HR practices and types of managers

The HR department deals directly with the most important assets of every company: its employees. HR, by function has to remain neutral to an individual’s or group’s interest. Like other departments that exist within a company, the HR department is focused on maintaining customer satisfaction. The customers in this case are the employees that exist in the form of individual contributors such as managerial staff, executives, freelancers, etc. Smart companies leverage the HR department’s expertise to ensure that internal business groups operate efficiently to deliver successfully.

In a mature sector like IT, HR practices are well adopted and have attained overall acceptance. Now, the challenge is to propagate this idea further and increase its strategic quotient. Presently, HR excellence in the IT sector is focused on recruitment. This needs to change and HR should go beyond recruitment; once this is attained, HR becomes an active participant in the business decision making process too.

There is a lot to be accomplished for HR in order to be perceived as a function that truly drives business decisions. In some of the multinational organizations, the practice and involvement of HR as a key strategic partner is probably higher; however this will require ingraining business acumen as a core skill even at the academic level. Only when this is pursued, HR can then, become a function that is interwoven with the business needs.

From the perspective of an upcoming and fast growing firm, HR should become more business tuned. Though it does play a significant role, it needs to grow in line with the growth of the company. When this occurs at that point HR would start attaining top priority in terms of becoming an active participant in influencing business decisions, particularly for entrepreneurs.

Types of Managers:

Managers come in different types with varying degrees of effectiveness. Here is a look at some common kinds of managers we come across in our professional life:

The No Problem guy

This type of manager is someone who’s totally task driven and focused on achieving goals. They lead best in a chaotic kind of work environment. However, the irony is that they themselves create most of the problems they try to avoid. They also run the risk of burn out as their mind is driven providing solutions for problems.

The Big Boss:

Your boss is a pitchfork manager if he is a dominating and autocratic kind of person. This manager forces his team to work hard by demanding progress, accountability, prodding for results by threats and strong arm tactics. This style of management can be painful for a team as they pushed to avoid consequences rather than motivated to fulfill a collective goal.

If your boss is a easy person to deal with, chances are that he doesn’t follow a particular style of management. These bosses often generate inconsistent results, and find themselves in awkward situations. They are high on excitement and are poor listeners. They make their subordinates feel overtly comfortable which can lead to inconsistent results.

I, me and myself:

If your manager focuses more on himself than anything else then he is a pre-assumptions guy. For him, his personal work, productivity recognition and bonus takes precedence over his team’s success or goal achievement. They put themselves before their team. More often than not, they are assertive and confident individuals. But they have a big ego and want to look superior than the team at any cost. These kinds of bosses experience the maximum management problems.

The perfectionist:

If your boss is a perfect manager, he is open to change, innovation training and personal growth with a strong commitment to improve at every stage. However, they don’t produce consistent results. The reason lies in their lack of softy skills. Perfectionist managers are more obsessed with facts, figures, features and benefits rather than listening questioning and prospecting. They tend to rely more on their knowledge than workforce.

Passive managers or pleasing managers take the concept of developing close relationships with coworkers to a new level. Keeping people happy is their number one objective. While it’s a admirable trait, it can hinder leadership efforts if not managed effectively. This type of boss can be viewed as incompetent, inconsistent and clueless. Such managers will do anything to avoid conformation and conflicts at the workplace.

The proactive boss:

This guy all the pluses mentioned above in the different kinds of managers but none of their weaknesses. He can command authority, get work done and achieve personal growth at the same level. A proactive boss has the persistence of the Big Boss, the confidence of a self obsessed manager, a drive to solve problems and a desire to serve with total integrity. He is the best manager you can ask for.