2 paragraphs or more Discussion Responses for Business

Respond to at least two of your colleagues' postings that contain a perspective other than yours.

· Offer an example, from your experience or observation, that illustrates how a strength or weakness that your colleague discussed impacted how successful a manager was.

· Offer specific ideas that will help your colleague either build upon his or her strengths or overcome an identified weakness.

· Offer further assessment of how a strength or weakness that your colleague identified could impact a manager’s effectiveness.

· Share how something your colleague shared changed the way you consider your own strengths or weakness.

· Compare your viewpoints about the relative importance of strengths and weaknesses to those offered by your colleague.

Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained as a result of the comments that your colleagues made.

1st Colleague to respond to:

In analyzing the most important characteristics effective managers must have, two key qualities come to mind, integrity, and empathy. Managers must take on several roles as apart of their job function, managing a team- adhering to the team's needs, attitudes, working styles, and personal issues improving business performance - overseeing that the goals of the company are met and that stats are trending upwards while managing their own personal lives. In operating in the characteristics of integrity and empathy, managers can remain honest in their job functions while being understanding of how their actions affect others.

 After completing the management assessment, I found several strengths as I scored highly, however, the three strengths that stuck out to me most were motivating people, decision making, and selecting and developing the right people. I feel these strengths resonate with me as it is very important to me to work in an environment in which constant encouragement, positivity and hard work are at the forefront. I am insanely passionate about those characteristics, so it felt good to see my assessment reflect that. I feel the selected strengths will benefit me as a manager because I choose to lead in a transparent, cohesive, and hardworking way which will motivate my team and my company to be the best they can be. In retrospect, I scored lower on managing discipline and dealing with conflict. This also did not surprise me as I truly love to avoid drama and conflict, however, I have never been timid about disciplining someone or asserting my voice.

 In realizing my management aspirations, I believe having a realistic image of yourself is important because perfection is not possible. It is my belief that managers should strive to be the best they can be- beginning on a personal level within themselves as well as developing and honing their professional skills. I also believe its important to do something you are passionate about to perform your very best. How Good Are Your Managing Skills states "Delegating and understanding team dynamics are some of the key skills needed. With those skills, along with patience and a strong sense of balance, you can become a very effective manager" (Mindtools, n.d). This quote drives home the importance of focusing on personal growth, individual and team development, as well as empathy and integrity to develop yourself further.

 Additionally, specific steps that managers can take to develop themselves include taking courses to advance in their specific field, attending conferences and watching business lectures, gaining a mentor who is above them in their field, and taking feedback from their colleagues and team. Although receiving critiques can sometimes feel uncomfortable, it helps to develop individuals into their best selves.

 I personally do not believe levels of management matter in reference to strengths or weaknesses, professionalism, empathy, and sound leadership skills should be exercised from the security supervisor up to the CEO. Leading is a difficult task in itself but no one level is more important than the other to exercise these skills. In understanding various strengths and weaknesses a leader may face I also do not feel one is more than important than the other, management is a position one must be adaptable, focused, and receptive to change to perform well in. Lastly, (Porter, 2017) states "At its simplest, reflection is about careful thought. But the kind of reflection that is really valuable to leaders is more nuanced than that. The most useful reflection involves the conscious consideration and analysis of beliefs and actions for the purpose of learning". It is important for leaders to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses to develop themselves further in their position, to learn new innovative ways to complete their work and to learn how to be a positive influence on their subordinates while continuing to manage their personal growth. 

References

Mindtools. (n.d.). How good are your management skills? Retrieved July 10, 2017,  Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_28.htm 

Porter, J. (2017) Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It). Harvard Business Review

 

2nd Colleague to respond to:

The role of managers is to achieve organizational results and retain staff (Horstman, 2016). To meet these functions, managers need to know their staff, communicate about performance, ask for more, and push work down (Horstman, 2016). Managers that communicate in words and actions that they trust staff and that staff are an essential part of realizing the mission can call forth people's ingenuity. If a manager can fulfill organizational goals by gracefully building a network of empowered staff, then staff progressively solve problems on their own and bring improvements and new revenue opportunities to the organization. I think one of the most important characteristics of a manager is authenticity. Staff will be open to building good relationships with managers when managers are authentic with their direct reports and transparent and fair in decision-making processes.

