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A supervisor is one who gets work accomplished through the efforts of others; a manager is a step up the organizational ladder from a supervisor. A successful manager must meet both the organizational needs where he or she works, as well as the "people needs" of his or her employees.

Meeting the organizational needs is often clear for a business owner. Some examples are:

1. The Bottom Line. In private industry, this is often literally the bottom line of the financial papers, that is, net income.

2. Customer Expectations. What do your customers want? Many a business has fallen by the wayside by trying to provide goods or services that too few wanted, or that customers no longer wanted.

3. The Law. A manager has to ensure that business operations comply with the applicable laws, rules and regulations. These include tax laws, employment laws, governmental regulation of all sorts, and on and on.

4. Employment. Do you have enough employees with the right skill set? Can you train the ones who lack the right skills?

Meeting the "people needs" is often less clear, especially for someone who moves from a solo operation to having responsibility for employees. Some examples of "people needs," the interpersonal skills required of managers, are:

1. Communicating effectively. This involves making communications clear and understandable, as well as encouraging free communication within the organization.

2. Resolving conflicts. Conflicts will arise, between employees, between employees and customers, between managers, and between employees and managers. Resolution of those conflicts in as constructive a way as possible is part of your job as a manager.

3. Honesty. If want any respect from your employees, you will fail miserably if they perceive you as dishonest. Dishonesty often engenders an atmosphere of lying and cheating, because it is perceived as acceptable by management.

4. Supportiveness. Employees need a manager that can provide support for their work. This support includes ensuring that all the tools needed for the job are readily available, all the training is available, and that employees are not bogged down in red tape. You have to make it easier for your employees to do their jobs, not throw obstacles in their path, or ignore the obstacles that you see.

5. Treating employee input as valuable. When people feel that they have had some input into developing something, be it a process or a physical item, they tend to have some pride of ownership.

Balancing the needs of the business with the needs of your employees can be difficult at times, but can certainly be rewarding to the organization. The goal of this balancing act is to have employees that are motivated to perform, and, with your guidance, perform in a way that maximizes the benefit to the organization.

Learn more about this author, Mark Johnson.
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