Expectation of a Manager by an Employee...by a Manager

I am inclined to think.

I have been reading a bit, reading through Good to Great (Jim Collins) and then now, First, Break All the Rules (Marcus Buckingham). Actually in between there was True North by Bill George, Shift: Inside Nissan’s Historic Revival by Carlos Ghosn, Blue Ocean Strategy by W.Chan Kim. Anyway I digress.

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The world today is globalized. Wherever we look there are plenty of opportunities to move between companies. This makes it easier for good talent and skills to move from one company to another.

As a manager, should I fear this or remember that there are others who can take their place?The managerial mindset differs from manager to manager. I have seen how my team will act and react based on the type of manager I am.

One of a manager’s skills is to be able to tune himself effectively to manage his individual employee. Each employee has a different string to play to. Pluck the right string and he will perform. Failing to pluck that string will result in his inability to perform.

A manager should not dictate his managerial style on to the employees. I have seen this happen and it ends up the employee feeling dissatisfied, grumpy, unhappy and dissenting. Playing to their strings by the manager will help to enhance the relationship, understanding, motivate them and push them.

How should a manager treat and react to an employee if he/she (the employee) is asked to give leadership effectiveness feedback on the management as a whole? Each manager will have a role to play to ensure that the feedback is successful. The manager needs to realize he is asking the employee to rate him/her. He has to cater to the individual employee’s needs.

It does not mean that the engineer does not cater to the manager’s expectations. This is always set out in the objectives and targets discussion with the managers but then the employees do not discuss expectations and deliverables FROM their managers with the managers. Employees are looking at the manager not only for directions, but also leadership and coaching. Employees should be encouraged to open up, but at the same time managers need to take these feedbacks openly.

A manager has to be caring yet stern, patient yet aggressive, understanding yet forceful. What I am trying to say is that to move forward in this new globalized economy, managers need to be good coaches AND leaders while at the same time reaching out to their employees and addressing the needs of those employees as best they can.

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