DEVELOPING MANAGER ASSIGNMENT

Developing Manager Assignment

Developing Manager Assignment

Introduction

Understanding where specific managers can be utilized most effectively proved vital. Describing exceptional managers in the field of hospitality industry from three perspectives or profiles helped clarify why some good managers in the failed and others succeeded.

These exceptional managers in the were:

Project Managers, who innovated and initiated new developments and growth;

Production Managers in the, who strived for stability, efficiency and profit; and

Critical Leaders, who balanced a shifting emphasis from growth to profits and back again to reach their vision of the future.

An accurate match between managers in the field of hospitality industry' innate proclivities and the organizational channels in which they operated generally led to success. Failure could usually be traced to good managers in hospitality industry who were operating in the wrong channel.

For example, a Project Manager filling a Production need would often try to change and innovate system breakthroughs when what was required was system refinement, stability and predictable results. Such managers in the field of hospitality industry had recognizable ability, but their areas of strength did not match the demands of the functions they were expected to direct and manage.

A Three-Part Team

The skills, personal motivation and capacities of Project Managers in the and Production Managers in the field of hospitality industry are quite different, and only a rare few Critical Leaders were capable of "switch-hitting" in either role.

Both the Project and Production Manager roles were crucial for the organization. A comprehensive and accurate assessment of the corporation's needs determined which unique set of abilities should dominate at any point in time. The need to stabilize operations had to be weighed against the need for innovation; the need for improving quality had to be compared to the need for new, major growth.

Each profile was able to contribute more significantly and more effectively in one set of circumstances over the other. As corporate needs shifted over time, the balance or mix of the Project profile vs. the Production profile also needed to change, if both the managers in the and the corporation were to flourish. Critical leaders orchestrated this continuous act of balancing and rebalancing, based on the corporation's needs.

For example, a Project Manager had primary value when the need was to develop or enhance the corporation's technical excellence or creative capacity. A Production Manager, on the other hand, protected or advanced quality, cost-saving excellence and the corporate capacity for efficiency. Critical Leaders fully appreciated both orientations. By not over-committing to either, they could provide the necessary direction to vary both.

Each profile exhibited distinct and measurable values, loyalties, motivations, and career orientations (see Figure 5). Assessment tools were developed which helped identify an individual manager's proclivity for one channel over the others. These evaluations have helped to clarify and define the "hunches" that companies have often relied on.

Exceptional Manager ProfilesFig. 5

Project Manager

New & unique

Designs technology

Bored with repetition

90 Percenter

Flexible

Builds capability

Personal skills & reputation

Creative Motivator

Critical Leader

Directs the balance:

Growth vs. profit

Short-term vs. long-term

Developmental vs. maintenance needs

Process vs. results

Production Manager

Standard & reliable

Applies technology

Frustrated with constant change

99 Percenter

Controlled

Builds results

Position ...