How Management Is like Investment
Getting the best return from a set of resources
The question 'what is management' is answered by comparing it to investment, the goal of maximizing the return on people and other resources.
The goal of management is to get work done as efficiently as possible. This means getting the best possible return on all resources at the manager’s disposal. If you want to excel in a management role, think of management as investment.
The function of management does not entail managing people. The main condition is that some resources are managed in such a way as to produce a profitable output. You might manage only yourself, your time, energy, talent, knowledge and experience. To manage your personal resources effectively, you need to deploy them strategically. This means aligning them so as to meet your objectives with minimum cost or expenditure of energy and time. If you simply react to everything that comes along without prioritizing, then you are not really managing yourself.
Most people in a formal managerial position have other resources, in addition to their own personal time, energy and talent. This usually includes people, a budget and other organizational material.
The manager, therefore, has two tasks. The first is to use all existing resources as effectively as possible. The second is to improve those resources to make them even more effective. This might mean maintaining equipment or finding ways to conserve money in a limited budget, but it most often means developing people to enhance their potential and to keep them motivated and with the organization.
Management is often wrongly portrayed as a controlling, mechanical function to contrast it with leadership which tends to be seen as more inspiring and empowering. This is a mistake. Both leaders and managers can be inspiring, the former to move us to change direction, the latter to motivate us to perform better.
The negative image of management stems from assembly line days when managers felt they had to watch workers closely and discipline them into keeping their noses to the grindstone. Modern managers need to behave much differently. Today, much of our work is knowledge intensive and performed by highly skilled professionals who want to run things as they see fit, within reason. Managers of knowledge workers are almost like managers of sports professionals such as golfers and tennis stars. However, these managers work for the sports personalities, not the other way around. Still, managers of knowledge workers cannot succeed by being dictatorial. They must consider the needs of team members carefully and involve them in making important decisions. The relationship is closer to one of partnership than boss-subordinate.
Despite the need to be considerate, managers are ultimately accountable to their superiors and shareholders so they need to get the best return from every resource under their control. To maximize this return, managers must think strategically about where and how to deploy all resources. This means setting goals and establishing priorities so that the most value-added work gets the most attention.
