World's Best Boss
Doreen Rainey
I delivered a training last week to a group of directors and my first question to them was this: Are you a reporter or a manager?"
At the look on their faces, I knew they had no idea what I was talking about. Then I explained. A reporter is someone who has a group of people under them that report to them. They tell them what to do and then they follow-up to see if they've done it. They may get status reports from them, they may have staff meetings with them, they may even show them how to do a few things, but the nature of the relationship is very linear. The communication between them is usually "I'll tell you what to do and you'll tell me what you've done".
Now, on the other hand, a manager is one who takes on the full scope that is required of them when they take on the responsibility of having a staff. This includes doing what a reporter does, but also includes coaching, mentoring, correcting, training, leading, advocating, supporting, developing and teaching. These are the types of managers that get mugs, like the one above, from their employees. These are the managers that everyone wants to to work for. These are the managers who understand the real power in their staff and develops them to become empowered employees.
There is a great responsibility that comes with managing and I've spoken with a lot of people who can be quick to point out everything that is wrong with their own manager. They can look at that list above and state, specifically, which of those items are missing from the person they report to. But the bigger question is, if you are a manager, are YOU fulfilling all of those roles?
Many times, people are promoted to manage people because they do their own job well - not because they have great people skills. Unfortunately, not all companies will invest in new managers to teach them how to do all that is required in the their new job description. So, if you manage people, which one are you - a reporter or a manager?
The interesting thing about this is not really what you think, but what your staff thinks of you. Do you see yourself one way, and they see you another? Do you think you encompass all of those traits but your staff would beg to differ?
Why not ask them? See what they have to say. And if there are some areas where you fall short, get the skills, training, and coaching you need to be able to fully fulfill your role as manager - and leave the reporting behind.
Oh yeah, another trait of a great manager is to be able to ask tough questions of their staff to get the feedback they need to become better at what they do. So be a manager...ask your staff what they think of you.
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