by Ken Vincent, Featured Contributor
NOT EVERYONE is cut out for a management role. Your probably won’t like such a position, nor do well in it if you have these traits.
A. You want to be liked.
Managers have to make unpleasant decisions that are not popular sometimes. If that is going to cause you to waffle, or avoid such actions then you are failing to do your job. Your staff needs to respect you, they don’t have to like you. Neither do they have to like all the decisions you make. They do need to understand why they are necessary though.
B. You feel that no one can do a job better than you, and you always have the best solution to a problem.
The hard truth of the matter is that isn’t true. There are usually several ways to do a job well and several solutions to any problem. The reality is you won’t have all the best. Failure to accept that will cause you to micromanage and no one is going to like that.
C. Your emotions tend to run on the surface.
Your people need a rock. An anchor that can be counted on for all the ups and downs. Showing your mood swings when happy, frustrated, sad, disappointed, fearful, etc. will do nothing to keep matters on an even keel. Your mood swings will impact staff and that will impact business.
D. You don’t like paper work.
Every management job comes with some paperwork. Budgets, reports, invoice processing, writing job descriptions, and manuals. It never seems to end. Whether you avoid those, or use them as a place to hide you won’t be a good manager.
E. You want to be friends with your employees.
Don’t go there. You can not be drinking buddies with your staff and remain objective. Find your friends somewhere else.
F. You like a 40 hour workweek and your weekends free.
Forget it. A manager is hired to do a job and get defined results. Not something that can be neatly packaged in a 9-5 job. A 40 hour work week will be a novelty to be enjoyed if you ever have one.
G. You find that pressure and stress are disconcerting.
Those will be the foundation of your job in all likelihood. If you can’t handle those, don’t get into management. You will have pressure from above, from below, from your competition, and from your client base. Stress will kill you if you don’t know how to manage it.
What other points do you find critical to being successful in management?
H. You like to punish people for your mistakes. People will jump ship quickly. Then your results are screwed.
I. You use the word “overqualified” while interviewing. Guaranteed to make sure that highly qualified people will not be on your team, so your team is full of losers.
Years of experience and wisdom Ken. How true.