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Understanding Executive Roles and Skills

- Tarak Bahadur KC, PhDtarakbkc@gmail.com

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Discussion Points

• Organisation and Executive • Managing and Leading• Executive as a Manager and a

Leader• Managerial / Executive Roles• Management Levels and Skill

Distribution• Requirements of Executives

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Organisation• A systematic arrangement of people brought

together to accomplish some specific purpose.

• Two or more people working together toward one or more shared goal(s). It is an entity with:– Specific objectives– Structure of authority– Division of work– Resources– System of communication– A set of customs (culture)

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Organisation Level

Exercise

What comes in your mind when you think about Executives? Please express in the form of picture or diagram in the flip chart. You have five minutes.

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Who is an Executive?

“One who holds position of administrative or managerial responsibility.”- Longman

A person who is in charge of the organization or a major component or function of the organization, who carries out activities that produce goods and services and helps the organization to achieve objectives for which it is established.

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What you think about yourself –Manager or Leader or both?

An Executive must be able to manage and lead at the same time.

“Managers do things right, Leaders do the right things.”- Warren Bennis

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Examples of Managing and Leading at the same time:

Activity Managing Leading

Run a meeting

Follow the agenda

Build consensus

Sell a proposal

Persuade with logic

Create enthusiasm

Devise a plan

Issue instructions

Give people ownership

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Executive has: • targets to achieve,• people to manage,• tasks to perform,• an organization to liaise

with, and• a distinct shortage of time.

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What is a Role?

A role is a set of responsibilities organised (or a pattern of behaviours used) to produce specific outputs related to a specific function/ position.

Exercise

What you do at your work place in a day (tasks / functions)?- Individual- Group

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Managerial RolesManagerial Roles by Robert Katz:• Planning (As a Planner)• Organizing (As an Organizer)• Leading (As a Leader)• Controlling (As a Controller)

Mintzberg's Classification of Managerial Roles:• Interpersonal Roles• Informational Roles• Decisional Roles

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The Managerial Roles – H. Mintzberg

A. Interpersonal Roles 1. Figurehead role. The manager performs

ceremonial and symbolic duties by virtue of his position, e.g. receiving dignitaries, attending parties, visiting the sick employees, etc.

2. Leadership role. As heads of units or departments managers are responsible for the work of people in that unit. As a leader he gives directions, appraises performance, correct mistakes, disciplines staff, motivates subordinates, determines rewards and punishments, etc.

3. Liaison role. The manager ensures contacts with other units and outside agencies on behalf of own unit. He works more as a public relations officer.

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B. Informational Roles

4. Monitor. As a monitor of information, the manager scans his environment for information.

5. Disseminator. After having acquired information, the manager also passes this information relatively to his subordinates, superiors and colleagues.

6. Spokesman role. The manager represents his unit and its problems in different forums. As a spokesman, the manager presents the problem of his unit to others, and presents information to others who control his unit and so on. 15

C. Decisional Roles7. Entrepreneurial role. The manager seeks to

respond to the changing conditions of environment. He is constantly looking for new ideas and initiating development projects.

8. Disturbance handler. He responds to pressures and crisis situations.

9. Resource allocator. This role involves the allocation of resources: human, physical, financial and other forms of resources to get things done. Allocation of his own time and powers are important dimension

10. Negotiator. The manager is carrying on negotiations with external as well as internal agents.

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Specific Executive Roles

• Visionary • Policy maker • Linkage builder • Planner and monitor• Co-ordinator• Strategic leader• Resource manager• Controller

Areas of InvolvementIn order to manage people, an executive has to be involved in the following areas:• Activity – what people do.

• Performance – how well people do.

• Career – planning of career development.

• Life – non-work issues (personal).18

Skills• Skill is the knowledge and ability

that enables one to do a job very well.

• Executives need to develop different skills in order to perform their duties effectively. There are some basic skills, which all managers should possess.

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Exercise: Skills

What skills you need to perform the role of an executive?

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Managerial SkillsRobert Katz identified three types of skills to make a manager effective:

1. Technical skills. involve an understanding of, and proficiency in a specific kind of activity particularly one involving methods, processes, procedures and techniques.2. Human skills. reflect the ability of a manager to work effectively as a team member and build cooperative effort within the team he heads. Human skills deal with working with people. 3. Conceptual skills. involve the ability to see the enterprise as a whole.

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Management Skills

40%

30%

10%

50%

45%

40%

10%

25%

50%

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Requirements of Executives

1. Key Competencies and Qualities

2. Emotional Intelligence

3. Moral Intelligence

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1. Key Competencies • A competency is more than just knowledge and

skill. It involves creative abilities to meet complex demands of society and organisations by drawing on and mobilising psychosocial resources including attitudes, motivation and values which an individual must possess in order to produce the outputs for his/her roles in a particular context.

• Job competency describes the underlying characteristics of an individual that drive behaviour leading to superior performance in a job.

What are key competencies?Competencies include behaviors, skills, knowledge, values, self-image, traits, and motives, such as:

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• Leadership / Self Management• Decision Making• Personal Effectiveness- Integrity,

Interpersonal skills / Communication, Adaptive, Innovative, Creative, Self-directed and Self-motivated

• Strategic Planning and Change Management

Personal Qualities

What are Personal Qualities of an Executive?

Among other things, those who want to lead people and manage events must bring with them a set of qualities that can’t always be taught but can be learned:Will: Desire to make a difference, influence

others, and gain satisfaction from doing so -in sum, the "will to manage."

Power: Healthy desire for power. Enjoy it but don’t abuse it.

Empathy: Able to understand feelings and roles of others. 26

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2. Emotional Intelligence

- “ the capacity of recognising our own feelings and of others for motivating ourselves and managing emotions well.”(Daniel Goleman)

- the ability to be aware of one’s own feelings, be aware of others’ feelings, to differentiate amongst them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and behaviour.

Aspects of Emotional Intelligence (Daniel Goleman)

1. Understanding our own- self - our feelings and emotions.

2. Dealing with our emotions.3. Being able to understand

the feelings and emotions of others.

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3. Moral Intelligence

It is our mental capacity to determine how universal human principles should be applied to our values, goals and actions.It is an intelligent approach to doing the right thing.

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Moral intelligence:

• reflects the fact that we are not borne moral or immoral, and that we have to learn how to be good. Learning never ends and involves communication, feedback, socialisation and education.

• suggests that we should care for a few core ethical values, learn to solve social problems, be guided by intelligent practice maxims, and avoid common pitfalls.

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Principles of moral intelligence

• Integrity• Responsibility• Compassion• Forgiveness

What makes an Effective Executive?

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Effective Executive -Peter Drucker

Every effective executive follows 8 practices:

1. Ask what needs to be done2. Ask what is right for the enterprise3. Develop action plans4. Take responsibility for decisions5. Take responsibility for communicating6. Focus on opportunities, not on problems7. Run productive meetings8. Think and say “We”, not “I”

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Becoming an Executive of ChoiceConsider the following tips on becoming a successful executive:• Don’t try to be some one you are not. Be

yourself.• Start as you mean to go on.• Share your department’s objectives.• Hold regular team reviews.• Initiate new rituals for the team.• Give feedback openly.• Acknowledge the expertise of your staff.• Don’t be too weak to admit your mistake.• Carry on developing yourself.• You can still be friends with your staff.

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Successful Executive

• Needs knowledge of all factors that he has to manage and all that is beyond, which directly or indirectly impinge on his micro environment

• Is impartial• Creates conducive work

environment- Geeta

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Thank Youand

Good Luck