What Qualities an Effective Manager should Have - Essay Example

Three Traits an Individual Should Possess to be an Effective Manager (Add (Add (Add Three Traits an Individual Should Possess to be an Effective Manager Introduction In fact there are a large number of characteristics which are considered important for an individual to become a good manager. One can say that the individual should be honest, competent, forward-looking, inspiring, intelligent, fair-minded, broad-minded, courageous, straightforward, and imaginative. In addition, there are traits like being creative, adaptable, charismatic, understanding, confident, and listening. In order for an organization to run smoothly and to accomplish its goals, it is necessary to divide the basic management functions into four sections. The said areas are planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Planning Planning is the main areas of all the operations of management. In other words, all other three areas are dependent on this area. Planning involves analyzing the current position of the company, the future goal to be achieved, and the course of action required. The mere fact is that planning is an ongoing process as an organization is always influenced by other external factors which are beyond control. According to Daft & Marcia (2012, p.9), these various factors which can have both positive and negative influences force a company to always readjust its course of action; and such changes are termed ‘strategic planning’. During strategic planning, it becomes necessary for a management to analyze all the internal and external factors which are powerful enough to influence the company and its future objectives. Without this knowledge, it is impossible for a company to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. So, it is necessary for the management to be realistic to do this. Planning involves various steps ranging from establishing the objectives, establishing planning premises, choice of alternative course of action, formulating derivative plans, securing cooperation, and following up. One can say that the areas of securing cooperation and follow up are to a great extent dependent on the cooperation of subordinates. To illustrate, the benefit of securing the cooperation of the subordinates is that this will give the subordinates the feeling that they are a part of the decision-making process. That means they will remain motivated and will be highly interested in the execution of the plans. Also, this will ensure that the employees give valuable suggestions regarding the implementation of the program. It is at this juncture that the first important trait comes into play. That means the manager should be willing to listen. To illustrate, as already seen, the planning stage becomes successful when the management is ready to make the feeling of participative-decision making. That means the subordinates are given a chance to give their opinions and suggestions in the planning process. In order to do this successfully, the managers should be willing to listen. Another important point is that a manager should be honest for successful planning with the help of subordinates. As Koontz and Weihrich (2006, p.299) point out, a leader who shows sincerity, integrity, and candor in his actions will enjoy more acceptability among the subordinates; and when such a manager introduces a new plan, the likelihood of distrust is substantially reduced. As a general rule, employees look at new decisions or changes with a lot of disdain as changes create the feeling of insecurity in the minds of many people. A manager who has a trustworthy image will find it easy to get the trust of the followers. The last step of planning function is follow up. This means observing the effectiveness of a plan after its implementation. In fact, a follow up requires the feedback from the persons concerned. Admittedly, a manager who is willing to listen, who is in close contact with the subordinates, and who is known for being sincere is more likely to get an accurate feedback that is not biased. Thus, honesty and the willing to listen pay rich dividends to managers. Regarding planning, it is said by Butler (1993, p.188) that decision-making is 41 percent calculation, 34 percent judgment, 17 percent negotiation and 8 percent inspiration. Thus, one gains the insight that inspiration has an important role in planning. This becomes helpful when the management decides to think about the various courses of action to achieve the required goal. At this juncture, inspiration will help people come up with various options. In addition, it is found that the subordinates will be happy helping identify the various merits and demerits associated with each alternative. Organizing The second important area of management is organizing. It is necessary for the management to organize its all resources in such a way that it is possible to implement the strategy it set in the planning process. This involves deciding the internal organizational structure, developing and retaining new contacts, and providing important resources. While deciding the internal structure, it is necessary for managers to decide which people and departments are necessary for the task. It also involves delegating the right work to the right people. At this point the willingness to listen will be of help. To illustrate, a manager who listens to the subordinates finds it easy to identify the areas which need to be modified. Secondly, it helps the manager identify the people who are motivated, dedicated and competent. Thus, it becomes easy to delegate the tasks. Directing The third important area is directing. It is through directing that the management manages to influence and oversee the way the staff behaves. Through directing, the managers manage to modify the behavior of the staff to accomplish the goals of the company. Also, the managers ensure that the employees are helped to accomplish their own personal and career goals. In order to achieve, it becomes necessary for the managers to use motivation, communication, department dynamics, and department leadership. Here, one has to remember the fact that there are certain employees who get highly motivated. Such people often outperform their compatriots and play a decisive role in achieving the company’s goals. Due to this reason, managers need to put in a lot of effort to keep the employees motivated. Some examples are offering rewards and incentives which are based on performance. Another vital point in this case is communication. To illustrate, keeping the followers motivated requires developing successful interpersonal relationships and adopting successful problem-solving strategies. At this point too, the above traits become highly relevant. For example, first of all, a leader who is considered honest by his subordinates finds it easy to direct his followers. This will help keep the subordinates motivated even without a lot of effort from the part of the manager as subordinates do not expect any malevolence from the manager. When such a manager leads, the followers are more likely to get ready to change their behavior to help achieve the goals. Secondly, a manager who is honest is more likely to sincerely help the subordinates to achieve their personal and career goals simultaneously. Secondly, a manager who is willing to listen is more likely to identify the hurdles which stop the subordinates from modifying their behavior to meet the requirements. There might be fears regarding employment, personal goals or earning. A manager who is willing to listen will easily identify these fears and will easily manage to overcome them. At this juncture, the third important trait comes into play. The third important trait for a manager is being inspiring. The mere fact is that subordinates need inspiration. In other words, a manager who is not confident about the changes he wants to introduce will not be easily obeyed by the subordinates. According to Butler (1993, p.188), if the manager fails to show endurance and stamina, the followers are highly unlikely to show the same. Controlling This is the fourth main function of management. In order to control, management sets performance which are suitable to the company’s objectives. Based on this, the management evaluates and reports the actual performance. In fact, controlling helps the management to locate and remove the problems which hinder productivity. Thus, controlling involves getting accurate feedback and making necessary changes in the problem areas. First of all, in order to identify the problem areas, the managers need to communicate with the subordinates. Most of the time, the hindrances to changes are the feelings, values, interests and fears of some subordinates. In such cases, the above all three traits become highly useful. First of all, the honesty of the manager reduces such problems considerably; secondly, the manager’s willingness to listen enable the subordinates to express their concerns so that solutions could be reached; and thirdly, the manager succeeds to keep the subordinates motivated through his ability to inspire. Conclusion In total, it becomes evident that though there are various traits which are helpful to become a successful manager who is capable of performing all the four functions of management, the traits of being honest, willing to listen, and inspiring will have the greatest effect. These traits will ensure that the manager is capable of handling planning, organizing, directing, and controlling with the active participation of the subordinates. Also, such a manager will not face any friction between the interests of the management and the interests of the subordinates. References Butler, R. (1993). Strategic Investment Decisions: Theory, Practice, and Process. New York: Taylor & Francis. Daft, R. L & Marcic, D. (2012). Understanding Management. USA: Cengage Learning. Koontz, H & Weihrich, H. (2006). Essentials of Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Read More