The Role, Challenges, and Definition of a Line Manager

The Role, Challenges, and Definition of a Line ManagerThe Role, Challenges, and Definition of a Line ManagerA line manager is a person who directly manages other employees and operations of a business while reporting to a higher ranking manager. The line manager term is often used interchangeably with direct manager. Responsibilities The line (or direct) manager plays an important role in the operation of many businesses. The individual is responsible for managing employees and resources in pursuit of achieving specific functional or organizational goals. Some of the responsibilities of the typical line manager include Recruiting and hiring talent to fill team positionsProviding training and support to new hiresCross-training employees to ensure job rotation and minimize assignment coverage gapsProviding coaching and wertmiger zuwachs feedback to all team membersCommunicating and ensuring understanding of functional or departmental goalsMonitoring individual and team metricsand p erformance versus targetsIdentifying the need for corrective actionsEnsuring quality standards for all processesEvaluating overall teamand individual performance and delivering the performance reviews Engaging with other line managers across the organizationProviding reports on productivity and other performance indicators to management Importance Based on the responsibility listing above, it is clear that the line manager plays an important part in theoverall organizational performance. A good manager is actively involved with his/her team members, providing support, offering encouragement, and delivering positive and constructive feedback on a daily basis. Line managers directly influence employee satisfaction and engagement and, as a result, organizational productivity and even customer satisfaction. While senior management is involved in developing and approving a firms strategy, the hard work of implementing the strategy takes place at lower levels of the organization. Line managers are critical cogs in ensuring that new programs are implemented in a timely and effective manner. They are well positioned to identify problems with the strategy execution programs and the input of the line manager is essential for organizational learning. Talent development is a key priority for any organization, and line managers wield large control over the identification, development, and versetzung of talented professionals on their teams. Often, the next generation of line managers emerges from these teams. Challenges There are a variety of stress points and challenges for a typical line manager. These include Significant responsibility for overall operations, often with limited resourcesJobs that demand long hoursA trend to increase the line managers span of control. Instead of six to eight direct reports, line managers often have much larger teams. The larger the team, the more difficult it is to provide timely and effective coaching and development supportThe need to navigate frequent employee turnover. Many line managers are in perpetual hiring and training mode, making it difficult for them to implement operational improvements or increase performance versus productivity targets Constant pressure to minimize expenses and maximize output Career Path It is common for top performing line managers to either rise through the ranks of management or broaden their responsibility to encompass other areas of a firms operations. The line managers detailed knowledge of business processes and how the organization works make him/her an ideal candidate for broader general management roles. Do Not Confuse Project and Line Manager Some managers, like project managers, are responsible for directing the work of other employeesbut are not responsible for the administrative management of those individuals. They do not discipline the employee, promote/demote them, make salary adjustments, etc. In a typical matrix management structure, the project ma nager gives work direction to the project team members regardless of what department or functional group they came from. The people who run those departments and groups, who manage all the individuals in them, are the line managers. Also, some individuals have manager in their titlebut dont actually manage anyone else. These individuals also are not line managers. Updated by Art Petty.

