Personally, I enjoy looking at “Recruit” pages that come every Saturday with the Straits Times. It allows me to keep track of who is hiring, and what the areas of need are. The fact that the pages are thicker are also an indication of the state of our economy. But since its not like I’m looking for a job what interests me the most is actually the front or back page article. Generally, these articles are targetted at people who are new in the job, or new to a particular aspect of a job, providing simple, summarised advice for a particular area of focus, aimed at improving performance.
This week’s article is entitled “Stepping Up to Supervision”, and it highlights 3 critical hallmarks that every first-time manager needs.
- Building Personal Credibility
- Activating Team Commitment
- Engaging Senior Management Support
Of these 3, I find the first and the last the most poignant upon reflection on my personal experience. Nowadays perhaps to a larger extent, people rule/manage less through their positional authority, and more through their personal credibility and positive relationships with both their staff, counterparts, and their superiors.
The article advises first-time managers that personal credibility is neither an attitude nor quality, but is a perception others form of you, based on their assessment of your actions over time. Thus, in my view, it is naive/foolhardy to think that you can now do whatever you like because ‘you’re the boss’. Now more than ever, people are watching, and making assessments of you, because the spotlight is brighter, and your actions more visible.
It also advises novice managers to pay some attention to building a solid professional relationship with their own superiors, as most novices would generally tend to focus a lot on their own teams. However, without support from their bosses, they cannot achieve results. To me, this is poignant I think because above all bosses are looking for people that they can count on to take on leadership. Without a solid working relationship, your boss may not know your professional strengths and weaknesses thoroughly enough to take the gamble on you.
A Singapore Scouter's Log 