The first-time manager

222 Pages·2005·0.796 MB·English

by  Loren B Belker, Gary S Topchik

T
HE
F T
IRST IME
-
M
ANAGER
FIFTH EDITION
Loren B. Belker
& Gary S. Topchik
American Management Association
New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City • San Francisco
Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D. C.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Belker,LorenB.
Thefirst-timemanager/LorenB.Belker,GaryS.Topchik.—5thed.
p. cm.
ISBN0-8144-0821-4
1.Supervisionofemployees. 2.Officemanagement. I.Topchik,GaryS. II.
Title.
HF5549.12.B453 2005
658.3(cid:1)02—dc22
2004019486
(cid:1)2005,1997,1993,1986,and1981AMACOM,adivisionof
AmericanManagementAssociation,NewYork.
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Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
PARTONE SOYOU’REGOINGTOMANAGEPEOPLE 1
1. TheRoadtoManagement 3
2. StartingOut 8
3. BuildingTrustandConfidence 15
4. ShowYourAppreciation 19
5. Being anActive Listener 22
6. TheNewManager’s JobandPitfallstoAvoid 28
7. Dealing withYourSuperiors 32
8. ChoosingaManagerialStyleofYourOwn 39
9. BuildingTeamSpirit 43
PARTTWO TACKLINGYOURNEWDUTIES 47
10. ManagingProblemEmployees 49
11. HiringandInterviewing 56
12. TrainingTeamMembers 68
13. ManagingChange:DealingwithResistance 75
14. DiscipliningtheEmployee 78
15. ‘‘Oh My God!ICan’tFire Anyone!’’ 87
16. HavingaLegalAwareness 96
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vi Contents
PARTTHREE WORKINGWITHPEOPLEANDBUILDING
RELATIONSHIPS 103
17. NoSecrets 105
18. TheHuman ResourcesDepartment 108
19. TheCurrentStateofLoyalty 111
20. IsThereSuchaThingasMotivation? 113
21. TheGenerationGap 119
PARTFOUR JOBDESCRIPTIONS,PERFORMANCEAPPRAISALS,
ANDSALARYADMINISTRATION 123
22. WritingJobDescriptions 125
23. DoingPerformanceAppraisals 128
24. SalaryAdministration 140
PARTFIVE IMPROVINGANDDEVELOPINGYOURSELF 145
25. HavingEmotionalIntelligence 147
26. DevelopingaPositive Self-Image 150
27. ManagingYourOwnTime 167
28. TheWrittenWord 174
29. TheGrapevine 178
30. YourBestFriend:Delegation 180
31. ASenseofHumor 184
32. Managing,Participatingin, andLeadingMeetings 188
33. TakingCenterStage:The Roleof PublicSpeakingin
YourCareer 195
PARTSIX THECOMPLETEPERSON 201
34. CopingwithStress 203
35. HavingBalanceinYourLife 207
36. ATouchofClass 210
Conclusion 212
Index 217
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Preface
It has truly been an honor to be asked by AMACOM Books to
prepare the fifth edition of this book. The first four editions,
magnificently written by Loren B. Belker, have been very suc-
cessfulinhelpingnewmanagerstodevelopintohighlyeffective
leaderswithintheirorganizations.
I regret having to say that Loren has passed away. He will
be greatly missed by all of those close to him—family, friends,
and colleagues—and the countless managers who have been
helpedbyhiswritingandlectures.
It is with great pride that I have prepared this new edition
of The First-Time Manager. Loren’s insights and deep under-
standing of the management function go unparalleled. I have
just tried to update some of the materials and share my own
thoughtsonwhat asuccessfulmanagerneedstodo.
Respectfully,
GaryS.Topchik
vii
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Acknowledgments
People often have a greater impact on our lives than they’re
awareofatthetime.
Many people have participated in my management semi-
nars. Their desire to improve their management skills has been
their first step in becoming humane and enlightened leaders of
people. They’ve been willing to set aside previously held atti-
tudesofwhatamanageroughttobe.
There are also the organizations and the enterprises that
have seen the great value in educating and developing their
managers. They have realized that their success directly corre-
latestotheskillsandtalentsoftheirmanagementteams.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my editor and
friend, Adrienne Hickey, editorial director at AMACOM. Her
insights and encouragement on the revisions and new editions
haveplayedamajorroleinthesuccessofthisbook.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge my life partner,
friends, especially Alexandra, and family members. They have
beenmysourceofencouragementandinspiration.
—GST
ix
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Introduction
So,whatexactlyisanewmanagersupposedtodo?Youhave no
