13 Oct Management
Can you manage it? It is one thing to be given responsibility, as a manager. To supervise others is an immense task. It requires a strong character, even when there may be a difference of opinion.
In all circumstances, you should only manage according to your capacity to do so to the maximum of your capability. If ‘life is like an employer that gives you what you ask and once you set the wages then you must bear the task’1, then you need to be specific about request and be prepared to maintain your management of what you get.
In relationships, as well, one must manage one’s time and one’s contribution to the partnership, because that is what a relationship is – a merger of partners into one common lifestyle, with shared goals and principles. One must set times for speaking with one’s partner. Going out to events and hosting dinners and parties requires constant management. Budgeting is extremely important. Agreeing on a budget and adhering to it can make or break a relationship.
Being a good manager in all instances requires delegation of responsibility to others who are as capable or more so proficient at the same work. Perhaps knowingly hiring or assigning others who are more capable is a key component of being a great manager. Not allowing one’s pride to get in the way of work being completed is a superior management. If your staff can outperform you, then you know that you selected great workers.
Managing personalities, once you have selected the best team members is great management. To be a good manager one must know when to inspire one’s team and when to let your staff excel at the work that they do best. Sometimes just staying out of the way and letting your staff thrive at their work is what makes a great manager.
Having a good eye and an upbeat perspective is what makes a manager a good leader. To be a good leader is not the same as leading. People do not like being lead like sheep. But a good shepherd does not seem to be leading his / her sheep. The sheep just seem to follow a path that they see other sheep walking. It is really only the lead sheep that a shepherd needs to lead. Perhaps having a good supervisor or assistant manager that seems to be the lead is an excellent management partner.