Quick 4 question self-check for your effectiveness as a manager

Below are questions that directly assess your effectiveness as a manager. Do you as a manager:

1. Want to manage people?
2. Use more than 2 of the 5 management approaches/styles for handling situations?
3. Prefer or tend to focus either on tasks/controlling OR on people/relating in situations?
4. Consistently excel in both productivity and satisfaction – your own, your co-workers, your reports, your customers, your owners/shareholders, and any other significant stakeholders?

How did you do?

Here is some perspective on each question:

1. This question is less about capability and more about commitment and interest. Surprisingly, about half of all managers do not want to manage people. If you want to manage people, managing effectively will be easier.  You can still manage effectively if you do not want to manage people … but you should do 2 things:
   a. Decide if you will commit to effectively managing people despite your preference otherwise.  Recognize that doing so will take more conscious effort and investment.  If you do not commit and remain a manager, you can do more harm than good for yourself and others.
   b. Make the effort to learn how to manage effectively.  Put that learning into practice daily.
2. Adaptability is a key effectiveness trait for effective management in different situations. 90% of all managers use no more than 2 of the 5 different management approaches/styles for handling situations. This will be OK if situations only require the 2 a particular manager uses.  However, that would be unusual. Today’s work world usually calls for managers to be adept at all 5 different approaches/styles to be fully effective.
3. This question is also about adaptability. Most people will have a preference one way or the other. The issue is adapting to the situation and doing what is needed, rather than what is preferred. Most managers (and people overall) tend to focus either on tasks/controlling OR on people/relating in situations, rather than adapting to the situation. What is natural to you may be easier to do, but that does not mean that is what you should do.  An effective manager knows how to handle both tasks and people-related situations.
4. Long-term organizational success depends upon producvity and satisfaction for all the C.E.O.S. – Customers, Employees, Owners/shareholders, and Significant other stakeholders (For more on the C.E.O.S. concept, see the “What framework should I use for transformation?” section of Wrong Until Right: How to Succeed Despite Relentless Change). However, only about 5% of all managers consistently excel in both productivity and satisfaction for themselves and the C.E.O.S. This may be the most alarming statistic of all.  A manager’s role is to improve productivity and satisfaction beyond what would exist if the manager was not there at all.  95% of all managers do not consistently excel in doing so.

Need help?

People in business, just like in sports, improve faster and better with a coach.  Find one who can help you.

We can help with coaching, assessments, and training that can produce 4 times better results than traditional training. In fact, our leadership development programs help you avoid the mistakes above AND provide positive ROI, paying for the programs.

Contact us to discuss your situation and your needs … managerial effectiveness will not improve on its own and can even decay over time, so don’t wait for a “perfect time” to act!