1. QUESTION

   Profile a Manager   

   Syllabus Description:
   Building executive skills requires speaking with people who already have the necessary skills for success and to learn from them. Recent studies suggest that good managers play a key role in maximizing team performance. In addition, good managers can set the tone for employees to also live a good life. In this assignment, you need to interview a manager. It doesn’t have to be some for whom you work, it can be anyone who is in a management position (i.e., supervises others). Unfortunately, self-employed individuals won’t count for this assignment, UNLESS they have people whom they manage.

   In this profile, you are expected to apply what they have learned. Use the HBR articles, textbook, and videos to develop a series of questions to ask someone in a management position. These questions should identify what you believe to be essential “executive skills” and other characteristics of good management. If possible, you should speak with at least one subordinate (i.e., person who reports to the manager) to get that person’s perspective on the manager’s executive skills.

   Write up an analysis and report. Be sure to include the list of questions (there should be no fewer than 12 questions).

   Purpose: This assignment is meant to help develop your understanding of executive skills by interacting with an executive. In order to better understand how to effectively manage others and to develop your own sense of management style, it’s important to analyze the management styles of others. Part of developing your executive skills is developing the specific skill of learning how to observe others; adopting and adapting those things that they do that you find to be effective. The purpose of this assignment is to assist you in developing your Executive Edge and help you to decide what kind of manager do you want to be.

   Skills: Skills are behaviors we perform (things we can do) and can be learned. With time, they can be refined, and we can become better at executing them. The purpose of this assignment is to help practice the following skills that are essential to developing your Executive Edge:
   • Integrating ideas from the various readings and videos
   • Applying the information that you’ve learned in class
   o Connecting your learning with real-world experiences
   • Learning how to ask the right questions that will give you more insight into what makes a particular manager “good” or “effective”
   • Listening to others’ talk about their management style will help you in increasing insight into your actions and motivations
   • Evaluating the executive skills of a manager
   Knowledge: Knowledge refers to the recollection of facts and information. This assignment will help you to become familiar with the following:
   • Understanding of the course material
   • Understanding the connection between behaviors and reputation
   • Factors influencing employee motivation, manager’s philosophy of work
   • Knowledge of the discrepancies between what managers say and what they do and how that influences their effectiveness

   Task: In this assignment, you need to interview a manager. It doesn’t have to be some for whom you work, it can be anyone who is in a management position (i.e., supervises others). Unfortunately, self-employed individuals won’t count for this assignment, UNLESS they have people whom they manage. If possible, you should speak with at least one subordinate (i.e., person who reports to the manager) to get that person’s perspective on the manager’s executive skills.

   1. Look over all the material that we’ve read and watched thus far in class
   1. Identify what is most interesting to you
   2. Maybe start by making a list of what you think makes for an effective executive
   2. Create a list of at least 12 questions to ask a manager
   1. Try not to ask yes/no questions
   2. Try to ask questions that go beyond the surface, that get the person to think about themselves and their managerial style
   3. Try to ask follow-up questions, don’t just accept the response they give you, especially if it’s only one word!
   1. Ask them to explain themselves
   2. Explain to them some of the ideas we’ve discussed in class…what do they think of it? Can they give you and example of a time when…
   4. If your able to, speak with at least one subordinate
   1. Ask them the same questions you asked the manager, but that they answer it in reference to the manager, not themselves
   2. Be sure to ask follow-up questions and to clarify if you’re not sure what they mean
   5. You must use the readings and videos as a guide for the language
   1. Make sure that you pull the vocabulary from the course material
   6. After you’ve interviewed the manager, now comes the fun part: analysis!
   1. This is the REALLY important part, DO NOT overlook it!
   2. Breakdown and examine what you learned about the manager from the interview
   1. Look at all the responses
   1. do you see any patterns? Anything that was inspiring? Anything that was scary?
   2. Was there consistency in how they responded?
   • Was there a discrepancy between what the manager said about themselves and what the subordinates thought?
   1. Evaluate the manager
   1. Given what you’ve learned about effective management from this course, is this manager “effective” based on your interview, why or why not…give an explanation.

   Criteria for Success: Excellent work is characterized by depth of analysis. This means that you took some time to think about the implications of what you were told. You tried to connect different aspects and provide an explanation. In addition, you did more than just reiterate what the managers told you. You connected, contrasted, and evaluated.

   I want to you to show me that you understand and can apply the material from this course. Successful assignments (and those earning a higher grade) will have made an attempt to understand and explain all of the course material and demonstrate application of the course material.

