The good manager is one who commands respect, not through his authority
but because those under him appreciate that he has more ability and
experience than they have.
The selection of a good manager is very important, for the success of
one's business depends upon its management. The proprietor cannot do
all the things himself, and he must rely upon his lieutenants.
Give a certain class of work to ten girls. Put them in a room by
themselves with no one in authority. Come back next day and you will
find that there is one girl who is laying out the work for the others.
There is something in this girl that makes her a natural manager, and
there is a certain instinct amongst the rest of the girls that makes
them acknowledge this one girl as their superior, and the one to go to
for advice. This natural leadership is the quality the manager should
possess.
Above all, the manager, like the boss, must know how to do things he
hires others to do, and the things we have said concerning the boss is
likewise true of the manager, for the manager is the next step below
the boss. The successful boss would not have obtained his present
position if he had not been a good manager previously.
Let the manager read thoroughly our chapter on the boss if he has
ambition to be boss some day.
The mistake frequently made by the manager is to take credit himself
for the work done by those under him, for such a manager may be sure
that sooner or later his position in this respect will be found out,
and to his surprise he will find that the employe who has been doing
the things for which he has taken credit will take the manager's place.
Employes are quick to detect this spirit in the manager. They see that
their own efforts are not known to the boss, and it makes them
indifferent, because they see no appreciation for what they are doing.
On the other hand, if the manager says a good word to the boss
concerning an employe who has shown marked ability, it redounds to the
manager's credit that he is liberal enough to give credit where it
properly belongs.
Truth will out as sure as the sun will shine, and the manager cannot
conceal his subordinates' abilities and pass them off as his own for
any length of time.
The good manager will say a kind word to the boss about the employe, if
he is the right sort. It makes an employe feel confidence in the
manager when he knows that the manager is appreciative and ready to
tell his superior of good things in the employe's favor. The manager
who is bad tempered, suspicious and tries to take credit that does not
belong to him is only holding his position temporarily, and some day he
will be let out of the institution for which he is working, and will
find himself forced to the extremity of getting a place somewhere else
back in the ranks from which he had temporarily risen.