So You Want to be a Manager! Better Yet, a Leader…

You are sitting at your desk at eight o’clock in the evening, wondering how you ended up working for someone who knows less than you know, doing his or her bidding for less money than you are worth, and working late in the bargain.   That’s when it hits you!  YOU should be the boss.  You have done your time in the trenches, and you have all the skills and knowledge you need to do the job.  But do you?

Being a manager means managing people as well as projects and tasks and not everyone is up to the challenge.   There may be important skills you have not considered during all your hours of daydreaming.  And you may have to take on tasks that you do not like.  Sure, you probably do things in your current job that you’d prefer to avoid, but you don’t have anyone to whom you can delegate these tasks.

As a manager, you imagine yourself happily making assignments and walking out the door at 5:00 p.m.  But, is that really what the world of a manager is like?  And, then there are those leadership skills everyone talks about.  How do you get people to WANT to listen to you and follow your direction?  Can you be a good manager AND a good leader?  Suddenly, this whole management thing is starting to sound troubling.

Take a close look at this checklist.  How many of these skills and preferences do you have?  Be honest!

• I am not afraid to make a decision

• I am well organized and disciplined

• I like working with people

• I think that teams make better decisions than individuals

• I enjoy coaching, training and teaching others

• I am not afraid of confrontation

• I have good negotiating skills

• I am willing to take risks to achieve my goals

• I can see the ‘big picture’ and the small tasks that will get results

• I have vision and can influence others to see and share that vision

• I am willing to make mistakes

• I can set goals and achieve them on time and on budget

• I provide clear direction to others

• I like detail

• I like ‘blue sky’ thinking

• I can be honest and firm in personal discussions

• I value a well-rounded employee

• I can work with diverse groups of people from various cultures and organizational levels

• I enjoy leading and participating in teams

• I am not afraid to talk to high-level executives

• I enjoy working with people at all levels in the organization

• I am good with numbers and can manage budgets

• I enjoy presenting concepts and ideas to a group

• I can take criticism

• I am fair and honest in evaluating others

• I like to share my success with others

• I like to work hard

• I don’t mind rolling up my sleeves to help the team succeed

• I can tackle the controversial issues and still achieve a ‘win-win’ outcome

• I know how to set and manage objectives

• I am good at problem solving

• I like to learn new things

• I think it is important to focus on continuous improvement

• I know how to measure results and understand the importance of Return on Investment (ROI)

• I accept setbacks and keep on trying

• I genuinely believe that most people try to do the best job they can

• I still have dreams

• I know that I don’t know everything and never will

• My performance evaluations are consistently high

So, how did you do?  If you were able to place a checkmark next to more than half of these questions, you have more skill than a lot of managers.  If you were able to check 70 or 75% of the items, you have good potential as a leader, as well.

 

 

Go to Part 2: So you want to become a Manager

 

 

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