Seven Rights You Lose

So, you are a manager. Does this mean you could hold most
anyone in your organization by the throat? Certain not, in fact,
you got to be even more responsible and accountable with your
words and actions.

"Set it down to thyself, as well to create good precedents
as to follow them." - Francis Bacon

Be that example.

As a person of authority comes some rights you lose. Yes,
everything has a price even those in management.

Here now are the first three of the seven rights you lose.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO A 9 TO 5 JOB.
Management is a 24 hour job. Your regular office hours are no
longer confined to 9 to 5. You come to the office early or leave
late whenever necessary.

Your focus is on results, not just hours worked. As they say,
"It is easy to be busy, it is more difficult to be effective."
Even when you are not in your office, your actions and
behaviour still has to be congruent with the desired standards of
your position and with what your organization stands for.

Once you become part of management, your family name is
no longer just your family name. You now carry the name of
your organization. Whatever you say or do will have
implications and will impact on others perception of your
organization.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO BE ONE OF THE GUYS.
While you still maintain friendship and camaraderie with your
officemates and your team; you have to avoid being too intimate
or revealing of too much personal information. Doing so puts you
at risk, since your position involves making decisions that maybe
unpopular.

This does not mean, however, that you are going to keep your
distance. You can be friendly, without being intimate.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK FREELY.
This does not mean that you become a "yes" man. What this
means is that you use your discretion. You don't tell your people
everything particularly matters that are classified as still
"confidential". You tell them only what they need to know or
have the right to know.

As part of management, you are expected to support the decisions
of your superiors and top management. If you have any differing
opinions or ideas, you must raise these before the decision is
finalized.

Your support of the decisions of your superiors does not mean
you are pro-management. Rather, you are being pro-organization.
Once the decision is final, you are expected to be its spokesperson,
regardless of your own personal feelings. You are not supposed to
share your objections or reservations with your people. If you do,
you will most likely contribute to demotivating them.

Once they are demotivated, you have a problem.

As a spokesperson, you are also expected to explain management
directions and policies with enthusiasm and conviction.
You should always disseminate and explain all written directives,
memorandums, and circulars. You are not supposed to just
disseminate it or route it and ask for signatures, without any
explanations. You can not simlpy assume that if people have
read it in the bulletin board, they have understood.


Values, culture, and rights has to be set... as before we play a
game, we should know the rules; yet, sacrifices also have to be
made as responsibilities grow... and so, we have discussed for
this article the rights one loses as a manager.

"Service, sacrifice and self-control are three words which must
be well understood by the person who succeeds in doing
something that is of help to the world." - TLOS

Take note... "Greater responsibility would be entrusted to you
if you show you can be trusted."