Management - In Laymans Terms

[Red diesel]

Hopefully i wont upset anyone on here thats a manager - but in the nicest possible way what does being a manager involve on a day to day basis - i do realise that being a good manager is very very hard - especially if your a hands on manager.

Im not looking to start war or start a manager bitching session :) i am just very curious as to what being a manager actually involves simply because i know nothing about it

Best wishes

Red diesel

[Red Yaris 54]

Hopefully i wont upset anyone on here thats a manager - but in the nicest possible way what does being a manager involve on a day to day basis - i do realise that being a good manager is very very hard - especially if your a hands on manager.

Im not looking to start war or start a manager bitching session :) i am just very curious as to what being a manager actually involves simply because i know nothing about it

Best wishes

Red diesel

Try this for a start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management

[GIDDLEPIN]

That sums it up I suppose apart from the obscene salary and never ending sexual favours

[Red Yaris 54]

That sums it up I suppose apart from the obscene salary and never ending sexual favours

I thought we never talked about that in public ;)

[Red diesel]

Thanks for the link Red yaris 54 - very good info there - thanks for the reply. I was just wondering out of curiosity more than anything - but if im not being too much of a pain id a fair idea of the theory - i was more wondering about the reality of day to day life as a manager.

As someone who has been a student and employee - all i see is the manager walking around or in the office - and was wondering what life was like on the other side - the better managers ive seen are the ones who will happily help out on the frontline if theyre caught short for staff ie a transport manager actually driving a truck now and then. I know theres more to it then that of course - im wondering what the more to it is

[Red Yaris 54]

Thanks for the link Red yaris 54 - very good info there - thanks for the reply. I was just wondering out of curiosity more than anything - but if im not being too much of a pain id a fair idea of the theory - i was more wondering about the reality of day to day life as a manager.

As someone who has been a student and employee - all i see is the manager walking around or in the office - and was wondering what life was like on the other side - the better managers ive seen are the ones who will happily help out on the frontline if theyre caught short for staff ie a transport manager actually driving a truck now and then. I know theres more to it then that of course - im wondering what the more to it is

When I was working I was more of a "Hands On" manager and the "Management Book" often went out of the window

IMO It is often more about looking after the interests of the staff than anything else.....................It all comes down to building good working practices within the working team

[EchoRange]

Whats the difference between a bank and a manager?

A bank sometimes gives you credit!

[Karma Supra]

Bear in mind that loads of job title have "manager" in the title doesn't mean its a proper management role.

An "account manager" could be someone that cold calls for advertising space lol.

[Raistlin]

I used this:

The Top 10 Things that Make a Good Manager

1. Acknowledge your staff.

When a member of staff does a job well, make sure you notice it, and acknowledge her or him for it. Don't let the opportunity to praise a piece of good work go by.

2. Never, ever, humiliate anyone on your staff team.

If you are annoyed with someone on your team, or they have done something wrong, make sure you keep your cool, especially in public. If you humiliate someone, he or she will hold a grudge against you, and their work will suffer too.

3. Create a culture where mistakes are OK.

If you don't make mistakes, chances are you are not stretching yourself. If your staff are allowed to feel that mistakes are part of reaching for new highs, rather than something to feel bad about, or shamed for, then they will take more risks on your behalf.

4. Remember personal details.

Take time to get to know your staff, who they are, who is important in their lives, etc. Be interested in them as people, not just as workers.

5. Don't hide behind your position.

Be human and friendly with your staff - that way you will all be able to support and encourage each other when things are tough.

6. Be approachable.

Allow your staff to feel that they can come and talk to you about sensitive issues, about inside- and outside-work difficulties, and that you will respect them, and not hold what they share against them.

7. Admit your mistakes.

If you get it wrong, say so. Managers don't have to be infallible! Your staff will respect you more if you are able to admit your mistakes, and then set about sorting out a solution.

8. Listen in such a way that your employees will talk to you.

Often people feel afraid of, or intimidated by, management. Make sure you show people that you are willing to listen to what they have to say, that they are important and worthy of your time.

9. Be clear in your requests.

It is your responsibility to ensure that people understand your requests - so communicate clearly, and ask if people have understood what you are asking for.

10. Treat everyone respectfully and courteously at all times.

Particularly when there is a problem! Everyone who works for you is a valuable human being who deserves respect. A manager is only as good as how she or he treats the people on her or his team.

