Saturday, May 19, 2012

Management Tips for Novice Managers

Management in any organization is defined as the act of gathering people together for the purpose of accomplishing objectives or desired goals. Management is focused on the handling of all available resources and planning towards the accomplishment of clearly defined goals in an effective and efficient manner.

Management has six (6) basic functions – Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Leading, Monitoring, and Motivating. These functions must be performed altogether and with utmost precision in management.

  • Planning – is the determination and plotting of strategic course for the future in accordance with the objectives and available resources. It comprises a policy and strategy determination, risk mitigation, procedure and guideline setting, and action course for the future.

  • Organizing – is simply the act of resource allocation for the optimization of its use in the course towards the successful implementation of plans and achievement of goals.

  • Staffing – is determining and analyzing the needed resources – specifically man power, for the achievement of goals. It is the recruitment and hiring of appropriate individuals for the job.

  • Leading – is the act of doing the appropriate action to any situation and making people do the job.

  • Monitoring – constant appraisal of the achieved progress against the plans and making recommendations and modifications to plans if needed.

  • Motivating – is to appeal and to inspire people to take on the task that is necessary to the accomplishment of goals.


With the enormous task involved in management, managers – people who are tasked to perform management functions, often are lost and fall short of their responsibilities. Many managers tend to neglect one or more of its basic functions and concentrate only to a few of them or is inclined only on the achievement of goals, sacrificing important resources on the way – usually the people or workforce.  This situation always leads to conflict and very undesirable results of hampering on the accomplishment of goals.

Here are some tips on effective management and performance of its functions for novice managers.

  • Be honest and trustworthy, the manager’s success heavily depends on the subordinates’ trust.

  • Be confident in your abilities, but keep an open mind – there is always someone out there smarter than you are.

  • Be consistent, avoid being rigid. You can change your mind, many situations demand flexibility, it is always good to be flexible.

  • Learn from mistakes. Accept every failure and do not waver on always trying. Every failure is a learning experience.

  • You handle people, not machineries. Be sensitive to their situation and always be informed with what is going on. Always know your staffs and talk to them.

  • Promptly act to fix the problem in hand rather than trying to finger point who the culprit is. There is enough time for that afterwards.

  • Keep track on priority items, do not dwell on minor things. Deputize trusted people to do the minor things and check on them once in a while. Paper works are important but don’t let it distract you.

  • Keep your people informed on the goals and guidelines but do not give them strict instructions. Give them the opportunity to show initiative, innovation, and attitude. Cultivate their potentials.

  • “Be an example” and “Walk what you talk”. Follow the rules and be with your people on troubled times. If you requested Overtime, be there. It is always comforting to them knowing you sympathized.

  • Set realistic goals. Goals should be measurable, specific, and achievable.

  • Invest on trainings. It always pays off on productivity if your people are well trained to do the job.

  • Keep in mind the “Command Responsibility” rule. Everything that occurs inside your scope of power is your responsibility.


Management skills, some people say are in-born skills and are pre-destined. Do not be fooled and think that you are not fit for the job. The position of a manager is not given when you are just being born, it is actually awarded to individuals who exert effort and show capability during the early toil in his career. Always remember that like other skills, management skills can be improved through constant practice and study. Being a manager is demanding, but it is also a great rewarding experience.

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