Are Management Roles Changing?

[tconnor]

Business Management Tips #248
Are Management Roles Changing?

There are a number of conditions that are impacting the roles of managers today. A few of them are:

• Greater cultural diversity
• Several distinctive employee age groups
• Increased impact and use of technology
• A growing international market place
• Ethical standards that are unclear or inconsistent
• Greater stress levels among all employee groups
• Corporate direction and strategy is under fire by consumers
• The desire of employees for greater independence and autonomy
• Increased consumer choices for products and services
• Fewer specifically skilled employees
• Relentless and accelerating change

Got a migraine yet? There’s more, but I don’t want to be responsible for ruining your day.

With all these factors, again I ask you, are the roles of managers, supervisors and executives changing today? You betcha. Here are just a few that I have observed during the past few years coaching and consulting with many of my clients in a variety of industries worldwide.

1. Many managers are responsible for increasing numbers of remote employees.
2. Some managers are finding that they are spending more time ‘doing’ rather than ‘managing’.
3. Some managers are spending increased time coaching employees on personal issues.
4. All mangers are faced sooner or later with position openings that they can’t fill.
5. Mangers in general have less time for their own personal development.
6. Most managers are having to learn to deal with a variety of different employees culturally, gender wise and age wise.
7. Managers in general are spending more time communicating via email than in person or by telephone

Again, there are many more I could have included, but the essence is, that if you are still using management techniques and behaviors that you used more than five years ago I guarantee you are going to be less effective as a leader, coach and manager in today’s changing world.

The fundamental roles, attitudes or responsibilities of managers have not changed and a few of them are:

1. The need to trust your employees.
2. The need to respect their uniqueness.
3. To communicate openly and honestly.
4. To give them recognition and appreciation that is deserved.
5. The need to have a clear future career path available to them.
6. To compensate them fairly.

If you will do just these six consistently you will go a long way in successfully addressing many of the above listed factors.