What is the role of a manager?

Opinions vary on a manager's role from writing code to ordering dinner. I tend to like my managers to be technically trained and competent individuals who have learned they can be more effective helping many people succeed. I have talked about what makes a good manager in other posts but what should they actually do in the organization? Here are the basics:

• Planning
• Hiring
• Employee development
• Execution

Managers help their bosses and their employees plan. This includes budgets, resource capacity planning for projects, schedules, etc. Expect that this is an ongoing task and will take a good percentage of time. In a fast-paced industry things change quickly from customer requirements to found opportunities. Managers must learn to hone their accuracy and deliver estimates quickly.

Once a budget is set, the most important thing a manager can do is hire. Without people they cannot accomplish the tasks at hand. This must be a concerted effort that managers spend time each day doing. From screening candidates to shepherding the process to setting expectations of interviewers and approvers. This can be daunting but is a cornerstone to any company's success.

People development is often overlooked. We cannot expect that all people who come to work for us were born with all the skills and knowledge they need. Nor can we assume they acquired the skills or knowledge in school or previous employment. Employees need both technical and soft skills. There may be times when you can find a class for an employee to take to build skills but managers should be capable and interested in direct mentoring both technical and soft skills.

Finally we get to execution. Execution will dictate company success. All of the other items discussed above are necessary but not sufficient to execute well. In addition, managers must monitor schedules, manage dependencies and troubleshoot issues. This is the day to day management of a team developing a project. You must not lose sight of this activity while doing planning for the next big thing. Managers should represent and be held accountable for his or her team's deliverables. Deliver with quality. Deliver ontime.

With enough managers capable of the above the tasks, your company can achieve its goals and success!

More later ...