Great Management

You know what makes a difference in a company? Great management. I’m not talking about CEOs. Sure, they make decisions, but they’re typically so far away from what really happens in a company that they have little genuine influence. I’m talking about line managers and general managers, those people who work with the people who make the things and talk directly to your customers. Here’s what great managers do:

* Great managers anticipate problems. “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it,” said George Santayana. Managers are in place because they’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
* Great managers support their people. That’s a huge difference — weak managers like to play “gotcha” with their people; great managers stand up for theirs.
* Great managers resolve problems first and ask what went wrong later. Blamestorming is far too prevalent in business, but it doesn’t work. Fix it, then figure out how to not to have it happen again is how great managers work.
* Great managers are hopeful. Management is about making choices, whether that is deployment of resources, setting priorities, or getting results. A little enthusiasm that the best days are in the future goes a long way.
* Great managers like people. Have you ever worked for a boss who got results, but did it by riding the backs of subordinates? That’s not management, that’s intimidation. Great management starts with a belief in people and a knowledge that the vast majority of people try to do the right thing.

Here’s a prescription for HR: Toss out those wasted training classes about employee engagement. Stop trying to do management workarounds. Get out there in the trenches and quit making up stupid policies that are designed to rein in the one knucklehead who breaks the rules. Teach managers about great management, and teach them to not lose their humanity doing their job.