Management Skill Self-Assessment: PAMS Analysis Report

Introduction

The key to successful management is a combination of skills relating to more than just "how well a person may know his job," but also to how skilled that person is as a leader and administrator, and how well they get along with the people around them and working for them. While a manager obviously needs to fulfill the supervisory role in a competent manner, motivating employees is vital in improving the bottom line — widely accepted as a core measure of success in any management position.

One of my lasting impressions of what it takes to be a good manager comes from reading about various management theories. According to management theorists, there are generally two types of leaders: those who are product-oriented and those who are relationship-motivated. It is my opinion that these two types are not mutually exclusive, and it is my goal as an aspiring manager to care about the people who work for me while also using my abilities to motivate them toward higher productivity. A "one-down" model of management can no longer typify the field. A good manager today must be a team player, be prepared to pitch in and work alongside subordinates when necessary, be empathetic with workers, yet command enough respect to get the job done.

These thoughts are, for me at this point in time, an ideal — and I recognize that another key to being a good manager is accepting that skills are learned on a continuous basis over a lifetime. Part of this continual development stems from being able to recognize where room for improvement exists within oneself, and that is the goal of this paper. Through interviews with management personnel, reflection on personal history, and the results of my own Personal Assessment of Management Skills (PAMS) — supplemented by comments from colleagues and people who know me — I have actively pinpointed areas of improvement that would be beneficial to me in a future management position.

Mr. J. is not only a personal friend of our family; he is also the Distribution Manager at a large printing and distribution firm just outside of Boston. He has taken an active interest in my management training, and we have had many illuminating discussions on what it takes to be a decent leader in today's work environment. He was happy to discuss management trends with me for the purpose of this paper.

Management Interview: Lessons from an Experienced Manager

According to Mr. J., the key to being a good manager is being flexible and adaptable to change. He has direct experience with this: four years ago he was made redundant from a large company he had served for nearly twenty years. Being a mature job-seeker was not something he felt comfortable with, but he credits his ability to find new employment in management — despite his age — to demonstrating through previous experience and at interview that he was keen to take initiative and adapt competently to change in all situations. He has held his current position for over three years and enjoys it greatly.

"Not being afraid to try new ways of doing old things" is the motto he has framed above his desk. Mr. J. explained that when he first took on his new position, he had to work to earn his subordinates' respect. The distribution area he oversees is the hub of the whole company, with meeting customer delivery deadlines as its central function. His chance to prove he was a team player came just two days into the new job, when his foreman reported that two forklift drivers were absent and delivery trucks were backing up in the yard. One major client in particular faced a late delivery unless something could be done immediately. Mr. J. called his secretary and instructed her to contact local temporary employment agencies for casual drivers who could start within the hour — then went out to the yard and operated a forklift himself, suit and tie intact, until the relief workers arrived.

"It was great," he said. "The look on the other drivers' faces to see their 'boss' still in business clothes, driving around in a forklift and getting the orders out, was priceless." He noted that some workers were initially uncomfortable around him in the yard, but once they realized he was helping rather than evaluating them, they quickly relaxed and got on with the job.

However, Mr. J. cautioned against thinking that workers will respect you simply because you can do their job, or that this alone makes someone a good manager. He believes managers "wear many hats" and that knowing which hat is appropriate for any given situation is a real art. In his role, he not only motivates and organizes workers but is also accountable to the company President for his department's productivity, to the Accountant who approves and audits distribution budgets, and must liaise daily with bindery and production supervisors to ensure a continuous flow of goods.

When I asked Mr. J. for a few points of advice based on his own experience, he considered the question carefully before responding: "Don't be afraid of being yourself. Earn respect — don't expect it to be given freely. Motivate through example. Listen to the people who work for you, because they know what happens on the factory floor where it counts. And finally, don't take your work home with you, no matter what." He believes the most effective manager is one who learns to take time out for himself and his family, who looks after himself so he can look after others, and who always remembers which hat he is supposed to be wearing at any given moment.

While my interview with Mr. J. was lighthearted in tone, there is solid advice embedded in what he shared. Knowing how to be a team player is crucial, and so is knowing how to communicate across many levels and with many different people. Understanding how one department fits into the broader company scheme is a valuable skill, and feeling competent enough to handle any task within one's area of responsibility is equally important. For me personally, learning to take time out and look after myself is one key area I must work on. I have worked long hours since I was fourteen years old, and my expectations of myself are very high — a pattern that has contributed to significant stress in my life, and one I intend to address seriously through my studies.

There is no disputing that we are products of our childhood experiences. I was raised in a family with a very strong work ethic. My mother is fortunate in that she enjoys her work as a grade school teacher. My father, on the other hand, is a butcher — a trade that requires long hours — and while he is a wonderful father, he dislikes his job, and the pressure this creates tends to overflow into the household at times. These contrasting examples have shown me how important it is to love what you do: my mother is visibly more relaxed because she is in a role she still enjoys, while my father epitomizes the stress of going to a job every day that he does not want to do.

Personal History and Work Background

I have always been work-oriented, preferring the idea of working to attending school, and I have been working forty hours a week since the age of fourteen. Juggling work, school, and home commitments is not easy, and I find myself stressed quite regularly, as my own expectations of what I should accomplish often exceed my actual capacity. This is not easy to admit to myself — let alone to others — but I appreciate that, to be successful in future years, I need to identify my problem areas now and work to resolve them.

One of the reasons I continue studying despite preferring a work environment is that I have started two businesses of my own, neither of which was particularly successful. I believe entrepreneurial people are vital to the future economy, but my experience has made clear that having a good idea is not enough to make a business succeed. Skills in administration, business management, communication, and marketing are essential even to attempt running a business, as my own efforts demonstrated. I have also come to understand that the traditional cliché — that hard work alone leads to success — is only marginally true. People still need to work hard, but effort alone is no longer a guarantee of success. This is why I chose to train as a manager: to build a skill base better suited to the modern model of business success.

Conclusion

6. Managing Conflict: The key issue I identified here is that although I consider myself a capable leader in a team environment — a view supported by others — I have a clear difficulty communicating how I want a task completed. I know internally what I want to achieve and can articulate goals quite clearly. However, when it comes to being a team member rather than a leader, I am less certain how to build effective working relationships with peers. Business relationships, like personal ones, require time and reciprocal engagement to develop. Since these are areas I struggle with — as discussed throughout this paper — I have a very clear picture of what I need to improve to become a more effective manager.

At the beginning of this assessment I identified stress management as the number one area I wanted to work on. As I completed this paper, it became clear that the feeling of being overwhelmed could be substantially reduced through more effective planning, better time management, deliberate time for personal recovery, and greater investment in relationships with others. These improvements would, in turn, increase my effectiveness as a team member and, eventually, as a team leader.

If I take the time to prioritize the tasks expected of me, allocate time to them effectively and sensibly, and allow myself to relax without worrying about forgotten obligations — because I will have recorded them for future reference — I believe I will be able to communicate more effectively with team members, think more creatively when solving problems, and become a better manager overall. The insights gained through the management interview, personal reflection, and PAMS results collectively point to the same conclusion: disciplined planning is the foundation on which all other managerial strengths can be built.