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Management Roles
The primary role of management is to make it possible for teams to work. They
also provide guidance and direction to work effort.
The role of management in an organization is purely functional. It is not a
role any more or less prestigious than any other role in the company. It is
similar to the difference between marketing personnel and engineering personnel.
The function of management is:
 | Set up a plan (vision) for the company, group, or team being managed.
| Ensure that the management personnel can do their jobs with the up most efficiency.
| Resolve any disputes that arise.
| Act as an interface between employees and upper management
 | Track resource use and report costs to higher management.
| Present new ideas for the company to upper management.
| Track project progress and revise estimates or make adjustments.
| Deal with problems and shield employees from them as much as possible
to allow them to concentrate on their jobs. |
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One important difference between managers and other functional positions in
the company lies in the fact that decisions made by the manager will affect more
people either in a positive or negative way.
Skills Required
| Communication - Learn to listen and be observant.
| Experience - At least 10 years working in a field similar to those being
managed. A broad background is helpful.
| Leadership - Leadership is really a mix of many other skills and in many
ways is intangible. A true leader, however, is willing to do any task
necessary to complete the job. That means, they are willing to do the same
work as other employees and get their hands dirty when required.
| Delegation - Good managers must be willing to trust their staff and
delegate responsibility and authority.
| Organizational - Being able to organize teams, roles and projects is
important. Some organizational requirements can be delegated, however.
Having a messy desk does not necessarily mean a manager is unorganized. |
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Not all individuals have all these skills in abundance, but essential skills
require communications and getting along with others.
What to do
| Trust your team and expect professionalism unless proven otherwise.
| Base project estimates using employee estimates times the observed load
factor of the team. The load factor can be calculated when iterative
development is used. It is calculated based on how long the iteration would
have actually taken vs the original time estimated.
| Make sure all team members are heard with regard to ideas and project
input when applicable.
| Make sure all confidential meetings with employees stay confidential. |
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What not to do
| Force schedules upon employees. This is dependent on the project or
problem. If there is a major problem such as a network being down it needs
to be fixed as soon as possible. For these types of problems or mission
critical problems, everything else is stopped until it is fixed. Therefore
this is as much a setting of priority, but is normally a short term problem
where overtime is justified.
| Be bureaucratic with employees that show initiative.
| Fail to reward desired behavior.
| Fail to resolve problems when they occur. |
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Management Roles
Management must:
| Keep focused on requirements
| Shield the team from distractions
| Resolve conflicts |
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Serious project risks that can be caused, allowed, or influenced by
management are:
| Excessive schedule pressure
| Creeping requirements
| Poor estimates
| Low quality
| Low productivity
| Inadequate measurement |
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Source: CTDP
Management
Guide
Mintzberg's 10 Managerial Roles
| INTERPERSONAL |
Figurehead |
Performs ceremonial and symbolic duties such as greeting visitors,
signing legal documents |
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Leader |
Direct and motivate subordinates, training, counseling, and
communicating with subordinates |
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Liaison |
Maintain information links both inside and outside organization; use
mail, phone calls, meetings |
| INFORMATIONAL |
Monitor |
Seek and receive information, scan periodicals and reports, maintain
personal contacts |
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Disseminator |
Forward information to other organization members; send memos and
reports, make phone calls |
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Spokesperson |
Transmit information to outsiders through speeches, reports, memos |
| DECISIONAL |
Entrepreneur |
Initiate improvement projects, identify new ideas, delegate idea
responsibility to others |
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Disturbance Handler |
Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolve conflicts
among subordinates; adapt to environmental crises |
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Resource Allocator |
Decide who gets resources, scheduling, budgeting, setting priorities |
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Negotiator |
Represent department during negotiation of union contracts, sales,
purchases, budgets; represent departmental interests |
Original source: Henry
Mintzberg - The Nature of Managerial Work
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