doubt met bosses who feel that their job is to tell others what to
do. Unfortunately, these managers reallyhave not learned what
theirroleis.Itisnottodirectpeople,althoughsomeofthatmay
beneeded.Rather,managementshouldbetheprocessofgetting
peopletobecomeself-directed.ThefiftheditionofTheFirst-Time
Managerwillenableyoutodothat.
Application of the principles described in this book should
benefit anyone who is about to embark on a managerial career.
Our relationship with other human beings is the most challeng-
ing opportunity that exists for us. It covers all aspects of our
lives.
Ifyouaregoingtobearespectedmanager,youneedtofind
opportunities to gain the support and commitment of your di-
rect reports without having to use your positional power (your
title) over them. The best managers get their team members to
willingly do what they are supposed to, as opposed to doing it
onlybecausethemanagersaidso.
There are many books published on the subject of manage-
ment, but few of these books address—or zero in on—those in-
dividuals who are about to begin a career of leading other
people. These first-time managers are not interested in a lot of
xi
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xii Introduction
academic jargon; rather, they are in a state of mixed emotion—
absolutely delighted with the promotion and absolutely panic-
stricken with the realization that from now on they’ll be judged
byhow welltheirdirectreportsperform.
Thisbookisforthosepeople,notfortopmanagementwith
twenty years’ experience, even though many top managers
would do well to refresh their acquaintance with some of the
basic principles that will be discussed in this book. In fact, a
comment often heard at seminars for new managers is, ‘‘My
boss needs this information and these skills even more than I
do.’’Thisthen,createsforthenewmanagertheproblemofhow
you manage in an environment where your own manager vio-
lates principles and concepts that you practice and believe in.
This new edition helps you succeed with your direct reports,
even though your managers and your organization may not be
doingexactlywhattheyshouldbe.
This book is written in a conversational manner, making it
easy for you to follow along and absorb the ideas presented.
You’ll find it easy to refer back to specific areas when problems
arise in the future. After several months of managing people,
reread the book. Many of the concepts will take on additional
usefulnessatthattime.
New chapters have been added in this fifth edition, and
manyothershavebeenmodifiedorenlarged.Forexample,there
is expanded information on building trust and confidence, per-
formance appraisals, motivating other people, being an active
listener, dealing with resistance to change, managing a diverse
groupofindividuals,andbuildingateamenvironment.
Lastly,almostalltheproblemsyouwillencounterasanew
manager may be new to you, but they’ve been experienced by
many others. The challenges you encounter are balanced by the
joyandsatisfactionofamanagementjobwelldone.
ThanksfordecidingtospendsometimewithTheFirst-Time
Manager.
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1
The Road to Management
There are many different ways that individuals become man-
agers.
Unfortunately, many companies don’t go through a very
thorough process in choosing those who are to be moved into
managerialpositions.Oftenthejudgmentisbasedsolelyonhow
wellthepersonisperforminginthecurrentlyassignedtask.The
bestperformerdoesn’talwaysmakethebestmanager,although
many companies still make the choice on that basis. The theory
isthatsuccessfulpastperformanceisthebestindicatoroffuture
success.However,managementskillsareverydifferentfromthe
skillsoneneedstosucceedasanindividualcontributor.
So, the fact that an employee is a good performer, even
though it demonstrates a success pattern, doesn’t necessarily
meantheperson willbeasuccessfulmanager. Being amanager
requires skills beyond those of being an excellent technician.
Managers need to focus on people, not just tasks. They need to
rely on others, not just be self-reliant. Managers are also team
oriented and big picture oriented, whereas nonmanagers suc-
ceedbybeingindividuallyorientedanddetailoriented.
Management Is Not for Everyone
Some companies have management-training programs. These
programsvaryfromexcellenttohorrible.Toooften,theprogram
3
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