■ Confident – self-assured, serene, placid.■ Experimenting– critical, liberal, analytical, free-thinking;
or
■ Conservative– respecter of established ideas, tolerant of
traditional practices.■ Self-sufficient– resilient, resourceful, prefers own deci-
sions; or
■ Group-dependent– a ‘joiner’, happiest in a group, reliant
on the support of others.■ Controlled– socially precise, self-disciplined, compulsive;
or
■ Casual– careless of protocol, untidy, follows own inclina-
tions.■ Tense– driven, overwrought, fretful; or
■ Relaxed– tranquil, unfrustrated, calm.Assess your managerial competences
While self-awareness is the basis for a more specific assessment
of your strengths and weaknesses as a manager, you need also to
consider your basic managerial qualities and the competences
required to operate effectively.
In analysing your effectiveness as a manager it is useful to look
at the criteria used by major organizations in measuring the com-
petence of their managers at their assessment or development
centres (two- to three-day affairs where managers are subjected
to a number of tests and undertake various exercises to demon-
strate their skills).
The following are the typical criteria expressed as competence
requirements used by organizations when they assess the cap-
abilities of their managers:
■ Achievement/results orientation.The desire to get things done
well and the ability to set and meet challenging goals, create
own measures of excellence and constantly seek ways of
improving performance.
■ Business awareness. The capacity continually to identify and
explore business opportunities, understand the business
opportunities and priorities of the organization and
84 How to be an Even Better Manager