TM - November 2007 - (Page 53)

Characterizing Great Management Given the challenges confronting organizations today and the steeper road to success, how do companies define what’s required of managers to excel? Certainly, great managers must master basic management practices, oversee operations of their departments and deliver excellent results. The best managers are also great leaders — creating a vision, setting strategies and mobilizing others to join in and work together to achieve outcomes. A popular view is that the best managers are those who make the shift from relying primarily on their strong technical and functional expertise to developing teams, building relationships and collaborating with others to get work done. Such skills are crucial, but they are not enough to truly differentiate the good from the best. At Alaska Airlines, the majority of employees would agree the best managers are those with superb leadership and people skills, said Angela Ursino, managing director of talent strategy and organization development. “Great managers love to explore new ways of doing things, new cultures, new people and new technologies, and this is essential in today’s business environment,” said June Delano, Monitor Executive Development principal. “While basic curiosity may be a personality trait, it can also be cultivated, and the best managers are curious about everything they encounter, ask lots of questions and are genuinely interested in the stories people tell.” Centier Bank Senior Partner Carol Highsmith echoed this sentiment. “The best managers are those that act as if it’s their own company, displaying a high level of personal pride and ownership,” she said. “They are determined to deliver world-class service and approach both their team and their clients with considerable care.” Compared with some managers who might spend too much of their efforts on getting team dynamics right, the best managers see each person as an individual. By focusing on the development needs of each individual, they know the team will come together naturally, said Anna Zaltz, Pepsi Americas manager of organizational capability. Great managers seem to embody the principles of learning and development, not only for themselves but for their teams. They seek developmental opportunities and challenging assignments for their employees, and they clearly see themselves as coaches and mentors. Identifying and Developing the Best skills and knowledge and use that as the basis for talent review and management development. As useful as formal talent reviews can be, it’s important not to overlook the role of direct managers when it comes to detecting development needs. For high-potential employees who are likely to become some of the best managers in an organization, the direct manager plays a significant role in identifying needs. “Most really good managers already have a strong orientation to achievement — it’s just in their DNA,” said Les Taylor, Symantec manager of executive development. “But improving their interpersonal skills, being open and showing empathy all lead to higher trust levels required to be among the best.” Ed Marsh, Nestle global head of talent and organization development, said to start, organizations need to provide managers with an in-depth experience that helps them understand the impact they have on others. It all starts with knowing who they are and how co-workers perceive them. Once they understand that, they can learn to be more authentic — authenticity is a key to success. A few of the most effective development techniques that lead to great management include: • 360-Degree Surveys: These remain a powerful way to help expand self-awareness, see yourself from different viewpoints, uncover personal strengths to leverage and areas for development. • Mentoring and Coaching: Many highly successful managers cite these as key to their success, particularly as sources of objective feedback and advice. A good coach also helps keep you from spending too much time trying to correct a deficit and instead helps you focus more energy to build on strengths. • Action Learning and Business Simulations: These are noted for their ability to help managers improve strategic thinking, better understand their own organizations and learn about the external business environment. Such experiences are very appealing because great managers outperform on multiple levels, thus, the challenge and complexity of the development activity needs to match their actual work. Although there might be common approaches to developing managers, there are certain characteristics that differentiate the good from the best managers. It is a good idea to take a closer look at the distinctions within the context of the organization and then use a customized approach to build the best. Nancy Thomas is regional director with The Institute of Executive Development and a veteran of HewlettPackard where she managed global executive development programs. Scott Saslow is the founder and executive director of The Institute of Executive Development. They can be reached at editor@TalentMgt.com. When it comes to identifying top managers and planning their development, many companies use a talent-review process linked to key success factors. Companies determine these factors in two ways: Some companies study the most successful managers to detect the common traits and behaviors, and others examine key jobs to analyze the required talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com 53 November 2007 http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - November 2007

Talent Management - November 2007 Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Viewpoint Finding Candidates with the Right Fit Turning HR Data Into Business Intelligence Compensation Technology: Drive Higher Performance, Gain Competitive Advantage The Art and Science of Influence Training the Ethical Workforce Making the Best Managers Application: Pre-Hire Testing Drives Down Employee Turnover at Advnace Auto Parts Dashboard: The Role of Learning Business Process Outsourcing Insight: Nationwide Insurance: On Employees' Side Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

TM - November 2007

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