Lecture 1 A Manager in Action Cambridge Management and Leadership School

A Manager in Action There are different types of managers in health and social care. Not all of them have the title of ‘manager’, but they include people who manage the various support systems for service delivery. Management responsibilities are different in different types of work and in different types of organisations, the focus of the work is the same for any manager in health and social care – the delivery of high quality services to those who need them.

Role of the Manager Manage budget Make plans Arrange and lead meetings Consultation Motivating others Managing project Promoting services

11 Roles of the Manager in Health and Social Care Sector Acting as a figurehead or leader of a work unit Monitoring and disseminating information Networking Negotiating with staff at different levels Planning and scheduling work Allocating resources to different work activities Directing and monitoring work of other staff Fulfilling specific human resource management activities Problem solving and handling disturbances to work flow Innovating processes and products Doing technical work relating to manager’s professional or functional specialisation

Skills required for a Manager Leading people Managing change Managing information and knowledge Managing projects, processes and resources Managing yourself.

Improving your Effectiveness as a Manager Working in health and social services, you will undoubtedly be accustomed to the language of objectives, targets, ratings, indicators and performance assessment. If you have just moved into a managerial position, clarifying your own objectives and the means of achieving them will inevitably be one of your first concerns. Objectives can be used to clarify the purpose of your management activities, and they can help to identify the processes through which you will make progress.

Improving your Effectiveness as a Manager A sense of direction and purpose is critical to effectiveness. Setting clear objectives and planning how they will be achieved are fundamental to managing effectively.

Factors influencing effectiveness You – you are a factor. You are unique. You bring a unique blend of knowledge, skills, attitude, values and experience to your job, and these influence your effectiveness to some extent. Your Job – it will have many features in common with other management jobs but, just as you are unique, so your job is likely to be unique both in its detailed features and in the unique demands it makes upon you. The match between your skills and the demands made on them by your job shapes your potential effectiveness.

Factors influencing effectiveness Resources – they have major influences on how effective you can be as a manager. Resources are people, finance, equipment, IT etc. Your Organisation – Both the structure and the culture of your organisation, whether it is a large or small, influence your effectiveness.

Factors influencing effectiveness The world outside your Organisation – your work can be affected by influences from the world outside your organisation; by social trends, changes in technology, the state of the economy, and in general by people and other organisations with whom your organisation interact. Health and social care services are delivered by many different types of organisations. To improve the integration and quality of services for service users will require more cooperative working and the formation of partnerships, many of which require their own jointly agreed objectives and targets.

So… Effective management does not come just from learning a few skills and techniques. Skills and techniques are important and necessary, but effective management is more complex than that. It depends on you, the job you do, the people you work with, the other resources you have at your disposal, the organisation you work in, and the wider world with which your organisation interact.

Management Skills Objectives Think about the objectives of your workplace (or your part of the company)… Do you know the objectives of your company? If not, do you believe that they exist? Are they in writing? Do you know where to find them? Do you know who determined them? Do you know the arrangement for reviewing them? Did you (or will you) help to formulate (or review) them?

Management Skills Objectives Without objectives, you/your company cannot provide effective services to its clients. AND Effectiveness of manager is determined by the extent to which you are seen to be contributing towards achieving the objectives of your wider service or company.

Setting Aims and Objectives The aim ‘to give accurate information about the service’ describes what you want to achieve in relation to a particular need – it sets out your direction – but it does not indicate how you are going to achieve it, when you are going to do it, or how you will know that you have been successful in doing it. So You need to convert the aims into objectives

SMART Criteria Specific – clear about what is to be achieved Measurable – state how success will be measured; Agreed – ideally with the person who will carry out the objective and with anyone who will be affective by the result; Realistic – achievable within the constraints of the situation and in alignment with other objectives; Timed – Target time set for achieving objectives.

Example The aim ‘to give accurate information about the service’ might be re-written as a SMART objective as To give accurate information about the service by producing 1000 copies of a leaflet, using our team experience to design them and our clerical resources to copy them, so that they are on display for use on 1 September.

Short term and Long term Objectives Long term objectives – can be strategic objectives achievable in 3-5 years, depends on the company Short term objectives – can be operational objectives, these are normally less than a year. These objectives are steps on the way towards achieving your long-term objectives.

Achieving your objectives As a manager, your objectives are not only your own concern; they are also your team’s concern. Your objectives include some that involve the work of the whole team. If you involve your team in agreeing how these objectives will be achieved, this will help to develop a shared understanding. You can draft a plan of key activities based on each objective, allocate work to your team with deadline to achieve those activities. Activities are contributing towards objectives.