[Bizarra]

I totally agree with all the above & have never seen it put so well before

I used to own & manage my own Business. I had a staff of about 8 with another 5-6 I could call on in times of trouble. I was/am a believer in hands on & totally open management. The girls were always told what I intended doing & I welcomed their input. They had a say & interest in the running of the place. Some of them were with me for 35 years & over, & though I am now retired, I drop in to see them several times a week.

We ended up as more family than Owner/employees. We went to each others parties , funerals & other family events & I'm now getting stuck for some Grandchildren's happy occasions.

I know, now, seeing my successor in action, that I wasn't a great business man, but I kept a happy ship & kept it afloat for about 40 years.

[Raistlin]

I totally agree with all the above & have never seen it put so well before

I used to own & manage my own Business. I had a staff of about 8 with another 5-6 I could call on in times of trouble. I was/am a believer in hands on & totally open management. The girls were always told what I intended doing & I welcomed their input. They had a say & interest in the running of the place. Some of them were with me for 35 years & over, & though I am now retired, I drop in to see them several times a week.

We ended up as more family than Owner/employees. We went to each others parties , funerals & other family events & I'm now getting stuck for some Grandchildren's happy occasions.

I know, now, seeing my successor in action, that I wasn't a great business man, but I kept a happy ship & kept it afloat for about 40 years.

Well, you must have being doing something right to get such a good rapport with your team B)

[hertsnminds]

One of the better definitions I have seen is...

Management is achieving results through others.

There are some managers who can motivate and there are those who dictate. The motivators usually have better results from their team.

It was once the case that people got promoted until they reached a job they could not do, so you end up with lots of people not being able to do their jobs. The reason for this is that in most companies you cannot get an increased salary without a higher ranking job role. For me this does not make sense. If you have someone doing a really good job and enjoying what they do why do you have to change their job role (to something they are not good at and do not enjoy) to give them a higher reward.

[martin_longbow]

There's a wee bit of generalisation going on here. Managers have to walk around. How do other employees get around the workplace? The link is helpful, I would say;

I confess I am a manager. I have qualifications in management (yes you get them) amongst others. It is my job to deliver the business goals and required outputs using the resources I have available, the primary one being staff. I have to look after all of the resources we have including staff, which are often the most difficult and time consuming. People have an infinite capacity to surprise you.

I have to ensure that the organisational effort (the grunt) is delivering the business goals, monitor measure and report on this to the employees, other senior managers and the board of directors. People should have targets they understand, and a performance management system that is supportive (I know mine do) in helping them perform their required function.

On a day to day basis that means talking to staff, completing the administration around my function, and ensuring that staff are aware of what is expected of them. I need to be available to listen to them, discuss their work and how to keep that on track, and remove where possible barriers that affect that goal, and make decisions relating to their progress towards these goals. I should add I am fortunate enough to work for an organisation that has "achievement of work life balance" as a stated goal for every employee and it is quite serious about that. This week I am working on a proposal to have a training agreement revised to increase the companies allowed hours to the training programme. The company allows a number of days off per month to attend college , the employee pays back currently half of that allowance through flexitime. The employee is satisfied with the current balance, but a discussion in their appraisal last week leads me to believe in the coming year there will be additional family pressures that tell me their time will be restricted, and I have suggested this as I feel overall I do not want to exhaust this individual.

[GIDDLEPIN]

I used to manage a workshop responsible for the service maintenance and repair of 120 vehicles and trailers, got made redundant, semi retired, took up HGV driving and never looked back ;)

[Red diesel]

Thanks for all the replys everyone

Just to clarify a few things

What i meant by walking around is that when im working away doing a job youve got the manager coming around looking at things and supervising and what not - the problem i had as an employee was that sometimes what the manager saw and what i saw were two different things - even though we were supposedly looking at the same thing. Like im busy trying to get through a workload that required 3 or 4 people with just 2 people - but inspite of observing the process the manager fails to see the issue. Of course there are loads of fantastic managers around and of course human nature being what it is you only ever hear about the poor ones - because human nature is that we are a lot better at complaining about something then we are at shaking someones hand and saying - fair play well done fabulous job.

It sounds like the managers or ex managers who have responded to this tread are clearly very knowledgeable and very good at what they do and ive no doubt that their people think they are very good - i was not intending to have a pop at managers - the good ones (who are propably way more common then people think) have a very hard job.

Thanks for all the replys - my questions have been well answered and hopefully ive not annoyed anyone

Red diesel