How can one Manager impact the team and the project?
I worked with several managers during the span of my career with SAP implementations. I have seen managers with various behaviors like Leadership skills, managerial skills, communication skills, Technical skills, Coaching and mentoring skills. I am fortunate to work under many exceptionally good managers and few dysfunctional managers.
Let’s start with my experience with an excellent Manager. This manager is very assertive, delegate’s responsibility wisely, approachable, takes team members to tasks and expects nothing but quality deliverables. This manager gives team and team members due credit, coaches and mentors them and the end goal is to make them a seasoned software professionals.
- This manager empowers the team members and encourages team members to take initiative and calculated risks. Hold team accountable in delivering quality work products with end to end solution in mind. An example - Make sure all the requirements and gathered properly, Functional/Technical specs completed, work with testing team and UAT Business tester and make sure the work products are accurately tested and deployed seamlessly with minimal or no post production issues.
- Extends help and makes cross work streams accountable to make the project successful. Focus here is on integration with other modules and other software packages.
- Lets the team members speak up and give status during project status meeting and other project related forums. Make sure the team members are getting visibility for the work that they have done.
- Encourages team member to get trained both externally and internally. A big proponent of on the jobs training. Every senior member of the team should have one to two protégé to Coach/mentor and to make them develop their expertise.
- Teams and team members are recognized for their efforts and given opportunity to take up challenging tasks
- Honest, impartial and Trust worth. If team members make mistakes and asks for help this manager jumps and extends all possible help.
- A true functional and/or technical guru who can fix pretty much anything in SAP (May be other systems too) and was always willing to share knowledge and develop the team.
- Encourages team to do what is best for the project and not to take short cuts even if it means delaying few deliverables.
Well, I can keep adding more and more items. Personally, I learnt a lot from this Manager and it helped me ever since.
Then I got an opportunity to work under a dysfunctional manager. This manager had none of the above qualities.
Well… I will capture it in my next blog ….. What I experienced with this dysfunctional Manger. For now… I will leave it with a positive tone with my experience with an excellent manager and the positive synergy and team work created under this exceptional manager which resulted in Great Team work, high morale and a successful implementation.
