Head of the Pack

In the post-recession business climate, employers are looking for new and different characteristics not always found in traditional managers.

The 1990s have proved to be a brutally tough time for many middle managers caught in the craze for 're-engineering', 'right-sizing' and other actions designed to reduce overhead and improve productivity. Many have found themselves unemployed for the first time in their career -- not because they did something wrong, but because they were part of an organizational reshuffling.

Being unemployed is a terrible shock. It is a repudiation of all the beliefs and values that were supposed to lead to success. As managers, these people were taught loyalty was a virtue, hard work would be rewarded, and that becoming a manager was the goal to work towards in their careers.

Re-entry into the marketplace can be a challenging task for unemployed managers. First, they number in the thousands, so for every job there are perhaps two to three hundred applicants. As if that's not enough, the very market itself has changed. Employers want technologically literate employees; they want more than loyalty and hard work, and they have fewer positions available than before the recession.

What are today's employers looking for in a prospective management candidate? Well, quite noticeably, many of the job description adjectives have changed. To see for yourself, simply read the careers section of your daily newspaper. Recently, an employment advertisement in the Globe and Mail asked for a 'manager', but spoke more of 'leading' than managing. To quote the ad, the company wanted someone who could "focus on building the business, develop business and strategic plans, and define a vision that will capitalize on technology."

In another advertisement, again for a manager, a company wanted a person who was skilled at "...facilitating a climate of open, responsible and ongoing dialogue." This ad went on to ask for someone who could "...implement internal communications strategies by coordinating, and providing 'hands-on' planning and support." In this case, the person they were looking for had to have a degree with "...experience in change management and cultural transformation."

Obviously, the skills in demand today for facilitation, visioning, strategic planning and change management are much different from those previously learned. If we look into the background education and experience of the unemployed manager, we find that in many instances they learned their managerial skills by just absorbing what they could on the job.

If these managers were indeed taught, it was done from the textbooks of the traditional management schools which emphasized the five basics of management functions: Planning, Organizing, Commanding, Co-ordinating, and Controlling. This obsolete leadership model (which is actually still in use today) encouraged managers simply to "do things" to people and the organization, rather than take an active leadership role.

New Behaviors

Managers -- whether employed or unemployed, -- seeking a new position, would be wise to understand these transitions from managing to leading, and reflect their awareness in their resume and job search. As the advertisements show, employers are looking for leaders who display the following behaviors:

Show passion for their work. It is imperative that each leader be genuinely "turned on" by what their people are doing. Expressing enthusiasm for someone's work encourages the attitude, "I can make a difference here."

Enroll people in a "vision." A well-known organizational psychologist, Warren Bennis, says: "Manage yourself and lead others." Do this by developing a vision of a desirable future and work to help people see the connection between their work and the future of the organization.

Take risks, make mistakes, test limits. J. Paul Getty, the person who made a billion in oil, tells the story of working with a prospector looking for oil. After several dry holes, Getty was frustrated and complained to the prospector that they had wasted a lot of time and money for nothing. The prospector's reply stayed with Getty for the next 30 years: "At least you know where the oil isn't!" The lesson is that it is just as important to know where the oil is not as it is to know where it is! Mistakes help us learn.

Look for opportunities. Seek ways of improving the organization at every turn. Products and services that meet customer need any time and any place will prove to be a winning strategy.

Involve people in decisions. Leaders need commitment, not instant agreement or conformity. Encouraging participation builds support for decisions.

You can develop a winning job search strategy for obtaining a new managerial position by better understanding this ongoing transition towards seeking leaders. It doesn't matter whether you already have a position, or are looking for one. Modeling the new behaviors will go a long way toward positioning you as an attractive candidate.

Change is sometimes difficult, and to help you make the transition just remember the old saying about dogsledding: "If you're not the leader of the pack, the view never changes!" Try changing your view, and see what success you have!