In its simplest form, a manager's job description may include a focused list of basic duties. In the real world, however, a manager must manage a variety of tasks to turn specific leadership objectives into reality. A manager must communicate with employees and clients, plan projects, adjust to changes in plans, know the ground rules of personnel management, and have specific knowledge of relevant products, processes, or technologies.
If no two managerial job roles have exactly the same requirements, how can organizations help individuals measure, track and improve management skills? Companies can address this issue by compiling job role-based skills objectives and competency models. A management job role has several major components, including an established job role definition, a defined set of required management skills, and a defined set of job-specific skills.
Job Role Definition-A common and accepted job definition is essential for establishing the skills needed for a particular management role. For prospective managers, it sets expectations with respect to responsibilities and accountability, and in the process, establishes skills objectives. An effective job role definition may be developed by decision-makers within the organization, or it may be derived from pre-established job role definitions. The example below illustrates the scope of a general management job role definition, as found on the Web at www.Brainbench.com: Responsible for directly overseeing and coordinating the activities of workers in a given organization or company. A Manager/Supervisor plans and establishes work/project schedules; assigns employees to specific duties; addresses and resolves worker problems; determines equipment needs; and hires, trains, and evaluates personnel. A person in this position also prepares reports for management; coordinates operations with other groups within the organization or company; and develops methods and procedures to increase productivity, improve product quality, promote business, and expand markets. Other duties may include budgeting, purchasing, and accounting.
The example above establishes the relationship between the manager's skills and the manager's role in the organization. In a complex organization, a common definition such as the one above can form the basis for a more specific description pertaining to a given department, group or other managed entity.
General Management Skills Requirements-On the following page is an example of a general management skill selection, each of which can be covered by assessments in a skills measurement system. These skills represent a core selection of assessments a manager or prospective manager can take to verify job capability. While they do not serve as a sole determinant of management capability, they do represent a basic set of competencies for nearly every management position. An accepted practice is to establish a core set of five to ten required skills, and use assessments in those skills as a prerequisite for determining readiness.
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Examples of core skills include: |
Other general management skills: |
Job-specific Skills Requirements (Electives)-The challenge of successful management is often found in the need for general management skills, as well as job-specific skills. A manager of a product support department, for example, must not only be familiar with such skills as communications and managing people, but he or she must also possess in-depth knowledge of the product itself. Once again, an online skills measurement system can provide access to skills assessments covering specific industry and product knowledge.