[Solution] Roles and Skills of Managers
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Author: Sarah Bennett
Managerial Roles and the Skills Needed to Perform Them
Managers play a variety of roles in organizations. Any manager likely needs to perform a variety of functions, but top executives are likely to play the most roles as part of the job and, as a result, need the broadest skill set to be successful.
Managerial Roles
A study of CEOs suggested that senior leaders play 10 roles in organizations:
-
Interpersonal roles
- Figurehead—fulfilling ceremonial duties as a symbol of the organization
- Leader—managing employees
- Liaison—coordinating people or organizations
-
Informational roles
- Monitor—seeking information
- Disseminator—forwarding information to others in the organization
- Spokesperson—providing information in a formal way to people outside the organization
-
Decisional roles
- Entrepreneur—initiating change
- Disturbance handler—handling potential disruptions to the organization
- Resource allocator—deciding how resources will be distributed
- Negotiator—representing the company in external negotiations and mediating internal negotiations
Managerial Skills
To fulfill the responsibilities asked of them and advance in their careers, managers need to develop the following seven skills:
- Technical skills, to accomplish or at least understand the work done in the organization
- Interpersonal skills, to communicate with and motivate individuals and groups
- Conceptual skills, to think about problems in the abstract for creative problem solving
- Diagnostic skills, to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation
- Communication skills, to effectively convey and receive ideas and information
- Decision-making skills, to correctly recognize and define problems and opportunities and then choose an appropriate course of action
- Time management skills, to prioritize tasks, work efficiently, and delegate appropriately
For the next two questions, read the example of a management responsibility and choose the corresponding management role.
Organizing industry networking events so professionals can share information
- Figurehead
- Leader
- Liaison
View Explanation
Managers who link different people, groups, or organizations so that information flows between them are performing the liaison role. This is one of the interpersonal roles that managers play; the others are leader and figurehead.
Learning about a goal of one team in the organization and passing that information along to another team that may be able to help
- Spokesperson
- Monitor
- Disseminator
View Explanation
Managers often learn information that is of value to others in the organization. By passing along, or disseminating, this information, managers help different parts of the organization work together better. Disseminating is one of the informational roles that managers perform; the others are monitor and spokesperson.
Choosing to spend more money on one project than another
- Disturbance handler
- Entrepreneur
- Resource allocator
- Negotiator
View Explanation
By choosing where and how much money will be spent, a manager plays the resource allocator role. This is one of the decisional roles managers perform; the others are entrepreneur, disturbance handler, and negotiator.
Match each description to the corresponding management skills.
Interviewing job candidates
Establishing good working relationships with other managers in different departments, even though their priorities are different
Discovering that the main reason a nonprofit organization has trouble attracting donations is that members of the community misunderstand its mission
When a problem occurs, immediately telling staff how to solve it
Anticipating correctly that the company must prepare for a technological innovation that will change the way consumers want to buy and use the company's services
Focusing on the most important task of the day, even when many less important tasks compete for attention
Using good listening skills to make everyone feel that their ideas are taken into consideration
View Explanation
Technical skills: Managers who lead certain kinds of work often have at least some of the technical skills needed to do the work, even if they largely delegate this work to subordinates.
Interpersonal skills: Managers need to have good interpersonal skills to communicate with, understand, and motivate other people and groups within and outside the organization. Interpersonal skills are closely tied to communication skills: good relationships are built and sustained with good communication.
Conceptual skills: Conceptual skills, or the ability to think in the abstract, are important to set strategic direction in light of the "big picture."
Diagnostic skills: Problems inevitably arise, but successful managers use diagnostic skills to determine the cause of the problem and arrive at an appropriate solution. Good diagnostic skills are closely tied to good decision-making skills, since it is easier to make good decisions if one has an accurate understanding of the problem at hand.
Communication skills: Managers need to have good communication skills, which include choosing the most appropriate medium for communications, communicating clearly, and listening closely. Because good communication sustains relationships, communication skills are closely tied to interpersonal skills.
Decision-making skills: Managers with good decision-making skills gather as much information as they can to make good decisions, but don't wait too long when a situation calls for swift action. A manager who has a reputation as a good decision maker inspires confidence during challenging situations.
Time management skills: Managers often work long hours and must use their time efficiently. Therefore, time management skills are very important for managers. These include delegating tasks to others, deferring less important tasks, and staying organized.
