Larry M. Elkin, president of Palisades Hudson, a financial planning firm, shares what he’s learned about being a good manager:
Teaching management to the rest of our team became as important as teaching taxes or investment planning. Last year, we put all our managers through seven days of intensive in-house training, covering topics such as behavioral psychology and fostering creativity, as well as traditional areas such as marketing and human resources. I helped design and teach most of our courses, but that does not make me some sort of management guru. Far from it. Running a business and making the mistakes that go with that job have shown me how much I benefit from the counsel of competent people around me. But I think I have come far enough to share some thoughts here about what management really is, and how I learned to be better at it.
What makes a good manager?
He then lists ten practices a good manager follows including the obvious (setting goals and priorities) and the, sadly, frequently overlooked (earning trust). From my own 30 years of experience as a management and technology consultant I would add an eleventh observation:
11. Good managers are rare.
Managers are human beings and, consequently, are subject to the temptations all human beings are. Some of these include:
- Doing what they like doing rather than what needs doing.
- Selecting the wrong operational model, i.e. general or emperor rather than teacher or farmer.
- Being reluctant to take responsibility. One example of this is delegating policy-making to subordinates.
- Confusing personal goals with business objectives. Example: if you’re willing to hire a spouse or child, you’ve got to be willing to fire them, too.
- Letting go at the right time.
To some degree the first and the last of those are in conflict. The most successful business I’ve ever had as a client only really began to prosper when the founder and owner, who literally began the business on his kitchen table, turned the day to day management of the business over to others and devoted himself to what he really enjoyed (and was really good at): sales.
Years ago there was current the distinction between Theory Y managers and Theory X managers. The former begin with the beliefs that everybody wants to do a good job and that workers and subordinates are trustworthy. Theory X managers, on the other hand, think that workers are out to rip off the company, are fundamentally untrustworthy, and need firm, if not hard, discipline to do their jobs. I had experience of both kinds, even of Theory X managers masquerading as Theory Y managers. Not hard to guess which kind were the more successful.
Those attitudes are primordial and no amount of coaching, teaching, or whatever will turn one kind of manager into the other kind.
Decent list. I think my most common mistake is forgetting who I am managing. I need to consciously change how I interact with different groups and people in our corporation.
Steve
If the last year has taught me anything it is that I am no manager. If I ever find someone who is a manager I will chain them to a desk and force them to force me to work for them.
If I remember correctly, that’s a Peter Drucker distinction. 35 years ago I was managing a little (30 or so people) Type Y in a big Type X company and going gangbusters. Then I was transferred to Germany and the U. S. side of the operation was close down.
You and me both, Michael. My stint at managing the advertising of a small group of newspapers was terrible. I’m better in the background.
” I was managing a little (30 or so people) Type Y in a big Type X company and going gangbusters. Then I was transferred to Germany”
For reeducation?
Basically, to train Germans to perform the functions my department had been performing. After the training was completed I was very surprised to receive a big promotion. I’d expected to be terminated and sent home.
Oy