Your Management Craft

Christopher over at the Alchemy of Soulful Work offers an interesting post called, Developing Chaordic Confidence. Here’s a snipet:

”But, then Chris took it deeper and discussed chaordic confidence, the idea that we have the ability to stay in chaos and trust that order will emerge. Scary, terrifying, liberating, and ultimately a source of the greatest creativity we can generate. It seems to be more than what we do and even how we go about doing it; it's about getting to the why behind what we do. “

The overall tenor of the post if about how we view our work, as a job or as a practice or craft.

My readers know how I feel about this. I believe management is a craft (hence the name of my blog!) and that we, as managers and leaders, have a daily practice. When we are coachable, our practice gets stronger, richer, and more satisfying with time.

Bren, over at Slacker Manager, writes about his thoughts of whether management ought to be viewed as a profession and require certification/licensing.

”Some folks would argue that an MBA is the defacto licensure for managers.  Well, kinda.  From my perspective, licensure comes with an obligation to continually update skills.  According to the article, MBAs are the least likely to pursue continuing education--what a depressing statistic.  I'm all for getting an MBA--if it's clearly a practical step in your career path.  However, my bet is that there are more good MBA-free managers than there are good MBA-laden managers.“

I think Bren is right when he says that requiring certain training or licensing for managers is impractical. And I doubly agree that using the MBA as the certification is flawed. Many MBAs can’t manage themselves out of a cereal box (and many are brilliant, for sure). I think that the only ones who would advocate the MBA as the vehicle for certifying managers is the schools who stand to benefit.

Management is a bit like parenting.

1. It’s a critical role. We are shaping people’s lives.
2. Most anyone can get into it, even if they are not ready.
3. To do it well, it requires love and service orientation.
4. If we work at it, and get good coaching, we will get better and better at it.
5. There are tools, tips, and tricks that can help make the role easier, more effective, and more enjoyable.

Will you help me carry the torch for the importance of great management and the rewards for developing our management practice?