3 signs a conversation needs to happen

3 signs a conversation needs to happen3 signs a conversation needs to happenProductive conversations turn conflict into collaboration, reduce costly mistakes and create a culture of accountability.However, productive conversations are often avoided because of a perceived difficulty in initiating the conversation. Ive heard everything from, I dont want her to cry, to Im afraid of blowing up, to Its the company picnic this week to I cant afford to lose them.What makes a conversation difficult varies from person to person. The variables include the depth of the relationship, the power structures, the timing and experience. But what all avoidance patterns have in common are three things Fear of the emotional experience,skill leveland the unwillingness to do theemotional laborrequired.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe hidden element is awareness. Many of us are unaware that we even need to initiate a conversation. The situation always looks like the schwierigkeit belongs to someone else, but until we as leaders take full responsibility, nothing will change.When executives blame middle managers for not initiating conversations, the lingering question is this Who is managing the managers? It always comes back to leadership, and it starts at the top.When senior-level leaders avoid, they create a culture of avoidance. You cant fix what you dont acknowledge and you wont acknowledge what you are unaware of. The signs that you need to initiate a difficult conversation is all around you if you know where to look. Here are three signs that indicate a conversation needs to happen.A negative intern landscapeYour inner landscape is your thoughts, feelings and emotions. If you find yourself thinking bad thoughts about someone, it doesnt mean your thoughts are true or factual. It means you are far over-due for a conversation. When you blame someone without talking to them first, it means you arent taking full responsibility for the situation. When you judge someone, it means you dont fully understand, and when you resent someone it might mean you failed to set a boundary.If you find yourself gossiping, running to a friend to dish on someone else, it means you are avoiding talking to the one person who could actually change the situation.Understanding your inner landscape is about growing inemotional intelligence. If you arent paying attention to your inner landscape and thus your inner dialogue, you are not aware enough to initiate a productive conversation.Unwanted business resultsYour hot-headed tantrum-throwing partner isnt just an emotional issue. Theres a business case happening before your very eyes. Besides irritating you and creating a toxic culture, you are losing employees. Or worse, you are keeping employees who arent engaged and arent speaking up. The result is loss due to turnover, or costly mistakes waiting to happen.Your Queen Bee you think is such a star performer, but isnt good at teamwork is not actually a star performer. The problem is that you dont equate team performance with overall performance. Theres always a business case for cleaning up bad behavior, you just have to notice how to connect the dots. Chances are your avoidance or lack of awareness is costing you productivity, reputation, teamwork or speed.MisalignmentLook for evidence that the behaviors you see in the workplace harmonize with the mission, vision and values expressed on the website. When it comes to bad behavior that needs to be addressed, the biggest excuse I see at all levels is Thats just the way I am or Thats just the way its always been.Its usually followed up with something relating to one of the dozens of personality assessments out there Hes a very high D on the Disc, therefore, fill in the blank. Or, according to her Myers-Briggs, shes an INFJ, thereforeRecently at an executive round-table I was asked this question What about the differentmanagement styles?My answer was this I dont look at styles in the beginning. I look at alignment to the mission, vision, and values. The style doesnt matter nearly as much as alignment.Personality assessments can help you understand yourself, your colleagues, and your peers, or they can be used to avoid doing what is necessary to make the needed course-corrections.High D on theDisc?Doesnt mean its OK to throw fits if the values of the organization are trust, integrity and collaboration. Quick Start on theKOLBE?Doesnt mean its OK to go rogue without getting agreement from your senior executives.With that said, if the mission is to win at all costs and the top value is hustle, you will attract the right employees to play that game, as well.From this understanding its not about right or wrong, black or white. Its about making decisions in alignment and being able and willing to deal with the consequences as they come.ConclusionContinually avoiding the elephant in the room cre ates a culture of neglect and avoidance. Your conversations eitherdrive resultsor drive drama. Productive conversations is a key to creating adrama-free culturethat drives growth and reduces costly mistakes.This article originally appeared on SmartBrief.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