   Successful work will have the following characteristics:
   1. Thoughtful responses that explain how you have understood the course material and you don’t just rewrite what the book or article said.
   2. Provide depth of analysis and evaluation of the manager; it needs to be clear that you took some time to think about the implications of what the manager told you and that you spent time trying to understand and explain what you observed.
   3. This assignment should not seem like it was slapped together the night before…come one folks, don’t try to bullshit a bullshitter…
   4. Success is that you are not just checking off the boxes of the assignment, but that you are trying to get a deeper, richer understanding of how others manage.
   If you need more pages let me know and I will pay for them . DO NOT STOP ASSIGNMENT IN THE MIDDLE.
   Only use sources attached.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDsMlmfLjd4

    

    

    

   Ecatheriana Perez

   Professor: J. Rodriguez

   MAN4771

   September 18, 2020

    

   Becoming the Boss

   At any level, leadership and management often create significant challenges for the leader, especially when the expectations do not seem to match the reality. Linda A. Hill expresses that when faced with the test of managing others, most people do fail because of the misconceptions (Hill, 2007). It then makes it necessary to develop a clear understanding of what entails becoming a boss within that organization to understand the expected problems, challenges, and solutions, which are essential in steering the leader and the team to the expected levels. In some instances, the individual’s merits may fail to translate into proper leadership, creating the impression of the need for executive development within the organization to help bring to life the competencies, skills, performances, and knowledge necessary for transforming the leader to improve their current and future delivery. This is because being a professional is a process and a journey of continuous learning and self-development.

   The problems with becoming a boss often arise from transition difficulties from employee to top leadership. The transition appears to be a challenge to nearly every person irrespective of the individual skills and expertise. The first-time boss faces the challenge of learning to lead since, in so many situations, you can be the boss without being in control of anything, further complicating the orientation and development. These adjustment challenges are typical and form part of the transition, making it critical to assist the new bosses in understanding the nature of their roles and what it means to be in charge (Hill, 2007). Furthermore, they are faced with the mythical ideologies of leadership, which hinders them from facing the reality of becoming a boss and a manager. While seeking to become a boss, the mythological conception of authority makes it difficult to realize the need for interdependent relationships with those in junior positions within the organization. Learning the professional approaches to getting the work done becomes critical for every individual irrespective of their level (Emma, 2019).

   The solution to these problems lies in developing an open-minded approach to leadership that will help the manager demystify the myths and misconceptions about leadership. In the sentiments of Dale Atkins, while delivering a TEDtalk on being a professional, professionalism is a process that every new boss must be patient to undergo (Atkins, 2013). It entails gradual learning of what entails leadership, which could be stressful and painful. However, it is essential to focus on building relationships while ensuring things run smoothly, with the leadership position being the central flow of authority (Hill, 2007). Kerry Goyette further alludes that being a new boss requires a deeper understanding of what drives people to work, thereby understanding what they bring to the organization, both qualitatively and quantitatively (Goyette, 2016). This helps in working with the team to eliminate negative energy since leadership is not about being the lone ranger but working with others to realize the objectives.

   Personal experiences play a significant role in the development process, realizing that leaders are made and not born and that good and effective leaders are shaped by continuous professional development and personal experience. The process is leadership, and becoming a boss in any organization is an active one, which requires learning from your mistakes and developing strategic responses. As a leader, I have always asked myself pertinent questions like what can I learn from this failure? As a manager for the accounting department for a particular company, I was very friendly and tolerant with my staff, but this has not always worked out well for me. For instance when one of my employees graduated from college, she thought she knew more than everyone one else, in turn she started looking for another job, when she found it she didn’t even give her two weeks’ notice or so much as say thank you for all the opportunities given to her. I felt that I had failed as a manager. I asked myself how can I use this failure to develop and grow as a leader?  I have learned to realize that not all experiences are the same in leadership, making it necessary to avoid falling in the trap of trying to be a reflection of another leader. Furthermore, it has made it possible to understand that experience entails both the past, the present, and the future at once. They are never a one-time phenomenon as you learn to unlearn and maybe just maybe as much as I hate to say it at work you have to be a boss and not a friend.

   References

   Atkins, D. (2013). Being a professional. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLv7sdGJWPI&ab_channel=TEDxYouth

   Emma, (2019). Be professional! Never say this at work! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_6B6tlpIdM&ab_channel=mmmEnglish

   Goyette, K. (2016). Stop trying to motivate your employees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lhVUedc1a4&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

   Hill, L. A. (2007). Becoming the boss. Harvard business review, 85(1), 48.

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