Management Assignment: Reflection on Competencies of Manager

Question

Task: Write a management assignment presenting a reflection on certain competencies of the manager of an organisation.

Answer

Introduction to the theme of management assignment
Empathy, focus and responsibility are the key roles of a good manager. A person who is always empathetic towards his co-workers, teammates, knows his responsibilities and focuses to make the best out of his time and skills is the definition of a perfect manager. A manager not only strengthens his skills but also knows how to motivate others and makes progress altogether. Leadership qualities like making progress even when the whole team is under pressure and time constricted is definitely one of the key roles that make a person a good manager. A good leader and a manager should know how to plan his/her moves smartly and should work towards achieving that success and goals. With the help of a good manager, a company can reach innumerable heights. The present assignment focuses on reflecting on certain competencies of the manager of an organisation. It shall also include an action plan reflecting on the strategies used by the manager to solve problems faced while working in an organisational set-up.

Analysis of own practise
My journey from being just a manager to turning into a good manager has taught me so many things. And there are a few competencies that ought to be kept in mind throughout the journey. Everybody knows how to rule and boss around, but there are very few who know how to connect with their colleagues and ask them to work. I always had a very polite attitude towards my teammates and thus was loved by everyone. Some famous psychologists say that empathy can be described as emotional intelligence. They say that an empathetic leader is the one who is always polite to others, understands and motivates them, focuses on team development, inculcates political and awareness. Such kind of qualities among the leader, motivates team-mates to follow his/her footsteps, increases the teamwork and inculcates and improves the commitment within the employees. A manager with such empathetic behaviour always succeeds in keeping good relations between team-mates and keeps a balance between events and the people(Rostomyan, 2020). Focus, being the second most important competency helps in achieving higher goals and performance standards. It pushes people and creates an environment where each and every individual would feel safe, sound and secure. But with high focus comes consistency. If someone has to achieve something, not only do they have to stay focused and highly motivated but also they need consistency in their hard work. Without consistency there is no point of focus or motivation, it will all go in vain. Now comes the sense of responsibility, again a very important part of professional as well as personal life. A person who is responsible enough will automatically know how to manage his time and data. He would always keep in mind his co-workers, teammates and distribute the work evenly and accordingly(O'Brien, Galavan& O'Shea, 2021). He regards the strengths and weaknesses of an individual and works together towards achieving the desired result. These are the most required skills an individual should have for becoming a good manager. And my journey throughout was not easy, but I understood what the situation demands from me and worked accordingly. These qualities have helped me achieve great success in a small course of time. It has made me focus on the emotional and mental circumstances of my employees and has helped me to solve their needs or come up with the best-suited solution that would solve their issues. It has made me understand my colleagues in a better way. I try to satisfy as many of their wants and needs as possible. I always make sure to express my gratitude and appreciate them for their time and effort which in turn makes them feel good, valued and wanted. Motivating your team to do better every day will always top the list. You should know how to motivate and make them achieve their goals(Seeber et al., 2020).

Competencies used to solve the problem
In my entire working experience till now, there have been instances that had required the practical use of the skills I mentioned till now. I would like to acknowledge a few of such instances. My empathetic attitude towards my coworkers has helped me achieve a few organisational crises(Granville-Chapmanc&Bidston, 2020). Organizational crises are caused when there is improper planning or dishonest behaviour among the teammates. Since the time I have been employed, I have only raised one agenda and set an example for others; and that is being honest and loyal to my job and company. This has obviously motivated my co-workers to do the same. Honesty and appreciation have so far motivated them to do their job correctly. But nonetheless, there was a huge fight between our core team and our IT team once. By mistake, our IT team has misplaced the files that were of prime importance to us. Thereby it ultimately led to a heated argument between the two officials. I am the head of the team and was expected to solve the conflict and come up with a reasonable solution. I analysed the whole situation, listened to both sides and made my teammates understand that this was an unintentional mistake and we as a team could work together again and finish the job in no time. And asked the IT guy to be careful the next time and make sure that such a scenario is never repeated again. Then I motivated my teammates and created an enthusiastic environment that was filled with positivity and high spirits, which allowed them to work in a swifter manner and also faster. As a result of their hard work, we were back with our project within no time. Now that is the strength of teamwork, positivity, motivation and empathy. That is the way how a good manager should lead his team. Another conflict that I faced was a lack of strategic planning. A good manager knows how to lead his team towards success in a well planned strategic way(Gupta, 2021). A leader who is filled with empathy would know and understand his teammates, make emotionally efficient strategic plans and decisions that would make their path to success easier. I emotionally connect to my teammates and try to understand their emotional intelligence, and then plan a strategy that would benefit them as well as the company(Uhde, Laschke&Hassenzahl, 2021).