My experience is primarily within educational institutions. Managers within a school setting (principals and other administrators) have to give staff (teachers) latitude to decide how to manage their classrooms. As professionals, too much scripting and micromanaging can discourage teachers. Most enter the profession out of love for children and helping them grow academically and as a person and community member. Teacher resistance to standardized testing is a clear example of when goals from above (at the school district level) conflict with staff interests (teachers' need for autonomy to meet student needs best) has to be deftly negotiated by managers (principals). The results should be student success, which can look very different for different individuals. Often the results schools are forced to center are high standardized test scores as they increase or decrease money and resources invested in the school. This discussion could go much deeper, but I'll stay focused on the point of this discussion post. The characteristics of an effective manager are likely similar in most fields. Effective managers understand what their company leadership requires and the context in which they operate. At the same time, they understand what the staff needs. Weaving these interests together to meet organizational goals is how they achieve success as a manager.

Looking at my management skills

Completing the MindTools management skills assessment, I scored 82. Three of my strengths are communicating, problem-solving, and selecting and developing the right people. Each of these skills will help achieve organizational goals and retain staff. As a manager, communicating clearly with leadership and with staff creates a work environment where people are aligned in their purpose. All can contribute to finding and implementing solutions when problems arise. I ask leadership the questions my staff will ask. I ask staff the questions leadership will ask. Clear communication reveals intentions and the transparency needed for good relationships. When problems face the organization, I love to facilitate brainstorming sessions. These brainstorming sessions bring clarity to issues, move the problem-solving process forward, and brings to light the strengths of different staff members, so it is obvious who should take on which roles.

A weakness that came up in the assessment was managing discipline. I answered that "I [sometimes] wait before disciplining a team member, so that people have a chance to correct their behaviors for themselves" (MindTools, 2017). I see MindTool's (2017) point that when a manager waits to deal with individual performance problems, the impact spreads throughout the team. Other staff members can feel underappreciated and that the manager is not disciplining staff fairly and consistently. When teaching art in middle school, I saw the negative impact of my tendency to focus on the students working on their projects and let some behavior slide on the other side of the room. The class needed me to clearly define acceptable and unacceptable behavior, consistently enforce those standards, and have logical consequences. I did get better at this over time, but I can still improve more as I move into new professional roles where I manage people.

Actions I can take to be an effective manager

1. During onboarding, we establish expectations. During staff meetings, I can reinforce expectations by celebrating specific examples of staff meeting those expectations and highlighting successes. Building in a positive way to clarify organizational culture can create the consistency I have lacked in managing people.

2. As soon as I see a staff member not meeting expectations, I can make a quick comment to let them know. Communicating immediately in a positive tone can build trust with staff and guide them to greater success in their role. If needed, I can have a more in-depth conversation, where we can better understand one another and our roles.

3. I can schedule one-on-one conversations with all staff periodically in order to build relationships. Knowing staff better means that I can better align individuals' strengths and weaknesses with their roles. Cumulatively, these conversations can increase staff's job satisfaction and productivity.

I think it will be crucial for me to implement these actions to improve my skills at managing discipline. These steps will make me proactive in establishing expectations so that we focus our energy on moving forward and only need to devote energy occasionally to the behaviors that show up when expectations are not clear. My strength in communication will help me manage discipline. My strength in problem-solving will help identify if the problem is with a specific individual who is not a good match for the team or role, or if the problem lies in organizational systems. This strength in problem-solving will directly support selecting and developing the right people. All of the eight essential skills discussed seem important for a manager to practice (MindTools, 2017). Within educational institutions, I think creating a culture of high standards while valuing relationships in a network of support is most important. As each of the eight essential skills contributes to the culture I have described, it is hard to say that one skill matters more than another since they are interdependent. Understanding team dynamics and encouraging good relationships can be the starting point for retaining staff. Communication, planning, and problem-solving can be the starting point for meeting organizational goals. Each of the other skills listed by MindTools (2017) then reinforces those actions to achieve effective management.

References

Horstman, M. (2016). The effective manager. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Mindtools. (n.d.). How good are your management skills? Mindtools.com. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_28.htm