The main roles performed by a manager fall into three basic categories: informational, interpersonal, and decisional roles. Managerial roles are behaviors to perform functions like planning, leading, organizing, and problem-solving.
Core Management Functions
At the fundamental level, management consists of five functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.
- Planning
- Organizing
- Staffing
- Leading
- Controlling
These theories and practices underpin successful management. Creating plans to achieve company goals involves allocating resources, delegating responsibilities and setting timelines.
Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles
Henry Mintzberg classified 10 managerial roles in 3 categories grouping similar roles. The 10 managerial roles are:
- Figurehead
- Leader
- Liaison
- Monitor
- Disseminator
- Spokesperson
- Entrepreneur
- Disturbance handler
- Resource allocator
- Negotiator
Their importance is seen when perfectly applied, getting exceptional returns.
The five general management functions are planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. These require skills like interpersonal communication, motivation, training workers and providing clear, constructive communication.
The difference between a leader and manager is influencing subordinates versus managing the organization. A leader has foresight while a manager has organizational intelligence. Leadership duties vary by company but involve training workers, communication and more.
As a manager, you probably fulfill many different roles every day like resolving conflicts, negotiating contracts, representing your department and approving requests. Management expert Henry Mintzberg recognized managers switch roles as tasks, situations, and expectations change. He argued there are ten primary roles or behaviors that categorize a manager’s functions.
By understanding their own roles, managers can find out how much time they devote to activities like directing subordinates. It is important managers answer questions to provide insight into their own qualities. This will show if time flow and work distribution are balanced. It also highlights which tasks boost a manager’s energy, which are most satisfying or unpleasant. In practice certain managerial roles will be more predominant than others.