The Manager's Workday

In my coaching work, young managers often express confusion about what they're actually supposed to do during their work day. Before, their tasks and functions were clear cut, and it was easy to see what they had accomplished at the end of the day. But now, as managers, the days look a little different and they sometimes wonder if they actually accomplished anything.

Is that you? Well, what might help is a mental shift in how you see things. A manager's job is to get things done through other people, so focus on what you want your department or team to accomplish.

For example, the coach of a sports team plans the tactics for the game, but can't go out on the field and actually play the game. So the coach's job is to see that the players follow the game plan in order to achieve the goal. This can entail some encouraging words as well as occasional disciplinary action to keep all the players on track. But when the plan works out, all the team wins --- the coach gets his or her share of the glory and it's well deserved.

Now put yourself in this picture. Design the plan, set it in motion and then guide your people to a successful end result --- you'll soon learn to recognize that as a worthwhile use of your day and you WILL be able to measure your accomplishments.