The Five Minds of a Manager

Managers need to create the following balance mind sets to be successful.

• Managing Self: The Reflective Mindset
• Managing Organizations: The Analytic Mindset
• managing context: The Worldly Mindset
• Managing Relationships: The Collaboration Mindset
• Managing Change: The Action Mindset

Each mindset has its positives in the area it's most suited and a person should nurture each of these in herself. Organization should see that their management is getting exposed to all these aspects in realizing the mindsets that's best suited for them to be effective. Many managers complain that their engineers do not think like managers. The reasons are clear the metrics and task centric view to goal setting as happens in most organizations is not a methodology to bring out the described mindsets. It needs an all-round development and devoting time for management improvement in a conscious manner to bring out the holistic management mindset.

It Is Not Growing Like A Tree

It is Not Growing Like a Tree
by Benjamin Jonson

It is not growing like a tree
In bulk doth make Man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night -
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.

The other day I met a director from a very renouned software firm. General discussion went on around with exchange of pleasantries. And he remarked that I have changed quite a few companies in a short period of my career. I was generally asking him how his career has been in his esteemed company and here are somethings from his statement which kind of stunned me.

I have worked in my current company for 14 years. There are 200 people reporting to me. We have a great culture of having both Individual Contributor and management career tracks. This dual track works very well in his team while it is not very successful elsewhere and blaah blaah...

I just felt asking him a reference of a senior individual contributor in his team. Anyway, I dare not ask that. That's his life and his team. But, what I realized if in a great company like where the person is working if definition of success for him is 14 years of service and a director tag and 200 people reporting to him, I guess there is something really unusual happening. Will this impress an outsider like me or is it to substantiate his own ego. Secondly, if a person's definition of success is 200 people reporting to him how can an individual contributor enjoy such an environment. Well, I am an outsider, why do I bother? We had couple of minutes of additional discussion and I thanked him for spending the time with me and bade good bye.