I want to be a manager!

First, I would like to note a short fragment from a discussion carried on this theme. The person I have spoken with had recently graduated from a college of management and marketing and had never worked before. What do you consider to be a suitable job for you?… Well, I want to be a manager. Why do you want to be a manager? Well, because I will have a huge wage, a car, phone, laptop, and I will be important and people will respect me. And what do you think are the qualities a manager should have?… Well, to be tough with its employees, knowing how to control them, otherwise nobody will listen to, to tell them what to do and if they don’t listen to fire them. Yes, this is a part of a real conversation. Honestly, many times I get confused not knowing how to react in such cases: either to laugh out loud or to cry out loud.

First, I would like to note a short fragment from a discussion carried on this theme. The person I have spoken with had recently graduated from a college of management and marketing and had never worked before. What do you consider to be a suitable job for you?… Well, I want to be a manager. Why do you want to be a manager? Well, because I will have a huge wage, a car, phone, laptop, and I will be important and people will respect me. And what do you think are the qualities a manager should have?… Well, to be tough with its employees, knowing how to control them, otherwise nobody will listen to, to tell them what to do and if they don’t listen to fire them. Yes, this is a part of a real conversation. Honestly, many times I get confused not knowing how to react in such cases: either to laugh out loud or to cry out loud.

To change people’s mentality and the way they see things is a hard thing to do. What is worst is the fact that new generation’s people want to become managers directly from school. It is not something wrong, on the contrary. I have sustained and always will that people should pursue their dreams, to be free in their choices. But what I do not understand and maybe you will help me is this trend of becoming a manager without having the faintest idea about it.

My long-time intention was to write about people who want to be managers. This means they already have practical knowledge and here I make no reference to a copied theory at some management exam. Most probably they see successful people around them, those managers who have a so-called happy life and think: is not hard to yell at someone and to fire some people, isn’t it?

For me, to be a manager, especially a good one, whose positive results will reverberate on company’s activities, is most important to have experience in working with people. The manager is close to them, listens to their needs, knows how to communicate with each of them, understands and empathizes. The respect is not won because of your expensive car and your fashionable suit. The respect is gained because of how you behave with the organisation you manage, the way you know your employees and realize how appropriate they are for the organisation’s activity. You gain respect because of the respect you show to your employees, because you respect each minute they spent working in the interest of the company you run.

Working directly with people is most difficult. It is not easy to collaborate, talk to them, identity their fears, its potential, their strong points and what to improve. It is not easy to help them to grow on a professional level. It is not easy to be their role model. Because this is what you are: a role model. Even though they will not publicly admit, your employees will keep an eye on you and if they have something to learn: they will follow you.

This is why you need to be aware of the huge responsibility weighing on your shoulders. Practically you are in charge of everybody within the organisation you manage. And understand one thing: everybody is a favourite/there are no favourite people. And that is important to be suited with your team style and not the way around.

I would like to avoid the list with “what must be done”. One of the reasons is that we are different one from each other. There is not a certain receipt that we follow to become good managers. Instead, there are some rules, principles, working tools, courses, practical examples that could come to your assistance. To manage a company is an art few of us understand. It is not enough to have a technical and practical background for becoming a manager. The point is we need a continuous training to reach a high level. There is need for sacrifice, lots of patience and tenacity. We need to know that a company develops because of its employees, that they are the basement. They “build” for you, actual managers and those willing-to-be. They are the main object of your work. And practically “I want to be a manager” starts from your own desire to work with them, to be their guide in their professional life.