TABLE OF CONTENTS In this section, a description will be given of the characteristics of a "new manager." These new managers, who have emerged in recent years, occupy positions of responsibility in contemporary organizations; however their style is far from the traditional "Command and Control" managers of yesteryear. In essence, these "new managers" must earn the right to manage other people in changing organizational environs.
The emergence of the project manager in the early 1950s helped to pave the way for the coming of these new managers. In the growing team-driven organizations in contemporary organizations, these new managers are starting to look like today's project/team managers.
The new managers are leaders, mentors, facilitators, coaches, sponsors, advocates, chaplains, comforters, trainers, teachers, team players, entrepreneurs who must work to provide an environment for the people in the organization to work together with economic, psychological, and social satisfaction. Some of the major challenges that these managers face include the following:
Lifetime learning to maintain competitive knowledge, skills, and attitudes in an ever-changing environment
Openness in providing the members of the organization with full information on the organization's performance in the marketplace, and in other activities of the organization that impact both organizational and personal performance
A cultural environment that abandons traditional manager behavior such as watchdog, controller, bureaucrat, "supervisor," or other characteristics that convey the message that "I'm in charge"
Growing changes leading to more outsourcing, contract services, and temporary employees
Recognition that the persons doing...
