What Kind of Manager am I?

This article was originally written as an assignment in Project Management (ATEC 4340) at UT Dallas.

The Boss's Office

Introspection is a fine art. The observation of oneself is usually a far cry from reality. Either overly optimistic or much too drastic a judgment, a person’s opinion of himself or herself is rarely on-target.

In my experience, a person will either ignore his or her faults or will harp on smaller details than any peer would ever notice. That said, I’ve asked myself what kind of manager I think I am and attempted to elucidate my answer in the paragraphs that follow.

In trying to define myself as a leader, I found it useful to see what experts said about being a leader. Bill George says being authentic is the most important aspect of being a leader (130). The people underneath a leader want a person they can trust, a person who will not lead them astray. In fact, according to Danny Ertel, being authentic can actually help a leader create more profitable and longer lasting deals through negotiations (63). In the article, “Discovering Your Authentic Leadership”, Bill George says,

“Authentic leaders demonstrate a passion for their purpose, practice their values consistently, and lead with their hearts as well as their heads. They establish long-term, meaningful relationships and have the self-discipline to get results. They know who they are.” (130)

I believe I am authentic most of the time. I make sure to ask people how they are and try to get a feel for what is going on in their life. As much as possible, I listen to what people have to say and remember what they said. However, as much as I try to do those things, when I’m in a hurry or when my mind is churning with exciting new ideas I find that I sometimes don’t listen as well, and consequently, the conversation and overall interaction suffers.

I have come to accept that I am “a creative”. What I mean by this is that I am a person who is more concerned with thoughts about creative endeavors than I am with the people around me. It seems counterintuitive that I would realize my flaws in dealing with and leading people and not be able to fix them. However, when I have an idea, I find it extremely difficult to pull myself out of the internal brainstorming process enough to be bothered with the societal expectations of a conversation. I also find it difficult sometimes to speak slowly, talk in a deep, commanding voice, make slow movements, or hold proper posture. All of these characteristics undoubtedly contribute to people’s perception of a leader.

According to Bill George, “no one can be authentic by trying to imitate someone else.” (129) I think that’s true. But I also know that the American people will never elect a candidate that they don’t perceive as being “presidential”. I think there’s a balance between being authentic and “looking the part” that must be struck if a person is to ascend to high levels of leadership. I don’t think Hillary Clinton grew up wearing pant suits — she wears them to “look the part”.

So, how does this all relate to my own leadership style? I’ve taken up dressing a bit more professionally, as well as attempting to keep better posture. I consistently try to listen more so I can better evaluate situations and make the best decision possible. In this manner, I can become a better human capital manager (Bassi 116). While I’m not accustomed to these actions, I think they will be important in my pursuit of successful leadership positions. As a better human capital manager, I hope to breathe confidence into the teams and organizations in which I work.

As an employee, I think I’m fairly easy to work with. I am a hard worker, and will “go all out”, meaning go above and beyond expectations, in order to get a job done. I do however require some diversity in my projects in order to stay sane. I would not detest a job where I repeated the same task every day of the week. I am a firm believer in the Google philosophy of 80% regular work and 20% “outside the box”, entrepreneurial endeavors (Google Jobs). I would love to work for an organization that understood and practiced that principle. The reason Google can hire and keep the best and brightest engineers is because they understand how to effectively lead clever people. Rob Goffee says,

“[Clever people] have a low boredom threshold. In an era of employee mobility, if you don’t engage your clever people intellectually and inspire them with organizational purpose, they will walk out the door.” (75)

When I own my own business, the 80/20 philosophy or something like it will be one of the core values of the company. To extend the thought further, I believe in the golden rule and I make decisions while consulting it. I hope that I can treat my team members, my employer, and, in the future, my employees, the way I would like to be treated.

Being truly authentic and adhering to the Golden Rule are necessary and proper in any kind of business relationship. They are however exceptionally lofty goals, and while I strive to maintain those values, I am not always consistent as a leader, as an employee, or as a team member. However, I believe to be truly authentic is to err and “be human”.

Works Cited