So you want to be a manager, eh?

Organization chart

Shuffling through my desk of old papers this weekend, I discovered an old manager feedback form I wrote for a previous manager and decided I should write about what it takes to be a manager and what it looks like for those of you interested in becoming one and being skilled and successful in the role. You might be wondering and thinking to yourself, "I can do that." And that's a good place to start - by inquiring. As a start, a manager sits within an organization having direct reports and itself being managed by another manager. They have a responsibility to get results of the organization through the work of others, namely their direct reports. They not only have their own projects, but also the projects of their direct reports. In general, they have a greater span of control and need additional skills not required by being an individual contributor, one with no direct reports.

As you think about your plan for becoming a manager, keep these areas in mind and find opportunities in your current role to build your skill and gain experience. (Also, see last month's post on Stretch Projects.) If they don't exist, then you can find opportunities in other organizations and activities, such as volunteering.

The areas I want to focus on are Communications, Development, Diversity, Team Building, Goal Setting, Customer focus, and Values. I'll stray away from the why for now and focus more on the definitions. The why's is such a larger topic of discussion and can lead to discussions regarding legal issues. If you keep your context of being a manager to someone committed to the success of their organization, you'll avoid most issues related to poor people management.

As a manager your communications become very important as you want to encourage discussions that are open and productive. For example, when issues arise within your team, are you open to listening? Or do you blame the messenger? Can you see a deeper commitment of the message and not just the message itself? Are you able to share information that your direct reports need to do their jobs and help them to understand how your division or group contribute to the company's overall success? Do you avoid sharing unpopular news?

As a manager, you become the advocate and supporter of your team's development. This aids not only in achieving your immediate team goals, but also in providing the company a talent pipeline such that your team can move on to other roles that the company needs and provides your team a pathway for career success and their potential. You will want to show sincere interest in your direct's career by not only creating opportunities within their current role, but giving them challenging opportunities. If a training and development opportunities comes up like a conference or an outside program, can you support your direct's time away from work?

As a manager, you will definitely work with different cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives. Respecting diversity will only help to make you a better manager and ambassador for your group. What it looks like is you considering points of view that are contrary to your own and leveraging those strengths and differences. When you have a diverse group of people working for you, then you have additional skills and inputs to get your job done.

As a manager, you are not only concerned for yourself, but for your group and so team building becomes more of your focus. You'll need to be vigilant on the status of your group's integrity and morale. You'll be now seen as a leader. (Of course, you can lead also as an individual contributor.) You'll be required to inspire your team to achieve business results, effectively as opposed to burning out your team. You'll also be asked to remove obstacles and roadblocks while placing your own needs after the groups.

As a manager, you are setting the bar for your organization. This is called goal setting. Can you set, prioritize and communicate realistic and achievable goals? Do you have conversations with your group on where they are at on meeting their goals?

As a manager, you get customers as part of your added responsibilities so you'll need to take action on customer feedback demonstrating your focus on keeping your relationships positive. Sharing customer feedback with your team is also something you need to take into consideration.

Last, but not least, as a manager, whether it's integrity, operational excellence, and customer focus you are responsible for having your team be aligned to the values set at your company.

In summary, being a manager takes alot of preparation and people skills and developing these skills takes time and investment on your part.

Having read this, do you see actions you can take today that tomorrow will lead you one step closer to being a manager?

And if you're wondering about what happened to my manager who I gave feedback. Today, she is now a Sr. Executive and is very successful.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

A Noble Profession

I returned to Seattle after the Convention last Wednesday at 4pm and with my roller luggage I shuttled off to the Seatac Mariott across the street to where the State Farm Agency Information session was being held and was just about to start. I have known about these sessions but due to my schedule, I haven't been able to attend until now. It's quite different than what I expected and I am so glad that I went. First and foremost, this event was strictly a business opportunity information session; that is, an event providing information to start an agency in which attendees are introduced to the selection and training process.

What you'll learn at an agency information session (the facts):

• There are 17000 independent contract agents in the U.S.
• Largest insurer of autos and homes in the U.S.
• Over 93 insurance and financial services products to offer clients
• State Farm Insurance is A Fortune Top 50 Company
• Being an agent is a fantastic small business opportunity involving:
• Building relationships in the community
• Client centered sales and marketing activities
• Leading and motivating people
• Being the CEO of a small business and dictating your financial worth
• More at the State Farm website.

What you'll experience:

• Real agents sharing their experiences
• Making State Farm executive connections

What they are looking for in individuals:

• Entrepreneurial Spirit
• Relationship building
• Sales ability
• Leadership Skills
• History of success
• High integrity
• Self driven and self motivated
• Risk tolerant
• Competitiveness
• Financial wherewithal and credit worthiness

With that, our next professional development event is on Wednesday, September 8th from 6-9 pm at the Seattle Design Center.  We are partnering up with NHSMBA, NBMBAA and State Farm to discuss career transitions with a panel of speakers from various professions and to perform resume reviews. Click here to register.

Event details: http://seattle.naaap.org/Events.do?id=8338

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Pivoting on People, Process, or Tool.

If you're like me, you're probably sitting on a problem right now. They're all around us. It's a natural occurrence in life.  Now what I'd like to offer you is a simple, yet effective means to problem solve and help you start thinking differently about your approach to problem solving.  And I say, "simple," because as you know the answer to the age old question of "how do you eat an elephant?" is not all at once, but rather a "bite at a time."

Once you realize you have a problem, you're going to size it up determining what's the impact to you and others and start thinking about solutions.  You're going to see if you've experienced a similar problem or if this problem is completely new. (Of course, I like the new problems :) )  You'll also start to think about what it'll cost and how much time you need. You'll also ask yourself, "what will it look like when the problem is solved?" Moreover, problem solving requires Creativity, Communication, Commitment, and Critical thinking --- the 4C's as I like to call them.

Starting to solve a problem is I think the most difficult part. At this point, your canvass is usually quite big with so many options to choose from, so what you can do is pivot on three areas: People, Process, or Tool.  This actually narrows your options very quickly. For example, when your problem deals with People, you can immediately take your problem to the person (s) that is (are) the cause of the problem, even if it might be you. Likewise, when your problem deals with Process, you can immediately review it and see if there are opportunities to make improvements. And when your problem deals with a Tool, you can immediately determine whether to fix, improve, eliminate or substitute it.

When you've identified the area you want to focus on, you will want to set goals and create a plan to solve (or resolve) it. I suggest you have many conversations with people to see what they think about your plan, too. You'll soon see your plan take shape building momentum. Continue then to take action on your plan. If you need additional resources, ask for them within your organization. If you hit a barrier (another problem) rethink your plan and again pivot on People, Process, and Tool. Before long, you'll have a resolution to your problem.   (If you want to know more about planning, then I've written about it in an earlier blog called, "Structures For FulFillment." You can read more about it there.)

In summary, I think problems can be difficult, but problems shouldn't necessarily be seen as a bad thing. As we grow and develop, we're likely to take on bigger problems that are matched up with our skills to solve. If you're not solving a problem matching your current skills, then you might consider taking on a bigger, more complex problem. If you've been tackling a problem for awhile now and haven't come up with a solution, give this approach a try.  See for yourself how quickly you can get past a point where you've been stuck.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President