A manager must have sensitivity to the situation. Managership is largely situation; therefore, a manager must be both rationally and emotionally sensitive to his situation at all times. He must also understand the interpersonal relationships, whether they are with an individual, a group, an organization, or a whole community. He must acquire the knowledge, skill, and attitudes necessary to be sensitive.
A manager understand himself. A manager has both power and influence in many different situations; therefore, he must understand his effect on others and his own feelings and motivations. He must have self-insight.
A manager must feel personally secure. Managership requires us to be able to work effectively with other people without the constant necessity for self justification. This requires interpersonal skill, the ability to listen to others, and the capacity to refrain from using interpersonal relationships to meet personal needs. Assaults that are made on a manager are many and varied; they arise from fear, envy, ambition, and selfishness. They also arise from honest disagreement on goals, policies, procedures, and methods. The manager has to give a great deal of help and support. He must feel secure to give it and to receive it.
A manager must be an effective problem solver. All managership relationships, individual, group, and organizational, require a systematic approach to problem solving. Mastery of this rational or scientific approach is essential so that the manager does not flounder around in confusion when he meets a problem. Simplicity is the key, as it is in so many fields. Identify the problem, break it down into its elements; seeking the information that is necessary to its solution; doing what is necessary, according to the size and complexity of the problem, to analyze the elements; and then shape and test the various solutions and plans. The ability to understand and live through the application of this approach is an achievement towards which the manager must aspire.
A manager must be a decision maker. The whole management process can be viewed as analyzing problems and making decisions. Every decision carries an element of risk. The manager must run the risks of his own judgments. He must originate and innovate solutions, but he needs to do more; he must push plans through to successful execution. He must cope with the unexpected and the unpredictable through originality and ingenuity, applied with courage.
A manager must be flexible. Since managers function in complicated situations that are continuously changing, they must be flexible to changing demands. Role flexibility means the ability to function in many different roles and carry out these roles effectively.
Original file name: gm - converted on Monday, 16 June 1997, 16:14