pano ba maging manager?

during one of my kpi discussions this week, i was asked by this question. of course, everybody wants to be somebody someday. and so somehow, it crossed his/her mind, that he/she somehow sees her/him self as a manager.

im not sure what made him/her ask that question. im not sure if he/she sees that im having a great time being a manager. or that it seems to be an easy job. or maybe he/she think that im earning big time, yet im doing nothing. or maybe nga naman, syempre, we all have to move on and this is one career he/she wants to pursue. anywya, i dont know the answer cause i didnt ask.

so pano nga ba? i dont know. i didnt plan to be one. haha, that's the irony of it. with regards to how i should run my life, i dont have a plan. oxymoron noh? nasa management line ako, pero wala akong plano sa buhay ko. yup, i live each day as it come. short term planning, meron. pero life's road map. wala.

anyway, going back to that question.

i dont have an answer. i just told her/him the realities of being a manager, in my own honest and humble opinions and based na rin siguro sa aking skills and knowledge and experiences.

and i thought, i can best explain it to her by comparing my experiences as a project manager and as a functional manager...

as a project manager, i can say that i have clear objectives and deliverables. and feeling ko mas in-control ako sa mga pangyayari. i can plan. if there would be adjustments, i can prettily adjust and adapt to it.

i don't have to worry about the career of my team, or their personal and professional development. i dont need to rate them subjectively. i can establish metrics that we can all agree on, in black and white. if there would be gray areas, very minimal na lang.

if there would be someone that doesnt seem to fit in within the team, i can always ask for resource replacement.

but as a functional manager, it's hard to plan for their individual career development. i have to strike a balance between management's objectives and priorities versus my team's necessities and concerns.

i can plan, of course. but the risks/dependencies involved are much broader than managing a project team.

expectations on me as a manager both by the management and my team's end are somewhat undefined and gray. not unlike in project management that the end goal is simply deliver the project, on time, within the budget and with agreed requirements.

in project management, i dont have to please anyone. i just have to deliver. as a functional manager, i have to learn soft skills. i have to see through people. i have to listen. i have to be emphatic. the development of one is different from the other. how one sees things maybe conflicting to the other.

i thought, mas madali maging functional manager. cause there'll be no pressing deadlines. less stressful. i can go home early. i can take a leave anytime i want to.

i dont know if i have to be thankful pero my team pretty knows what they want. they're intelligent. smart. adaptable. i think ako pa nga ang natututo sa kanila. really.

often times, i doubt my capabilities and skills in managing my team. i feel like im not contributing to the team. as much as i can, i try to get their inputs so that i can improve.

all i know is, much like parenting, there is no exact formula in managing a team, functionally. people are different from each other, just like offsprings. so i have to learn in stride. adjust and adapt to each one of them.

i dont know. im still young on this position. siguro masasagot ko rin ng tama ang tanong nya, in-time.


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