Six Tools of Managers

Over the last several months I have been reflecting on the nature of “management”  and what managers really do. Management has been described interns of essential functions (Planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, and controlling) - this described what needs to be done. But how to go about giving effect to those function is another question. Another frame of reference is French and Raven's basis of power.  French and Raven's is a more academic approach based on the application of power.

The six C's of Management

Parking for the moment the leadership versus management question, and at the risk of sounding like a link-baiting management blog, here are the six essential ways manager get things done.  Keep in mind there these are high level tools.

The six basic tools for managers are

1. Convocation (who they invite to the table).
2. Commitment (what they agree to do).
3. Commission (who they ask to do things).
4. Censure  (Who they hold to account – and why).
5. Celebrate (Who they recognize - and why).
6. Confide (Provide information to).

Here are the six basic tools in more details.

1. Convocation (who they invite to the table).
   The tool of convocation is a fundamental one to effective management. Often, getting stuff done is about getting the right people in the room to start with. Likewise, who is excluded from meetings can also be important from a political and symbolic perspective. 
    
2. Commitment (what they agree to do).
   Core to management is committing to work on behalf of their business unit or teams. Importantly, committing to a line of work doesn't mean the manager is doing the work, rather that the business unit / team / function will undertake to do that work on behalf of the organisation. 
    
3. Commission (who they ask to do things).
   Allocating work to individuals is one of the basic tools of management.  Commissioning is the fancy term for allocating work or asking for work to be done. Who you ask to do things is often more important that what you ask them to do.
    
4. Censure (Who they hold to account – and why).
   Censure means the expression of formal disapproval. Holding to account, either privately or publicly is an important tool. Often managers are more interested in celebrating (see below) and fear having the tough conversations. Censuring is all about having the tough conversations in a timely fashion.
    
5. Celebrate (Who they recognize - and why).
   The inverse of censure is celebrating. Celebrating accomplishments at a individual, team, and group and even organisational level is an important tool for managers. Good managers think intentionally about, who, what and why they celebrate.
    
6. Confide (Provide information to).
   The final tool for managers is the sharing of information. This includes providing information to people and groups. In many organizations information is the lifeblood of effectiveness, and the more timely and relevant the information the more effective the functions can be.

These are the six tools that help managers get stuff done day in and day out. Have a think about how you use these tools in your role.