Page 18 - Becoming a Successful Manager

What Is a Professional Manager? 9

• Be sensitively forthright and honest with people, leaving
little to the fate of imagination and confusion.
• Don’t allow defensiveness to dictate actions; all actions
should be guided by a desire to be helpful and cooperative.
• Make people feel valued by asking for their opinions,
requesting their help, praising commendable performance,
and being polite and courteous at all times.

In short, by being considerate, righteous, and positive in all deal-
ings with people, a mensch builds healthy communication bridges.
By incorporating the qualities of a mensch into your managing
style, you will foster positive communications and actions among
your employees, your customers, and yourself.
In addition to being a mensch, a professional manager must
fi ll three major roles: teacher, counselor, and gardener.

A Professional Manager’s Primary Role:

Be an Effective Teacher

To be an effective teacher, dedicate yourself to expanding your
“students’” knowledge, skills, vistas, and problem-solving abili-
ties. Your challenge is to provide them with all the tools and
encouragement they need to become independent thinkers and
productive contributors to your department. To illustrate how you
might go about achieving these results, let’s go back in time and
identify possible role models. You may want to note your observa-
tions in your manager’s journal.
Recall one or two of the best teachers you ever had. Envision
them in the classroom, interacting with you and other students.