Management has been defined as “the practice of utilizing all available resources to obtain a desired result.” It is derived from the Latin words manu agere “to lead by the hand”. Management is the process of leading and directing all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). Early twentieth-centurymanagement writer Mary Parker Follett defined management as “the art of getting things done through people.”
From the description above, a Manager is a person who manages the man, material, and monetary resources to achieve goals. An effective Manager should have the following key skills:
- Communication: Good communication skills are of paramount importance to a manager. Communication is a two-fold skill involving both Speaking and Listening. These two skills should be used in conjunction with each other and should be interdependent.
- Vision: A good manager should have a Vision, a Goal and a Focus. They should communicate their vision to his team and make it the common vision of the whole team.
- Integrity: A manager has to be honest in words and actions to their team as well as to themselves. Subordinates are quick to pick up instances of a manager not living by his word.
- Lead by Example: A manager has to remember that Actions Speak Louder than Words. A good manager will first be disciplined himself and then motivate his team to follow his example.
- Enthusiasm: A good team is an enthusiastic team that works towards a common goal. The enthusiasm and belief in the goal has to start at the top. Negativity in a group causes divided vision that spreads like a cancer.
- Efficient Decision-Making: A good manager will always think a situation through before making a decision and acting on it. They should be able to foresee possible changes when making a decision in the first place, and accordingly leave allowances for possible changes.
- Reward: A good leader or manager rewards his staff and acknowledges their success. Rewards should also be spread evenly across all achieving team members and not be focused on just a chosen few.
A good manager will lead a good team that will effectively and efficiently achieve the goals of the organization.
