Role of a Manager Within the Functional

Role of a Manager Within the Functional Areas of Business

The role of a manager in the functional areas of a business are multifaceted and often include elements of planning, organizing, leading, controlling in addition to emotional intelligence (EI). The best managers are capable of moving fluidly through these four traditional roles of management and addressing needs along with aligning people and teams to goals and objectives (Shireman, Kiuchi, 2002). Managers of cross-functional teams are also often called upon to create a high degree of collaboration with their peers, and superiors across potentially competing departments. The foundational elements of Cross-Functional Team (CFT) success are predicated on a manager maturing past the four vital functions of management to becoming a transformational leader as well (Daspit, Tillman, Boyd, Mckee, 2013). In this analysis, the role of the manager within the functional areas of a business are assessed with an orientation towards how the transition to transformational leadership can be attained. As managers often are required to stabilize an organization and ensure consistency, a leader is often required to define a compelling vision and direction that the company galvanizes itself around (Shireman, Kiuchi, 2002).

Assessing The Role Of A Manager Within The Functional Areas Of Business

The four traditional functions of management are merely a baseline by which managers must evaluate their own performance and those of their peers. These four vital functions keep consistency and stability within an organizational structure, often unifying diverse functional areas as well (Shireman, Kiuchi, 2002). The successful combining of these elements together is also seen in highly effective cross-functional teams and those leaders with high levels of EI, who can successfully manage diverse, often conflicting and challenging situations as well. Cross-Functional Team (CFT) structure, performance and overall growth is predicated on the ability of a leader to orchestrate these four functions of management while also giving individualized attention to each subordinate (Daspit, Tillman, Boyd, Mckee, 2013).

Within the vital functional areas of a business this skill set is essential to keep teams unified and moving towards a common goal or objective. This is the most challenging aspect of management within a business, yet also the most indicative of whether a manager will be able to become a leader over time, moving beyond just achieving conformity to the four functions of management (Shireman, Kiuchi, 2002). Exceptional leaders have the ability to move beyond the four functions of management and create a highly collaborative, trust-based culture that is capable of enabling cross-functional team development and achievement (Daspit, Tillman, Boyd, Mckee, 2013).

The four foundational elements of management serve as the foundation on which transformational leaders emerge within organizations. Often these managers, in the midst of their transitions into transformational leaders, often must act as liaisons and leaders of multiple departments in a short period of time (Shireman, Kiuchi, 2002). It is common for example to find cross-functional leaders in product management and product marketing, leading the development of new products and orchestrating complex new product launch plans across the organization. Managers in cross-functional roles have the unique opportunity to build their skill set quickly from a transformational leadership perspective (Daspit, Tillman, Boyd, Mckee, 2013). The main reason for this is that managers in cross-functional teams are often working closely with the leaders of each functional area of a business. Product managers for example must work across engineering, quality management and testing, marketing, sales, service, finance and accounting, and senior management. Each of these functional areas have a unique, highly differentiated approach to defining their own workflows and processes. A cross-functional manager has the ability to learn many of the diverse processes and workflows throughout their organizations, becoming more cognizant of how the overall organization functions (Daspit, Tillman, Boyd, Mckee, 2013). The functional areas of a business each have a unique series of requirements as well, and cross-functional managers who lead teams must learn these areas to be successful.