What I have learned as a manager
In order to be successful in any managerial position, one must have a certain set of tools that will aid them to run an efficient team of professionals. Such are the skills that I have learnt and acquired during my time in this course. This essay briefly entails what those specific skills are and how to apply them in everyday life situations at the work place.
Understanding of group behavior is key in understanding any one group in any situation. You need to understand the group of staff that you work with; how each of their personalities influences how the group functions and how the group may change their personality as long as they continue to be valuable contributing members. People tend to act differently when in a group setting than as individuals. The activities that your group of staff tackles must attempt to involve all the members of your staff to reduce laziness and learned helplessness. One must also strive to understand how the environment may shape the characteristics and personality of a group. As a manager, it is essential that you create the most suited work environment for your group of professionals as you can.
Our skills in problem definition are enriched. We learn how to diagnose problems and select alternative. A group is made up of people who have different personalities, differing opinions and different interpretations of the current events surrounding the work place or otherwise. Due to this, conflict is bound to arise at any given time among the members of your staff. This course ensures that a potential manager is equipped with the skill necessary to diffuse such as a situation as fast as possible, ensuring both parties part amicably and solving any lasting damage that may consequently affect the functioning of the entire staff. A good manager should not side with any party. Ensure that every party is content with the proposed solution and strive to ensure that inhibiting factors of conflict are minimized in order to reduce the amount of disagreements that occur among group members. It is also handy in these situations to know the personalities of your staff members. Avoid putting members of clashing personalities in situations where they are bound to argue. Give them opposing tasks in an activity to minimize clashes. Also, teach your staff members to be more tolerant towards each other and their situations. Lack of empathy breeds contempt and promotes conflict. Understand the conflict in order to best decide the best course of action.
The awareness of what other people assume and what they consider as motivation is also taught. In order to ensure that your group of staff always works to their best of abilities, it is essential to know how to motivate them. Reinforcements and rewards are a guaranteed ways to motivate unhappy workers. Get to know each of your staff members and the group as a whole as this is key in understanding what kind of motivation would be efficient for your staff. Motivation ensures your staff performs their level best and it also enhances healthy competition among workers thus reducing overdependence, learned helplessness and laziness.
This can be achieved through communication. No organizational group can function properly if communication is lacking. It is a vital element to the optimum functioning of any social grouping. Understanding of the roots of behavior and personalities of your staff members will help you to better understand their situation and how to promote their abilities with specific tailored duties in a task. Group members need to talk to each other to ensure the specific tasks that they are charged with are completed with utmost efficiency. Effective communication reduces instances of conflict among members and resolves any underlying issues that may cause strife. A manager who is able to communicate freely with their staff is able to understand the needs of their staff. The staff is able to freely air any grievance that they may have therefore ensuring that the manager understands how to create a suitable working environment. However, overfriendliness may be detrimental as workers may start to view you as too tolerant and overindulging and hence they may take advantage.
Learning our own in depth assumptions and motivations is crucial for a managerial position. Needless to say, a manager has to be a leader for the staff that they run. You need to be able to gather the efforts of your staff members and gear them towards the accomplishment of previously set goals. The ability to organize a group of people for a specific task is crucial. A manager has to be intelligent, self-motivated, driven, charismatic, responsible, influential and much more if they have hope to rally anybody to follow their instruction. You should be able to rise to any occasion in the work place and have a contingency plan for predictable predicaments.
A manager should understand the needs of their group and go to great lengths to ensure that they are met. Strive to ensure cohesion and maximum contribution from yourself and from staff member towards the accomplishment of goals. Monitor the environment that your staff works in, organize team building activities, effectively motivate your staff and actively participate in staff activities. This can be achieved through skills such as counseling. Counseling skills are also nifty for a manager.
Conflict at the work place often leads to lowered efficiency of staff, frustration and consequent demotivation. Such workers can be counseled to help them in resolving the situation they are in. Be a good listener, every so often it may be as easy as letting the affected party vent their feelings. This helps them develop a mind frame for resolution of conflicts or it may help them overcome personal adversities that end up affecting the quality of their work. Although most companies hire professional counselors to handle such situations, counseling skills are an added advantage for any manager.
Such are the managerial skills that I learned, and that one can hope to achieve by taking this course. It has been an important learning experience and the skills that I now have will ensure my success as a manager and as a member of society.
References
McShane, S. & VonGlinow, M.(2011).Organizational Behavior, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill /Irwin
Forsyth, D.R. (2009). Group dynamics (5th ed.) Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/ Cole.
Bellamy, Alex J. Williams Paul (2010) Understanding Peace Keeping. Polity.
Ivanevich, J. Konopaske, R. Matteson, M.(2007) Organizational Behavior and Management, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill /Irwin
Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. Z. (1987) The leadership Challenge. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.