4 Ways Youre Annoying Your Boss - The Muse

4 Ways Youre Annoying Your Boss - The Muse4 Ways Youre Annoying Your BossThe road to a career downfall is paved with good intentions. If youre spending your days in the arbeitszimmer coming up with new ideas, speaking out about your opinions, intervening in office emergencies, and, overall, displaying your leadership skills, you probably have every intention of furthering the companys goals- and, at the same time, your career. But sometimes, between those noble intentions and the way your actions play out, youre doing more harm than good. By doing a few key things the wrong way, you may be making your way onto your babo bad side. Like these.1. Going Around Him or Her to Make DecisionsWhen theres an urgent situation at the office, sometimes you have to make an executive decision. Maybe your boss is in a meeting and you cant get ahold of him or her, or maybe you just want to show off your leadership chops- either way, you decide on a course of action and notify everyone involved. In so me cases, your boss will certainly appreciate your willingness to stop in. But for larger issues that may extend beyond your expertise, this isnt always the best plan. For example, a co-worker of mine recently pointed out that there welches an error in our customer newsletter that had already gone out to our client base. He immediately sent an email to the entire marketing department, demanding that a correction be sent to all customers, indicating it was a significant error and would likely spur customer complaints. The marketing department went into a frenzy, drafting the email, getting it approved by the higher-ups, and preparing to send it. And then my co-workers boss stopped by. We showed him the email- which, as it turns out, he hadnt known about. His reaction? Oh, we dont need to send anything. Its not that big of a deal.What was an absolute emergency to my co-worker was an insignificant oversight to his boss. And his boss wasnt too happy that hed created chaos and wasted the entire marketing departments afternoon. How to Avoid ItThere are times when you can safely and confidently make an executive decision (here are a few pointers), but when its a significant issue or you arent 100% sure about the situation, get your boss thoughts before acting. 2. Making Everything an EmergencyTheres a fine line between keeping your boss informed and assuming every situation is one that needs immediate attention. Yes, your boss certainly wants to know whats going on, so he or she can, if necessary, intervene. But sometimes, that turns into overwhelming your boss with interruptions, emails with the subject line, Urgent and frazzled office pop-ins- all in the spirit of making sure he or she knows whats going on.Often, you do this simply because youd rather be safe than sorry. Its better that you notify your boss of an escalating situation as its happening, rather than have it blow up in everyones face later. But when the situation isnt actually an emergency, its an inco nvenience for your boss. So, its important that you can discern the difference between what is truly urgent and what is part of standard geschftlicher umgang operations. How to Avoid ItIt may take some time to determine whats really an emergency and what can wait to be brought up or handled completely on your own, but for the sake of your boss sanity- and yours, too- its important to learn.You have the companys biggest client on the line, about to cancel his or her contract and sue the organization? Yes, emergency. A typically happy customer left a mediocre response on his or her latest customer service survey? Probably not something you need to rush into your boss office immediately to address.3. Taking Forever to Get to the PointYour boss is probably juggling a lot of information at any given time. He has to keep up with his own work, as well as that of each of his direct reports. But that doesnt mean that when you have to tell him about a certain situation, you need to provide ev ery last detail. As a manager, I would often have employees who would compose essay-length emails or give me long-winded speeches about a certain situation, from the very first email that was sent to who said what and how long it took her to respond to everything else remotely related to the story- until we eventually arrived at the current state of the challenge. In the end, the only thing that really mattered could have been summarized in a few quick sentences. In the long run, many details of a situation are unnecessary- and to point you in the right direction, your boss probably doesnt need to hear about them. Just give him or her the basic facts, and youll arrive at a much speedier solution. How to Avoid ItSummarize the situation first. This is especially important in an email, when information at the end tends to get lost and overlooked, but works well in direct conversations, too. In a couple short sentences, sum up the situation and what you need from your boss. If he or she needs more information, you can then go into your reasoning. 4. Failing to Look Beyond Your RoleTypically, bosses think its great when you suggest ideas to improve processes or produce better work. But in any company and role, when you present these ideas, its easy to get tunnel vision and only consider how your idea will impact you. Maybe you want to implement a new process that would eliminate some of your workload by allowing you to document less. While thats great for you, what youre not considering is how that might increase the workload of your co-workers in other departments by forcing them to track down the information you didnt document. Or, maybe you think you would benefit from a new software program- but dont take into account that the money would be taken away from the continuing education budget for your team and hinder the professional development of your peers. How to Avoid ItThink about the big picture. As you move up in your career, youll find more and more that y ou need to think beyond you and your department. Consider how your ideas will affect other teams, the company budget, and workloads- and adjust your plan accordingly. That will allow you to present well-thought out, forward-thinking plans to your boss. In the end, there are probably much more annoying things that you could do. But when its your career on the line, its worth it to make sure youre performing to the highest standards possible. Photo of woman saying no courtesy of Shutterstock.