What does the word "M.A.N.A.G.E.R" really mean in terms of leadership ?

I have just finished a posting about "how many true managers are really out there in the real world" where I promised to explain a little more on what is "true management" when it comes to people leadership versus pure administration that most managers tend to be.

When talking about managers, we really mean to talk about "people" management (or leadership as many people prefer to call it). We are not talking about managing machines, technology or processes, which could be well known in advance, predictable and controllable.  Instead, we are dealing with the "people & culture" dimension which has always proven to be the most challenging, most interesting and most rewarding type of management, and the only one which deserves to be described as "leadership" since we are talking about people and not machines.

OK!   So let us spell it out, what does the work "M.A.N.A.G.E.R" really mean ?  Luckily, the answer can be represented by the letters of the word "MANAGER" itself.  A true, successful, and effective manager is one who

• M ( motivates) his/her people to perform their jobs to the  best of their  capabilities, giving rise to the topic of "motivation"
• A  (achiever) to give substance to the motivation topic and base it on real/actual experience by the manager him/herself, giving rise to the subject of achievement and how it related to motivation.
• N (negotiator) with all concerned in up, down and on the sides within the organization, giving rise to the subject of "negotiation" as one of the main skills/activities of successful managers.  Negotiation can be taken within this context and linked to the subject of motivation and incentives.
• A (action taker) where successful effective managers put whatever has been negotiated into action, walking the walk after the talk has been made.
• G (Goal setter) where successful/effective managers set goals for themselves and for their people reporting to them,  Goal setting can be easily linked to the subject of performance appraisal, achievement and reward.
• E (Enabler) to make these goals achievable.  Successful/effective managers need to empower their people and give them the necessary authrority, power and resources to help them achieve the pre-agreed goals. This leads to the subject of "delegation" as well.
• R (Risk Taker)  where successful/effective managers will face situations where they need to take some risk when making up their mind about something.  Taking calculated risks after deu diligence is made is one thing that differentiates true managers from administrators who go literally by the book. It is also what differentiates us as humans from pre-programmed machines which cannot deal with situations that are not within their programs.

Interestingly, there are different views of any of these merits within each and every manager, not necessarily as seen by the manager him/herself,  but also as viewed from other people dealing with these managers, up, down and on the sides.

Transforming administrators into true managers/leaders is possible but it takes some effort and good will.  We have a methodology based on the above to help enhance the managers' capabilities and improve their performance through  quantification and measurement of the above highy desired merits of successf/effective managers who are true managers and can lead their people and organizations to success and achievement of prestated and agreed goals.