Everyone knows there are problems in business, but they are not just financial. The economy is hurting, business are going under, or laying of workers. These things are all symptoms of a much bigger problem. Managers are all at 30,000 feet, or in some cases only on ground level.
A manager, whether it is of people or projects, must find the appropriate balance between being high level and being in the weeds. Decisions must be made based on the details with an eye on the future. Without an appropriate balance, decisions are being made with out seeing the whole situation. Managers that are not concerned with the details can make decisions that negatively impact their employees. How can a manager who doesn’t understand what an employee does, make quality decisions? They can’t. How can a manager who can’t see beyond the details make a decisions that aligns to a strategy? They can’t.
There are many articles online about goal setting. These concepts should be followed for individual goals as well as departmental goals. No matter how big the department, a manager needs to manage. Anecdotally, it seems many managers are only supervisors with a higher pay scale. This applies to the lowest line manager to the highest executive. In many cases there isn’t a manager above you that is going to tell you what it takes to make an effective department. If you aren’t managing today for tomorrow your department will suffer.
The current economic troubles only compound these problems. Managers are expected to consolidate departments, navigate transitional times, and generally do more with less staff.
How do you manage effectively?
It all starts with defining goals. You need to define both short term and long term goals for your department. If your companies HR department doesn’t have an effective appraisal process, be sure to work with your staff to define appropriate goals. Formal HR process or not, the staff goals should align to the overall departmental goals.
Short Term. The short term goals should be for the current year. What should your group accomplish this year? Is there room for process efficiencies? Should your group expand it’s capabilities to fill a gap? Be careful to define goals that you have control over. You may need to influence your manager or other departments, but make sure the goals are feasible.
Long Term. The long term goal should be for the following year, perhaps three if your industry is fairly stable. For an individual, long term goals may be 5 or 10 years, but in business it’s hard to plan your department out that long. If you are an executive or Senior VP you should be able to think longer term. . Are there system enhancements your group needs? Are there longer term employee development programs you’d like to implement? Again, the long term goal needs to be attainable.
Once clear goals are defined, you need to evaluate your staff, their day to day responsibilities, and processes. A manager doesn’t need to know every detail of every task, but there needs to be an understanding of the daily operations. If you run a manufacturing department, you should understand the steps of your manufacturing process even. Do you manage a customer service department? You need to know the types of calls you receive and the general understanding of the systems in use, etc.
By coupling the understanding of the lower level details with the short and long term goals, you are in a better position to make sound decisions. It may be common sense, but take a look at your organization. What are the goals? Are the goals translated down to the individual? Do you feel your manager has a strategy? If your experience is anything like mine, my guess your answer is going to be no more often than yes.