Is Management A Profession?

I get called to fix people problems and I'm really good at that.
However, most often the person I'm helping has a supervisor or
executive team member who has huge gaps in their own management
skills. For example here are some of the deficiencies I observe:

Lack of knowledge and application of that knowledge regarding the
differences in people otherwise know as personality differences

Stagnant professional development

Deficient skills in the areas of providing and getting feedback,
coaching for improvement, delegating, holding people accountable,
listening, etc.

Engaging in ineffective and unproductive behaviors

Poor interviewing and new employee selection knowledge and skills

Holding onto thoughts and attitudes that hurt morale and efficiency of
the workplace

The question is, "Is Management a Profession?" The only answer is YES!
In many professions like health care and medicine, members are
continually learning new treatments, techniques, medicines,
procedures, and continually honing their professional skills.

They can't neglect growth, development, and professional advancement
or they will become outdated. At worst, an oversight board of
professionals learns of some professional neglect and out goes their
license to practice in that profession.

If management is a profession, why aren't managers at all levels of
organizations constantly aspiring to improve and become better
managers? Why is it that they exhibit the deficiencies I listed above?
Are they not being held accountable for their professional
development? Are they waiting for the company to invest in their
training and development? Are they too busy working to engage in
development activities?

There are some very significant benefits associated with
self-development as a manager. You will notice an increase in your
self-esteem because you will be developing and using more of your
undeveloped potential and greatness.

You will feel like you are making progress in your life and according
to Abraham Maslow that is living at the self-actualization level of
motivation.

These two benefits relate directly to a person's emotional
intelligence and a manager's emotional intelligence can contribute up
to 40% of their success at work. Is self-development beneficial? You
bet!

If you are a professional, you will seek and find the resources you
need to overcome every deficiency and area for improvement that you
identify. A professional invests in his or her own training and
development.

As a rule of thumb, you should be investing one to two percent of your
wages in professional development leading to more complete knowledge
and competency development.

Wake up managers. It's time to move out and become the very best
manager you can become. The resources are there. You only need to
choose, change what you thought and did in the past, and begin
traveling toward professional excellence. Do it now!

by Joe Farcht

Ways To Develop Core Management Competencies

Gone are the days when a manager was considered as a person who could
always do the thing; who could always get the job done. Now the
definition has changed, although the core nature of management is
still the same. Now a manager of some department of an organization is
a person who can help prosper and develop a business by some
techniques; who can understand the present situation, analyze it and
can solve the problem by facing the challenges and taking risks if
need be. For a manager to carry out these jobs, he or she needs some
core competencies, which the person is not always born with. Now the
question is how one can develop core management competencies over
time.

What does it take?

What does it take to become a successful manager? The answer is
neither simple nor short. There are a number of skills such as
analyzing ability, leadership ability, right attitude, understanding
how a business runs, good people skill, good communication skill, time
management skills, excellent general knowledge and a thousand other
things all of which nobody can tell you and none of which anybody can
teach you, no matter what B-school you go to.

No institution or person can teach a person any of the above ones
except perhaps the business. It is always you who have to understand
and analyze and apply.

How can one develop the skills?

Although no one can teach you the above qualities, it really helps to
earn an MBA from a good B-school in order to develop core management
competencies. It is so mainly because there you will find the faculty
who are experienced and at least can show you the way and partly
because there you will find people just like you and the mere
competition can often help one to flourish and develop core management
competencies.

Becoming an MBA is either by birth or by practice. If you really want
to develop competency in management skills, you need to start putting
it to a challenge. For example only general reading can make you
generally knowledgeable and there is no other way. Some of the things
that you can start today to acquire management competency development
are mentioned below:

Start reading as much as you can. Read anything you can get your hands on
Start analyzing what you read and see around yourself; try to see
things from different perspectives.

Talk to knowledgeable people; a general discussion can really help you
sometimes.

Start asking questions (about anything constructive) and start looking
for answers.

Maintain a daily diary; write down what you have done today and the
timings. Analyze the diary at the end of the day and try to do
something more worthwhile tomorrow.

Only you can take yourself to a higher level. Be positive, try hard
and there is nothing you cannot do!

by Silas Reed