So how can you get one? Especially if you’ve only worked as a tiny cog in the vast industrial machine known as your company? Well that, my friend, is what we wish to discuss today.
Being a manager is a lot of responsibility, and a lot different than just working on the line. Not only do you have to worry about what your job is, you have to worry about everyone else’s as well.
Know Everyone’s Jobs
So here’s the first tip: Know everyone else’s jobs. For example, if you were to manage a restaurant, you would want to know what the waiters, cooks, and busboys must do. Each of these positions have their own concerns, challenges, and rewards. The same applies in office settings. If you understand the challenges facing the ad guy, the copy guy, and the web guy in your marketing office, you will rise above the crowd.
Why would this help? Well, as a manager, you have to understand the problems each position or department faces. The powers that be are much more likely to promote or hire someone who already has a firm grip on the positions that are being managed than someone else.
So how do you learn everyone else’s jobs? By observing carefully and just asking. Most people are more than happy to talk about (and complain about) their jobs. Ask how you can make their lives easier, and they will be more than happy to tell you.
Not only that, but if you make an earnest effort to learn what they do, your fellow workers will be much more tolerant of your mistakes in the event that you are given a the responsibility of managing them. As long as they feel that you are ''on their side,'' they will be much more likely to be on yours.
Learn People Skills
But being a manager takes more than just knowing how to go out and build a website or write some copy. It also involves knowing a lot of skills that are exclusive to managers. The first, and foremost of these, is actually managing people. As a manager, you will have to deal with all the complaints, resentments, and tough issues arising not only from staff but also customers. The manager who is hated by his or her underlings tends to have his or her life made miserable by those same underlings. Worse yet, unhappy offices tend to have a lot of turnover, meaning more work for you, the new manager. As a manager, it will likely be your job to help replace any unhappy employees who end up quitting — human resources can’t do all the work.
The best way to make people happy is to let them know that you care about them and their concerns. That means listening to them, ''them'' being both your customers and your staff. People will respond to someone who genuinely listens to them, even if a decision goes against what they want. Be prepared to compromise, too. A manager has to fight with upper management for the people he or she manages. You want your employees to feel that you are on their side.
At the same time, though, you have to be able to make the tough decisions. Firing people is never pleasant, but it will inevitably happen. As a manager, you can’t let the employees run the asylum. So it’s a delicate balance, best learned by careful observation. See what works and what doesn’t by observing the current manager. Chances are, you already know what doesn’t work.
Learn Budgeting Skills
Running a budget is also an important part of being a manager. You have only so much money you can spend on your operation — and that impacts your hiring practices. For many management positions, you will be judged on how much profit you make. In other positions, you will have to fight for your budget with all the other competing departments. And a higher budget is always nice.
Carefully controlling expenses is crucial to this aspect of management. Here, the advice is to hit the books. Couple this with a keen eye for observation, and you will be well suited to getting that managerial position.
Lots of times, the company will be going through hard times. There’s an art to cutting back so that you don’t end up looking like the bad guy. Again, this goes back to people skills, as well as shrewd budgetary skills. There’s never enough money to satisfy what your employees want.
In this article, I’ve advocated being more loyal to those you are hopefully going to manage. Sometimes, the higher-ups don’t want that and follow a Machiavellian strategy: ‘tis better to be feared than loved. In a way, you have to be that way, too. A manager is hardly ever ''just one of the boys,'' and shouldn’t be. It’s a difficult balance, and one that will be different for each company and manager position. Personally, though, I’d prefer to be someone my underlings trust, rather than someone they loathe. It would make my life more comfortable.
In any case, best of luck with your quest for that manager position and the increased responsibilities that come with it. My best advice: remember the responsibilities more than the perks, and you’ll probably do well.
