Yesterday, my counterpart on TOA posted some incoherent babble about the general and the simple. I thought I would stop by this week to take those ramblings and apply them directly to the manager role.
First, I’ll consider some common generalizations about management that I find useful but unclear. Then, I’ll simplify them into a set of skills every manager needs. I came up with five – for now – so let’s keep it simple and do one per day through all of this week.
Generalization: a manager must be good at time management
Simplification: a manager must do things on time
Time management is a nice way to frame this idea. We could spend all day talking about this skill. However, instead of creating a complicated process, let’s just measure time management ability against a simple performance question – was the task done on time? If it was, then the time was managed appropriately. If it wasn’t, then the manager must manage time better.
When a manager says something will get done at 4pm on Tuesday, it simply has to get done at 4pm on Tuesday. A manager unable to meet the schedule consistently might as well not have a schedule at all. Who on the team will trust a schedule or worry about a deadline if nothing ever gets done on time?
