Rounding out the Manager's Job
The integrated job of managing has been lost in the conventional ways of describing it -- as individual behaviors, such as leading, controlling, communicating, and so on. Each has generally been treated either in isolation or as part of a mere list of roles. The model the author presents here seeks to integrate what we already know managers do around a framework of concentric circles. At the core are the person in the job, the frame of the job, and its agenda. These are surrounded by roles managers perform at three levels: managing by information, managing through people, and managing action, each carried out inside and outside the unit. To demonstrate use of the model, and especially to understand different managerial styles, the author draws examples from his observations and interviews of a variety of managers. He concludes that managing has to be "well-rounded."