these teachers stemmed from their intent to transmit their knowledge, their desire to help you understand the material they were teaching, and their commitment to stimulating you to think clearly and independently. Chances are their genuine caring made you feel special and encouraged you to develop a strong interest in what you were learning. Finally, they probably never said or did anything to embarrass you, even when you asked a question that you, and perhaps your classmates, thought was dumb.
To be a professional manager, you should aspire to exhibit qualities similar to those exemplied by outstanding teachers, but remember: your success as a manager depends, to a significant degree, on the effectiveness of all your staff members. That is why you should do everything within your power to help your employees realize their potential. You do that by exercising your power responsibly, just as your great teachers did. Always respond appropriately to questions without making the questioner feel stupid or guilty. And when it has become clear, through tangible results, that your employees learned what you taught them, reinforce their learning with sincere praise and acknowledgment.
What else can you do to stimulate your "students'" desire and ability to learn and develop? Keep this question in mind while reading the rest of this section. At the end, write down your thoughts, ideas, and insights in your manager's journal. When it's appropriate, put these thoughts into practice, and monitor the results of your actions
Adopting Positive and Productive Attitudes
When I met with the five-person department, I asked, "When the phone rings, what do you tell yourself before you answer it?" Every person related a variation of the same negative self-talk: "I wonder what this jerk wants" or "Oh, hell, here comes another complainer." After discussing with the group the effect of self-talk on behaviors, I suggested they tell themselves something else when the phone rings. For instance: "The caller has a problem, which is why he or she is calling"; "My job is to help each caller with his or her problem and I can do that"; "I am a valuable aid to people who are in trouble." As part of the solution, they also adopted the greeting "How can I help you?" when answering the phone. This simple question was more than words. It was a genuine positive attitude, revealed in their tone of voice and helpful actions that said, in effect, "I care about your problem and have a sincere desire to help you." Within a month, the vice president of operations started to receive calls from customers praising the customer service department's services.
PART III Building on Your Foundation
Creating a solid departmental foundation is a good start toward fulfilling your responsibilities as a professional manager. But it is only a start. Now that you have learned how to lay the groundwork for a positive, productive department consisting of staff members who are engaged, eager to take risks, and work well together, you need to learn how to successfully build on that foundation.
ESTABLISHING A SOLID DEPARTMENTAL FOUNDATION
"You don't ..." "You never ..." and "You always ..." followed by negative phrases that can put people on the defensive. Blaming, finding fault, making excuses, holding grudges, and spreading negative rumors are also prevalent. These are not necessarily signs of bad apples in your department, but they are all unhealthy expressions of insecurity and trepidation. Managers and other employees in such cultures are so caught up with their inordinate need to be right and to look good that they fail to see the consequences of their egocentric and defensive attitudes. In reality, these attitudes are like weeds, which rob gardens of vital nutrients. A weed-infested department sties creativity, discourages innovative thinking, and stunts the growth and development of its employees.
Following are several common ways in which managers of defensive cultures spread their negative influence. They are judgmental and engage in character assassinations. Judgments essentially say, implicitly or explicitly, "You don't know what you're talking about," "Your opinions and beliefs are not worthy of consideration," "Your attitude is terrible," or even "You're a fool." Character assassinations typically begin with "You" or "Your," followed by a negative comment. By making such a pat statement about an individual, managers are being judgmental. They believe they have all the answers and do not value their employees' contributions. The actions of these defensive managers, as well as their words, communicate the attitude "If you don't see things the same way I do, there is something wrong with you" or "I have all the answers." Managers who convey these attitudes stie give-and-take between themselves and their employwees.
Remember that a problem is a deviation between what happened and what was desired or expected. So the first step is to encourage Harry to present the symptoms with the intent of understanding the root cause and the deviation. If Harry is upset about an incident, ask him to describe it in concrete terms; the more specific the better. Second, he already said he has a problem. He owns it. So, given the symptoms, help him frame his problem using positive terms.
Once you understand what the problem is, you can help him assess options. Ask what he might do to solve the problem. Discuss alternative solutions with him, and, if necessary, bring some options to his attention and then discuss with him the pros and cons of each. Through this process you are modeling problem-solving strategies and thereby creating a path for success.
Remember the well-regarded company president who was asked to explain the secret of his success? He said, "I remove any excuses they might have for not performing well by giving them everything they need to perform to the best of their abilities. I don't want to be anyone's excuse for not fullling responsibilities. Without excuses, those who don't have the desire to succeed will leave."
We have heard variations of this philosophy during our years of consulting with companies whose managers succeeded in creating problem-solving cultures. The main attitude each of them had in common is a genuine regard for the people under their influence. They want them to succeed. So they do whatever is necessary to help them achieve their objectives. Their genuine caring attitude is expressed in a variety of ways. With both their words and actions they communicate that, as members of the team, employees are vital and valuable contributors.