Managerial versus Operational Skills - Get the Balance Right

Despite rumblings about green shoots and the like, many people continue to fret about their jobs. Thousands of jobs have been lost since 2008 and we are still losing them. Where do you lie in the great scheme of things? Have you been made redundant? Are you hanging on by a thread? And the most significant question of all – have you done anything to insulate yourself from joblessness? Maybe you won’t survive in your current industry, but could you do something to ensure you can move into another, less volatile industry? 

Voluntary redundancy programmes usually carry the health warning that anyone considered ‘critical’ to the business may be refused if they apply for it. So who is critical to the business? Is it those who manage other people or is it those with some expertise in a particular area? Broadly speaking, is it better to be in a managerial role or an operational role during these tough times?

You will recognise the pattern – you graduated from college knowing enough about a particular subject to get you a job. You knew all about Microsoft’s latest office ware. You got a modest salary and were glad to be putting your skills to use. Managers came to you and asked you to do stuff they couldn’t. You did it, and you did it well. A couple of years later, the promotion train came by and they put you on it. You were put in charge of a number of your colleagues. You began to spend more time in a meeting room than at your desk. You liked it well enough though, because you had more power. You could influence people, help with strategic decisions and plot out a future for the company. Years and many versions of Microsoft Office later, the redundancy train come along. They couldn’t possibly be looking for you to jump aboard...could they?

The business has contracted sharply. Things are so bad that this company needs to revert to the basic principles from which it started just to keep the doors open. Yes, of course, there will always be a need for forward thinking strategy and policy people. But they can be bought too, if and when the business needs them again. Think of calling directory enquiries for a plastic surgeon when the man at the dinner party you are hosting fell on your outdoor patio and cut his chin wide open. Never mind the immediacy of the gaping wound and blood loss...you know this guy values his appearance.

Balance is the key. When that redundancy train comes, the business will need a balance of hard-working operational people who can save them money by taking the time to come up with the answers themselves and a number of strategic thinkers who have enough time to bring in new business and manage the existing business.  In a nutshell, take the time to keep your operational skills topped up. Neglect them at your peril. You never know when you will need to call on them.

If there are fewer staff, there is less need for staff managers, so managing people is less of a priority, not least because everyone is on their best behaviour anyway in case of being noticed for the wrong reasons. So managing people becomes more about demonstrating excellent leadership skills and motivating people who are experiencing pay cuts and uncertain job prospects. But if asked, could you remember how design a template complete with pivot tables in Excel that is unique to the business? Or add a new customer to the company database?

Many people will complain of too many chiefs in their workplaces. At some point, the culling of the Indians will have to stop if the business is to retain anyone who actually knows what they are doing on a day to day basis. The chief’s duties, however, can be shared out among the other chiefs.

So the next time you have a big idea, why not learn how to put it in place as well as producing the feasibility study and the scoping and costing documents? Learn how to build the database and use it yourself. Thread your managerial and strategic skills into your technical ones. Learn how to make optimal use of Microsoft’s suite of products, and encourage others to do the same. So you don’t have time to learn new skills? Make time. Make training and learning new skills part of the fabric of the organisation.

Don’t lose sight of your original discipline expertise. Keep it sharp and stay in touch with what’s new in that field. Talk to the operational people; know what they do and how and why they do it. So you will be kept busy, but that is after all, what you are being paid the Ewing salary for.

Monica Murphy