Seven Super Simple Management Guidelines

Make These Part of any Manager’s Job Description 

Add these seven guidelines to any job description for any type of manager. This would also make a great email to send to all your staff this Monday morning. 

What should a manager do? Anyone in a position to manage, or who want to be, should do these things: 

1. Get Stuff Done (GSD). Managers are doers and they meet their deadlines. We call them GSDs. They move while others talk. They recognize work that must be done, and they somehow find a way to get it done.
2. Figure Stuff Out (FSO). A good manager is a great troubleshooter and problem solver. They find answers for themselves. They immediately confront problems and quickly find ways to get them solved.
3. Long-Term Planning. Managers will proactively identify issues that others simply react to. They will create, implement, manage, and finetune systems to avoid those problems.
4. Set Objectives and Delegate. The manager sets clear goals for the team and decides what work needs to be done to meet those goals. When delegating, they divide the work into manageable activities and select people to accomplish the tasks that need to be done.
5. Motivate and Communicate. The manager creates a team out of their people through coaching and providing clarity on what, why, and how they work.
6. Measure and Monitor. The manager establishes appropriate targets and yardsticks, and analyzes, appraises, and interprets performance. They know that what gets measured gets done.
7. Develop and Mentor. Managers are trainers. Their success depends on the capabilities of their team members. This is especially true for technology workers.