Page 21 - Becoming a Successful Manager

12 KNOWING THE TERRITORY

A Professional Manager’s Third Role:

Be a Master Gardener

If you ask serious gardeners what the secret to their success is, they’ll
tell you something along the lines of: “First, I have to create a fertile
culture that stimulates healthy plant growth. Next, I must ensure that
the different species of plants in the garden are compatible. And fi nally,
I have to maintain the garden by watering, cultivating, weeding, and
fertilizing it, and by providing special attention to plants that require
it.” Master gardeners will also tell you that this is a full-time job yield-
ing great joy when they see the positive results of their efforts.
It doesn’t require much of a stretch to apply the rules and prin-
ciples of successful gardening to being a successful professional
manager. The “human plants” you choose to be part of your depart-

mental garden have to reflect your values and be willing to contribute
to your vision of what you want your “garden” to produce. Assum-
ing you hire capable, high-potential, and conscientious people, your
abilities and skills as a manager will determine how productive and
responsive they will be. The chance of managing a cooperative team
that’s full of potential is great if you do your job well.

A significant part of your job is to see to it that “weeds” and
other threats to the health of your departmental garden don’t
drain it of its nutrients or adversely affect employees’ morale and
productivity. The single most treacherous weed with which you
will need to contend is defensiveness.
Helping you fulfill each of these three roles so you can become

an excellent professional manager is our aim. Make this book your
personal guide for building a solid, long-lasting departmental founda-
tion and healthy structure. By approaching this material as you would
an ongoing one-on-one seminar designed just for you, you can realize
the implied promise of the book’s title. We wish you success in making
a graceful transition from managing yourself to managing others!