| what kind of manager would I like to be? I think #3, acheive my own goals but in
the interests of the company, assuming that I could clearly understand how my
goals and the company's goals were matched. I wouldn't reach that position
arbitrarily; those conditions would be established during the initial
interviews. If I didn't feel that I could be that kind of manager, I wouldn't
take the job.
The question suggests that there has to be an adversary relationship between
a manager and his/her bosses. I know that that is often the case; I also
know that it doesn't have to be that way. A manager can be a valuable ally.
A manager that supports you and your goals can provide resources, direction,
and encouragement, allowing you to get a lot further than you could on your
own. What we have to make clear, in our conversations with our managers,
is that we all work for the same company. That's a lot of work, making sure
that we understand each other.
There's also a healthy bit of tension that should exist. I like working for a
boss whose style and outlook differ from mine. Not in severe terms, again,
realizing that we all work for the same company. I can tend to be impulsive, so
it's good to work for someone who has a good eye for detail. I can have a narrow
view of some things, so it's important to have a manager who challenges me with
ideas that differ. I can be casual about many things, so it's important to
work for someone who understands power.
Values, talents, styles -- those are the kinds of things that have to be
considered before we can really answer the question. It also raises another:
Would you like to work for a person whose temperament and abilities are very
much like your own? Would you be happy? Would you be challenged? Would you
ever be able to please that person?
kh
-30-
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| let me clarify a bit the issue: I know of a manager in a country (it has been
reported to me) (No Norbert, it's not Switzerland) who does what he needs to do
to be well considered by his manager, even if it is objectively bad for the
company. (sorry I can't give details for obvious reasons). The question is:
How to avoid this? (because that guy is putting his own interest before the
Corporation interest)
I can ask the question in the other way: How to demonstrate to higher
management that what someone is doing is good for the company if his manager
doesn't agree with him/her (assuming that s/he does really good things) and
if the boss's boss is ok with his/her boss to think it is not good?
Example: a politic solution to a problem versus an engineering one.
Example: have to 'sale' a solution to a functional manager before implementing
it, when it is widely known that it is a need for the whole community
Example: refuse an equipment to a group which can't work in good conditions
anymore because that will overflow the budget, which is bad in a JP&R
Another way to see the problem:
Am I alone, hence wrong, to think that Corp. goals are the only ones to be
achieved?
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| All that you've said doesn't leave the individual much room to do what is
right. I don't know if there is a good way to avoid this problem or to find
a solution that will keep everyone satisfied and with a job.
If this manager in question is doing things that are bad for the company,
then I have to believe that that person will eventually come to a bad end,
even if that person did those things unwillingly. We are judged by our actions,
not our intentions. Sometimes we are judged by association as well. If that
person's manager is doing things that are bad for the company, then the whole
group is at risk.
There are bad managers in this company, some of whom have cost the company
millions by their bad management practices and bad decisions. Usually when
they go down, they take others with them. I don't know if the case you mention
is this serious.
(My comments in .1 showed my optimism. I like to believe that everyone who
works for this company is decent, comptent, and clear-thinking. A person
has to work long and hard to prove otherwise. Nevertheless, there are some
people in this company that I regard as dangerous.)
In either case, I'd advise that the person in question start planning some
escape routes. Not necessarily job-hunting, but mainly building credibility with
other groups and other individuals.
No, I don't think you're wrong in believing that Corporate goals should be
served, even at the risk of offending your boss. It's just that you can't expect
to offend your boss without risk. Whether the risk of offending the boss is
greater than doing things against the corporate good, well, I can't be sure
without knowing more of the details. But I do know that the company wins more
often than it loses; that's what has made it successful.
kh
-30-
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| Well, of the 6 items in .0 only item 3 comes anywhere near what I believe is
best for the company in terms of individual (manager or anyone) goals.
I believe the company benefits most from people who develop a personal
understanding of corporate goals/needs and incorporate these as their own
personal goals - though I admit that this is not the quickest route to
advancement within the corporate structure, nor the easiest row to hoe.
The interplay among mature individuals who have such understanding, and who
recognize its limits and the applicability of others' such understanding, is
the process by which "the right thing" comes to happen.
- Bill
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