Action Plan

Conclusion
From the above analysis, I would hereby like to conclude that, empathetic nature and competency of an individual is the most important and prior requirement for being a good leader or a manager. A leader is the one who knows the weaknesses of his team, makes them their strength and leads it to the ravishing path of success. They generate positive and generous behaviour among others. This in turn inculcates a feeling of trust and safety among the team members and that is how an exceptional team is created. The manager tends to fodge more teamwork rather than individual work that would ensure more sensitive feelings towards their teammates and would make a stronger and a better team. In such scenarios group work is more preferable. From various studies, it has been seen that managers who are empathetic towards their teammates tend to achieve success at a much earlier stage. It has also been seen that team-workers prove to be more loyal, enthusiastic, creative, strategic, and hard-working and show far better results than others. They are focused and are clear about their goals and how to achieve them. Their sense of responsibility seems to outgrow day-by-day and satisfy the needs of the company making success easier for them to achieve. These qualities have repeatedly helped me and my team to outshine ourselves. We are a definition of a "perfect team" that has everything required to achieve our goals and walk proudly in the path of success. Our members are supportive, not only emotionally but morally as well and we stand together to help each other at the time of need.

References
Aleksoski, O., Stojanovska-Stefanova, A., &MagdincevaSopova, M. (2020).Management versus leadership in the modern world. SocioBrains, International scientific refereed online journal with impact factor, 7(74), 53-71.Doi: http://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/26885/

Granville-Chapman, K., &Bidston, E. (2020). Leader: Know, love and inspire your people. Crown House Publishing Ltd.Doi: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vDDtDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT17&dq=A+ person+who+is+always+empathetic+towards+his+co-workers,+teammates,+knows+his+ responsibilities+and+focuses+to+make+the+best+ out+of+his+time+and+skills+is+the+definition+of+a+perfect+manager&ots=mfNAPSIr7 a&sig=BdGUdNuD6kkb956K2TP2ej4TsJU

Gupta, A. S. (2021). Unit-10 Work Ethics and Social Media Etiquette. Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.Doi: http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/72448/1/Unit-10.pdf

O'Brien, S., Galavan, E., & O'Shea, D. (2021).Developing a competency framework for managers to address suicide risk in the workplace. Human Resource Development Quarterly.Doi: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hrdq.21437

Rostomyan, A. (2020). Your guide to becoming a successful leader (Vol. 2).tredition.Doi: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FeIREAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT6&dq=A+person+who+is+always+empathetic+towards+his+co-workers,+teammates,+knows+his+responsibilities+and+focuses+to+make+the+best+out+of+ his+time+and+skills+is+the+definition+of+a+perfect+manager&ots=dBHij1-Br6&sig= 5HI9VC_6_LPYHRvhAN8qlAp-YOU

Seeber, I., Bittner, E., Briggs, R. O., De Vreede, T., De Vreede, G. J., Elkins, A., ...&Söllner, M. (2020). Machines as teammates: A research agenda on AI in team collaboration. Information & management, 57(2), 103174.Doi:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378720619303337

Uhde, A., Laschke, M., &Hassenzahl, M. (2021).Design and Appropriation of Computer-supported Self-scheduling Practices in Healthcare Shift Work. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 5(CSCW1), 1-26.Doi: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3449219