The transition to manager is perhaps the greatest, and most challenging, professional endeavor you will ever take. In a study done almost two decades ago, the Department of Labor determined that as a manager you hold the greatest power of influence over your employee’s professional satisfaction. It said that an employee’s job satisfaction was directly correlated with her satisfaction with you.
That is quite a responsibility to bear. Your influence and your style of management and
leadership will affect the next generation of managers. Just as your previous managers helped shape who you are at work, so too will you shape those fortunate (hopefully not ever unfortunate) enough to serve with you. The essence of management, the fundamental responsibility you have as a manager, is simply this:
To enable those who work for you to succeed at what they do.
You are responsible for that singular output. If your employees succeed, so do you. If they are happy, they will work harder. If they feel successful, they will work toward maintaining that feeling. If they have the resources to do the work, they will. If they feel supported, they will do just about anything ethical for you.
You will face multiple challenges during your tenure as a manager. There are rarely prescriptions for how to resolve them, but it is nonetheless your job to do so. You will often have to make distinctions between choices that might both be right. And you won’t know which one was the right choice until after you make it, if even then. The upshot is, management is tough. You will have so much on your plate. And it may be, at least initially, scary. In these Libarary pages there are some checklists of things to consider and things to avoid. After that is a document that will describe some of the roles you will be taking on in your new position. And finally, there will be a description of duties managers all over the world have in any capacity. Your job is to look at how those duties fit into your company's culture and best support your ultimate goal – don’t forget - of enabling your employees succeed.