Four functions of management and essential managerial traits

Functions of Management

Assessing the Four Functions of Management:

Traits and Skills of Successful Leaders

The four traditional roles of managers are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. In reality, the managerial role is much more complex than these distinct four phases indicate as they often overlap, one over the over, in rapid succession. The ability of a manager to decipher when to use a given skill set from each of these four areas is a good indicator if they will rise in leadership or stay in managerial ranks for their career (Marker, 2010). The ability to assess situations, subordinates, tasks and strategies while at the same time defining the optimal set of responses to competitive threats and opportunities takes leadership and vision beyond the four functions of management as well (Schyns, Sczesny, 2010). This paper analyzes the four functions of management from the perspective of traits and skills of successful leaders including how these leaders have successfully used these four functions as a catalyst of professional growth and contribution (Useem, 2010).

Planning

It is critically important to get beyond the static or single-dimensional definition of planning as a process or activity done only one periodically and then forgotten about. Planning is actually one of the most collaborative and involved processes there are for managers, as they work to create shared ownership of tasks (Sheets, 2010). This phase also is very indicative of the relative levels of skill a manager has that will become the catalyst of their leadership ability over time as well. Managers with transformational skill sets often are capable of sensing the best approach to create high level of collaboration with their staff and with other departments, and also define strategies within the planning phase that lead to each department accomplishing their specific goals (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). Planning is also an excellent indicator of a manager's ability to move beyond transactional management styles of short-term focus and become a more transformational leader, capable of moving their department further in a shorter time

(Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). Planning is tightly linked to the ability of a manager to progress from transactional to transformational mindset, as it forces them to concentrate on the vision, mission and values and interpret them into a series of compelling strategies to grow the business profitably. This sounds very abstract yet in actuality, it creates a very pragmatic mindset across the many departments of an organization seeking to create a unified strategy going forward. Planning is the first area where transformational leadership skills emerge (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). How well a manager continues with their journey to become a leader is often defined by the initial successes in this phase of their management experiences. This is also, contrary to perception many have of it, is the most demanding from a synchronization standpoint as well. The task of controlling projects, processes, systems and strategies may seem to be the most isolated and analytical yet in fact they are the most collaborative and debated as managers from all departments want to influence the direction and scope of plans to attain as many shared goals as possible (Useem, 2010).

Leading

Of the many types of leadership styles there are in existence, from the autocratic and micro-managing, to transactional and transformational, the former is the most widely recognized as critical for the leadership function (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). Transformational leaders often have an aspect of emotional intelligence as well, which gives them the ability to sense and respond to specific situations appropriately and with insight and guidance (Sheets, 2010).

Transformational leaders are known for their ability to quickly gain trust and provide subordinates, peers and in the case of exceptional leaders, even their superiors with a sense of how each contributes and is part of a broader vision of the company (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). This ability is not so much predicated on exceptional communication or persuasion skills, but on a solid foundation of traits and skills that can be developed over time. Transformational leaders have a strong sense of accountability to their subordinates, peers and superiors, they are transparent and tell it like it is, and are always focused on improving themselves and their departments. Finally and one research says most significant, a transformational leader is willing to sacrifice on behalf of both the goals they are accomplishing and their teams (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). Self-sacrifice is a major component to trust in a leader and matters more than any title, position of legitimate power or status (Johannessen, Olsen, 2010). This specific role in management is often performed across a very wide spectrum of quality and accuracy, and it is common in larger organizations to see two or more organizational structures emerge. The formal organization chart is often devised to communicate reporting relationships. Yet the more often used organizational structure is that mapped by the areas of control transformational leaders have over specific projects and departments. Leadership emerges from this more informal yet vastly more effective organizational structure because the relationships are predicated on trust (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). The leading function of management encompasses all of these factors and has proven to be an excellent indicator of which managers will be able to make the transition into leadership.

Organizing

This is an aspect of the four functions of management that often become so integrated into other phases during actual projects that it often is done continuously over the life of a strategy or program (Marker, 2010). Organizing ranges from the simple coordination of action items for a new marketing strategy to the development of a major product introduction or launch of a new business. The critical skill sets for managers during this phase include the ability to trim back any unnecessary tasks or programs, initiatives or strategies so that the organization can focus on what really matters. A good manager will organize with a mindset of efficiency and simplification. An excellent leader will not only does this, but transform the components of an organization into an entirely new value chain so that goals can be attained more efficiently (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). The best managerial traits in this regard are the ability to streamline any process to make it more goal-centric and supported by buy-in from subordinates (Sheets, 2010).