Manager: This word evokes a lot of emotions in all
of us. Many a time our manager or manager(s) decide our fate and career
prospects in our professional lives based on various well written,
documented processes and sometimes on completely fictitious and insane
self-assumptions, which have no sensible logic! This word will flood our
memories with many words: supportive, demanding, task-master, kind
hearted, humorous, motivational, energetic, knowledgeable, flexible,
reasonable, human, egoistic, approachable, mentor, allergic,
aggressive... unrealistic, scheming, unreasonable, fearful,
de-motivating, sarcastic, sadistic, the list is endless. Some managers
have had an immense positive effect and some drastic negative effects on
our lives. I have segmented them into seven categories and briefly
detailed only the positives aspects of each of these categories. Check
out your type, or your manager type. Most have over
lapping qualities,
but all will have one of these as a dominant style of managing teams.
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Emergency Manager: These managers fully understand the
importance of profits and returns. They are good planners, care for the
health and safety of their colleagues. They are great at handling
crisis, take risks, and seldom compromise on organizational goals or
cross legal boundaries. They are control freaks and authoritative in
nature. They are decisive and calm even among the midst of chaos and
emergency situations. They never lay back and are always pushing you
beyond your limits.
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Relationship Manager: Their ability to build and work
on relationships is their primary strength. They handle conflicts easily
on the basis of this inherent strength of investing a lot of time with
everyone. They use their interpersonal and strong communication skills
to gain trust and loyalty among team members. Their emotional quotient
is very high and hence can give you good and bad news with equal élan.
They are customer focused, open in praising and recognizing your work.
They are always available to listen to your problems and issues. They
are quiet protective and demanding of their teams.
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Adaptive Manager - They are good at logic, rational and
scientific in approach. They use data to manage work and measure
performance. They believe in systems and processes, and use them
effectively in enhancing efficiency and driving productivity. Being
experts in their field of specialty, they have strong analytical and
technical skills. They think strategically and make quick decisions to
capitalize on available opportunities. If inwardly focused, they are
good at organizing information and monitoring results. If, outwardly
focused, they anticipate work flow issues and get things done. They plan
and prioritize their work and provide stability and continuity. They
embrace and adapt best practices of others.
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Supportive Manager: They focus on developing the
healthy facets of your personality. They are accountable and take
responsibility for all their thoughts, feelings, and actions. They seek
opinions, build consensus, and empower their teams. They give others
freedom, making them accountable for outcomes and results, hate
micromanaging direct reports. They research well, evaluate risks before
embarking on new ventures. They promote participation, equality, and
diversity. They ignore or remove hierarchy. They are quite flexible.
They are enablers and innovators, encourage others to express themselves
and share their ideas. They enjoy challenges and are bold in their
approach to problems.
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Inspirational Manager: They have a clear vision and
mission for themselves, others and the organisation. They demonstrate
integrity and are living examples of values-based leadership. They build
cohesiveness and focus on bringing values, openness, fairness, and
transparency, they build trust and commitment among their teams. The
culture they create unleashes enthusiasm, passion, and creativity within
the teams they lead. They are more concerned about getting the best
result for every one rather than their own self-interest. They are
focused on the common goal for good. They are honest and truthful and
display integrity in all they do. This confidence and their openness
allow them to reclassify problems as opportunities.
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Mentoring Manager: They are the game changers in your
life. They are fully responsive, recognize and focus on building a
working environment where individuals are encouraged and empowered to
deliver their full potential. They collaborate to create win-win
situations. They are practical and display empathy. They create an
environment where individuals can excel. They are always actively
mentoring and coaching their subordinates. They are intuitive
decision-makers. They are inclusive. They are on top of their game. They
are very active in building relationships that create goodwill and
build resilience. They display emotional, social, and intellectual
intelligence.
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Visionary Manager: These managers are motivated by the
need to be of service to all. They can handle any level of complexity.
They care about legacy and what others think about them. They are
focused more on long-term results rather than short-term gains. They see
their own mission and that of their teams from a larger, organisational perspective. They are committed to social responsibility and ethics.
They act with humility and compassion. They are generous in feelings,
patient, and pardoning by nature. They are at ease with uncertainty and
can tolerate ambiguity. They enjoy solitude and can be reclusive and
reflective. They are admired for their wisdom and vision. They are great
role models and achieve high status and success in life.
