“They just told me that, now I am the Manager. They didn’t tell me that I was supposed to do anything different than what I was doing before,” explained Lawrence.
We were talking about the role of the Manager, and the differences from the role of the Supervisor.
“That’s because most companies don’t truly understand the role of the Manager, nor the tools they use to do their job. For the people who do the work (Strata I) the tools are real tools, machinery and equipment, that’s easy to see. But what are the tools of the Supervisor?” Lawrence looked quickly to the left to see if the answer was written over my shoulder.
“The role of the Supervisor (Strata II) is to make sure the work gets done, so the tools of the Supervisor are schedules and checklists. The Supervisor uses those tools to make sure the right people are at the right place using the right materials on the right (well-maintained) equipment.”
“So what are the tools of the Manager?” asked Lawrence.
“The role of the Manager (Strata III) is to create the system, and make the system better. The tools of the Manager are flowcharts, time and motion, cause and effect sequence, role definitions and analysis.”
The role of the Manager is different than that of the Supervisor and requires different tools. -TF
While the role of the manager (Strata III) is to “create the system, and make the system better,” it’s also about foresight and planning, vision and goal-setting, analysis and assessment.
Strong managers embrace paradigm shifts, innovation, and team contribution. Those “people who do the work (Strata I)” and those Supervisors (Strata II) that “make sure the works gets done” should not be underestimated in their contribution to the big picture. Being on the front line gives them the expertise to offer suggestions to the Manager who is working to hard to “create the system, and make the sytem better.”
It’s their contribution to the success of the whole entity that creates the buy-in that makes them work harder, or work harder to make sure the work gets done.
Karen,
This was such a great response that I shared a link to it in Monday’s post.