What is Management?

No, I do not want to talk about the definition of management here.

What I want to talk about is the art of people management. Not an original idea though, but I have been lucky enough to experience this early in my career and realise its importance.

Read umpteen books on management and each of them would give a different funda on the topic. Each would look at one aspect of the whole practice and try to philosophise on it.

The practice, no doubt, is an art. But I have realised that most of people management does not involve getting things done. It involves removing obstacles in the path of things being done.

Let's look at it in more detail.

I am a strong believer in Theory Y, which says that given an opportunity people want to work, and that they get personal satisfaction in accomplishing the tasks given to them.

Given this, it is natural that left to themselves, things will get done. What, then, is the role of a manager? His / her role is to make sure that the doer faces as less problems as possible, while carrying out the task assigned to him. Because a self-motivated employee would go to his senior only when he is unable to do the task himself. He is not looking at avoiding the work. He is looking at finishing it in the best possible manner.

In such a case, all a manager needs to do is to help the employee solve the problem, and then, get himself off the scene. Once the problem is solved, the manager is no longer required, and his presence may possibly even lead to inefficient working of the employee.

So that's management as I see it - remove obstacles from your employees' ways, not get yourself in their way ahead.