The Secret of Being An Effective Manager in an Organization

Firstly, a manager is a person with managerial skills and authority. He or she gets things done through other people. Being effective is the result of the manager’s involvement and working relationship and doing the right things. Most of the managers working career will involve working with people. People are the core and vital resources of the organization. The productivity of the organization depends very much on how the manager utilizes its human resources in the organization. Therefore, people working in the organization must be given due care and respect. People either build or destroy the organization. Basically, people here refer to doctors, nurses, carpenters, plumbers, painters, cleaners, etc… in the context of a health institution. I have learnt to work with these people to carry out my plans and discovered to be very effective in my responsibilities as a manager over the last 10 years.

Secondly, people working in the organization must be motivated. Without motivation, workers generally don’t perform to the required standard. Thus, what is motivation? Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach organizational goals conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need (Robins, 2009). Therefore, motivation creates tension resulted from an unsatisfied need. This need drives a person to perform an activity in the organization. This performance resulted in achieving the goals of the organization and eventually satisfying the needs of the organization. Therefore, hiring and employing motivated staff in the organization is very vital for growth and productivity. "You should first get the right people on the bus and then figure out where to drive it - not the other way around." Jim Collins

Here are few tips on how to be an effective manager!

1. TREAT STAFF WELL.

Subordinates have to be treated with diligence. The manager has to stay friendly as well as maintain a level of distance with his staff. It’s a tricky ground to tread. The staff looks up on the manager as their leader. They expect maturity, rationality and understanding from their superiors. Further, doing simple things can greatly motivate workers. For example, calling people by their first name, chatting about their families for a while or even a general inquiry about their well-being, brings in a feeling of belongingness. Small gestures of this type help in building up of a cordial relationship.

2. THINK LIKE A WINNER
A manager has to handle two situations, "The Winning" and "The loosing". The crux is to think like a winner even when all the odds seem against you. It is necessary to equip yourself with all the tools of a winner. Always remember that winning and loosing rotate in a cycle. If you have been loosing from a long time you are very near the winning edge. For example, if the operational grant is not released on time and the account is in deficit balance, operate as if you have a million kina in the bank account.

3. RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCES
All the employees in the organization vibrate to a different pace. A treatment that motivates one may demotivate the other. Understanding the difference in temperament in between the individuals is important.

4. SET REALISTIC GOALS
Be realistic and simple and set goals you can achieve. Think big and dream of big plans but start at a low profile. Setting too high a task creates a feeling of non-achievement, right from the beginning itself. The goals set should be such which seem feasible to the employees to be achieved. A slightly higher target than expected provides a challenge. Do not make big promises which you can not deliver and lost your integrity. For example, a colleague promised to build five staff houses, a new water supply system and new solar system for the hospital in one year and achieve nothing.

5. PREVENT DEMOTIVATION
A job of the manager is to motivate people. His/her task requires him/her to punish and penalize people. This might create resentment in the mind of the staff members, which may affect the productivity of the workforce. Henceforth, care should be taken, that punishment and penalties are used as a controlling technique and that they do not demotivate

6. JOB-FINANCIAL ENRICHMENT AND SMALL JOB CHANGES ARE HANDY
To make job more effective and to break the monotonous routine, small task additions and minor changes are always welcome. Even small suggestions of the manager seem valuable to the employees. A few challenges in the same job can enrich it. For example, a committed receptionist should be asked to do payroll, asset inventory and other administrative duties instead of just answering phone calls all her working life.

7. NON FINANCIAL REWARDS
Monetary rewards have always had a high motivational capacity. But non-monetary rewards are equally helpful. A thank you note, a letter of appreciation or even few words of praise can help smoothen the creases between the different levels of management.
You have to be very clever to do simple things! And try as much as possible to find out from your staff before they run away!