What is the role of a manager?

In many fields, when we start our careers, we have aspirations to be promoted into management. But what exactly does "management" mean?

Gone are the days when managers moved from one side office to the next until they reached the "corner office," peering out at a collective of worker bees completing tasks and attempting to not draw any attention to their work.

Today, management is a much more amorphous role, and companies are beginning to realize that moving into management shouldn't be everyone's objective, nor should everyone who wants to become a manager be one, and that's ok. As I've traveled across North American meeting with HR executives these past six months on the Reflektive roadshow, I've heard the same things over and over again -- managers aren't ready to manage, managers don't want to manage, the few that want to manage aren't sure how to, and everyone feels a bit stuck.

Management isn't easy. We talk a lot about new and oft unrealistic expectations from millennials of their management in terms of getting frequent feedback and coaching, but in reality we all know this is what actually makes for good management. Why is that only 33% of employees are engaged in the U.S.? Outside of sheer turnover costs, disengagement costs the U.S. between $450 and $550 billion per year.

Before you roll your eyes at these oft-cited numbers, think about your own work and when you've been most productive. There are many different variables that go into worker satisfaction and engagement, but the most common is having a great manager. This brings me back to -- what is the role of the manager, or, what should it be?

In an ideal world, managers act as coaches to their employees, beginning with clarity around goals both in terms of business deliverables and developmental objectives. spending 4+ years in a gamification technology firm, where we sold an API to offer a sense of rewarding progression over a complex set of tasks, I learned how important it is in any sort of engaged experience to feel like you are at a fine balance between learning and mastery, with the next level of success clearly in sight.

Managers, especially mid-career managers, have the role of coaching employees while also being an employee with a manager. Managers may be coaching employees who have very different experience than them, more experience, and who have any combination of personality types. Good managers should meet with each employee on their team at least once a week for 30 minutes, and while tempting to be a task-review session, those meetings should really be a safe space for employees to lead a conversation about anything from career growth to resource challenges to workplace politics. And a manager, providing this space, must be comfortable responding to questions with a mix of empathy and authority, either of which may not come naturally to the manager.

Needless to say, management is difficult, but it's difficult for reasons that early-stage employees and those who held management roles in year's past may not fully understand. In growing in my own role as a manager, I've created a set of principles which I return to whenever I am unsure what to do or say in a management situation:

1) Look at the bigger picture - ultimately, my job as a manager is to ensure that the employees on my team, 5 years form now, are extremely successful based on what they built and learned during their time on my team and in the org.

2) Be a coach, not a task manager -- when I get into task management mode, I remind myself that my role is to be a coach, helping guide problem solving and removing obstacles so objectives can be achieved. Often the role of a manager is to connect people or resources, versus jumping in and trying to solve a problem.

3) Admit I don't know everything -- many managers fall back on being authority figures who are all-knowing and unapproachable. I'd rather be upfront and share that I don't know everything and I will help to the best of my ability in sharing ideas, advice, and opening up new paths based on my experience, and clearly framing suggestions as experience-based, not science-based.

4) Research is useful -- when I don't know an answer, it's ok to say that, but it's extremely helpful to spend time researching information and providing third-party recommendations / articles on how to solve a particular challenge, or a new approach to a situation. Even sharing links throughout the week which are relevant based on employee career paths and interests can be helpful.

5) Be your own kind of manager -- authority doesn't come overnight, and not every manager has the charismatic management personality you may run into at business school. Confidence can be built with experience, but don't try to be someone that isn't real (your employees will spot this and you'll have no chance of connecting.) Every manager throughout ones career shares something unique with their employees, what is that one thing that you want to share/teach/help your employees achieve during your time working together?

Clearly, the role of being a good manager is a challenging one, and just like every other skill it takes time and both successes, and dare I say it, failures, to learn what works for you.

In the comments, please share what you think the role of a manager is and what makes a great manager. I'm really interested in hearing your thoughts!