In the boardroom, conversations about the difference between a leader and a manager can often blur into semantics.
The reality is that whether you wear the title of manager or leader, the role is challenging.
It is like juggling unpredictable objects, when sometimes they arrive without warning and other times in overwhelming quantities.
Yet, despite the challenges the work is deeply rewarding and satisfying.
Effective managers are the bedrock of successful organisations, providing stability, direction and impact where it matters most.
A Manager is someone who is responsible for managing resources, including people.
The following five challenges are common for all managers and, in our expert opinion at Think HQ, a managers ability to manage and solve these challenges is fundamental to ensuring they’re effective in their role.
1. People & Performance
Managers are expected to hit targets whilst also supporting, motivating and developing their teams. Often managers are expected to deliver their own tasks, service clients and achieve individual objectives and targets whilst managing their team.
Frequently the pressure for results can clash with people’s individual needs.
Balancing people’s needs, which can be complex and are often competing, is a common challenge for managers.
Knowing where to focus resources, attention and manage teams to deliver effective and efficient teams is critical.
Action: Set clear goals and priorities, in collaboration with team members, ensuring everyone is bought in and aware of each others. Communicate them consistently, and balance accountability with empathy. Use one-to-ones to align personal aspirations with business objectives.
2. Decision-Making Under Pressure
Managers rarely have all the information relevant to make decisions, and never have unlimited time.
Information can be of different quality, and decisions can affect people’s jobs, morale and company outcomes – which means the stakes are often high.
Decision-making varies in terms of the type of decisions (tactical, strategic, reactive, proactive, etc) and the level of decision (individual, team, organisational and in some organisations societal) so exploring this can help reduce, or prempt, decisions needed to be made under pressure.
Action: Decision-making doesn’t always have to be between two options. Gather the best available data, consult stakeholders and adopt a ‘good enough – not perfect’ mindset. Often decisions which are delayed or avoided cause more challenges, especially for teams ‘waiting for an answer’. Empower your team to make their own decisions, based on values and because they have clear direction. Build confidence by learning from mistakes and refining your process.
3. Manage Conflict
Many people see signs of conflict as negative, however conflict (and importantly how you manage it) is vital to create high-performing organisations.
Many business we have worked with have ‘artificial harmony’ in meetings, and even boardrooms, but in reality this is more dangerous than having visible conflict.
Disagreements between team members, or between managers and their teams, can quickly escalate. Many managers, often due to lack of training, avoid conflict or see it as negative which often, if not always, makes things worse.
Action: Address issues early, and remain neutral. Focus on behaviours and outcomes rather than personalities. Training in conflict resolution, before conflict happens, delivers return on investment because active listening and other techniques learnt can help prevent problems from arising in the first place. Supporting employees ahead of problems is much more effective than providing training when emotions may be high due to conflict which has already risen.
4. Leading Through Change
Change brings uncertainty, resistance and emotional reactions because humans like to feel safe, knowing what may happen.
Managers are often caught between senior leadership’s vision and focus, whilst handling team concerns. Bridging this gap is crucial and extremely difficult, especially in times of uncertainty. Team members often want information, which managers may struggle to provide so there are a number of things which can help ensure smooth management through change.
Action: Communicate transparently, and frequently, with all ensuring information is shared when relevant. Building up trust, ensuring consistent involvement of teams in shaping solutions is vital. Often managers speculate with others about what is happening, which is unhelpful, but often a natural response so using models (e.g. ADKAR™ or Kotter’s Steps of Change) can be helpful as guidance.
5. Developing Others & Yourself
Managing yourself and others is multi-faceted. Managers are responsible for coaching and growing their people, whilst also needing to keep up their own learning and avoiding burnout.
Many focus on one at the expense of the other, especially in times of high pressure. But this can be detrimental, especially in the longer term, when short term decisions have longer term costs in terms of skills and development.
Action: Block time for both team and self-development and take care of the small things. One of the most demotivating actions is when managers cancel 121s with their team members, especially last minute. Yet so often, this is the first action some managers take in times of challenge, because in many ways it is the easiest to let someone down who you know but over time it undermines the manager’s credibility. Being able to delegate effectively, seek feedback and use mentoring and coaching as support to boost resiliency and continuously build skills can be instrumental in managers success at developing themselves, and others, continuously.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the role of a manager is both demanding and rewarding because it requires balancing strategy with humanity, performance with empathy and short-term pressures with long-term growth.
At Think HQ, we believe that when managers are supported to build the right skills, frameworks and mindset, they don’t just overcome challenges – they transform them into opportunities for their teams and organisations to thrive.
Investing in manager capability is one of the most powerful levers any organisation has to unlock performance, engagement and sustainable success. To know more reach out to sam@thinkorganisation.com to arrange a call.
