In any company, there are a number of requirements for the leader. This is a necessary measure to control the quality of work of such specialists. With their help, you can determine the degree of professionalism of the manager and identify his weaknesses. Also, the manager or director, understanding what exactly is expected of him, can adjust his actions, bringing them into line with specific standards.
Basic requirements for the leader
The success of any company is largely the result of good management.
For this reason, it is important to understand exactly what requirements for the head of the organization must be made. The basic assessment criteria are as follows:
- willingness to take responsibility and risk if necessary;
- ability to work with subordinates;
- getting the first experience in leadership up to 35 years (starting after this mark is difficult);
- the ability to properly organize your time;
- ability to shape ideas;
- special training in management and management;
- ability to change management style if necessary.
- possession of analytical skills;
- ability to distribute roles in the team and delegate authority;
- skills to properly influence and manage people;
- the ability to find the shortest path to the goal;
- ability to make decisions quickly and independently;
- self-criticism regarding the results of their activities;
- the ability to conduct a qualitative analysis of the situation and to understand a difficult situation.
Thus, the essence of the requirements for the leader is that he must be a professional, be able to think outside the box, make bold decisions at the right time and remain able to competently work with people.
Also, the person leading a specific group of specialists must be able to accurately understand the requirements that come from the higher management.
Personal qualities
The requirements for the leader must include a special type of thinking. Not every person will be able to think and react as required by the position of manager. We are talking about the following characteristics of thinking and the personality as a whole:
- Rapid response to changes in the situation. This means that in conditions of time pressure, rational and quick decisions are made. And this happens without the participation of higher authorities.
- A competent combination of conservative methods with unconventional solutions. In other words, the leader skillfully combines innovative management schemes with the experience that has been accumulated before him.
- Systemic thinking. The head takes into account all the facets of the labor process and correctly prioritizes. That is, he understands the function of specific processes and sees the best method for their use, taking into account the characteristics of the entire system.
- Accurate definition of prospects and problems. A good leader can identify potential or growing problems in advance and develop a plan for resolving them.
- Purposefulness and consistency. Analytics is constantly being conducted regarding the effectiveness of the methods for accomplishing the tasks set. At the same time, the main processes are separated from secondary ones, which allows you to correctly allocate resources.
One of the important requirements for a leader is his positive attitude towards his subordinates, since the labor enthusiasm of the latter depends on this.
Self-management
As one of the basic requirements for the leader, you can determine his ability to independently organize his own work.
Self-management is a skill necessary for effective interaction with other employees and achievement of goals.
Self-management is very important, because the tasks will have to be solved in a limited time and do it professionally. Moreover, a modern leader is in an environment where a continuous educational process is needed. Otherwise, he will simply begin to lose his qualifications and will not be able to maintain the required level of competitiveness of his organization. But to quickly and efficiently learn, implementing the knowledge gained, will not work without self-discipline and competent time management.
Thus, self-control is a skill that must be present with a qualified manager without fail.
Qualification requirements
Any organization has its own special tasks, which are formed taking into account the specifics of the main activity. Qualification requirements for a leader can also differ depending on what exactly his company does.
As an example, we can consider the characteristics of the director of the organization. In this case, the qualification requirements for the position of manager are as follows:
- It manages in accordance with the law. Also, the manager always takes into account the priorities of the financial, economic, economic and industrial activities of the enterprise.
- Provides efficient use of the organization’s property and its safety. The leader must be able to achieve the desired financial and economic results of the company.
- Defines the strategy and policy of the organization. The director also develops mechanisms for their implementation. He performs various operations with third-party organizations, concludes contracts, issues orders and instructions. Moreover, the director represents his company at business meetings.
- Ensures fulfillment of obligations by the company to the state. We are talking about the state budget, and more precisely, deductions to insurance and pension savings funds. In addition, the director monitors the payments to be received by creditors, suppliers, customers and banks, and also pays attention to the implementation of the terms of business and labor contracts.
- He is doing everything to ensure that production and business activities are carried out using new equipment and based on the latest technologies. All this is done in order to improve the technological level of the company as a whole and the quality of services / products in particular. As a result, resources will be used more economically, and production reserves - more rationally.
- Achieves the productive work of all structural divisions and their effective interaction. To do this, the head directs the activities of the departments to improve and develop mobile flexible production. If services are provided, then the goals remain the same: to do it efficiently and quickly. The head ensures that the production or team of specialists react to changes in the market situation and innovations without noticeable delay. At the same time, social priorities and accents are taken into account within the framework of market segments relevant to the company.
- Provides increased organizational performance. The requirements for the leader in this case are simple: to carry out actions aimed at increasing sales of services, products, as well as improving their quality and competitiveness. This means that the product must comply with state standards and the requirements of other developed countries, enabling the company to conquer new markets.
Qualification requirements in the framework of work with personnel
The leader is required not only to manage the company's specialists, but also to do it competently.
As a result, the director must be able to:
- Take measures for the receipt of new personnel. The organization must be provided with all the necessary specialists with the required level of qualification.
- Ensure the use of administrative and methodological management schemes. The director should discuss with employees and subsequently resolve issues related to the stimulation of labor activity and involvement in the process. We are talking about the moral, material and production side of employee motivation.
- To ensure the development and implementation of a collective agreement. Moreover, the content of the document must comply with the principles of social partnership.
- To seek to ensure production and labor discipline. This part closely intersects with the formation of employee motivation. If specialists have reasons to work actively and take initiative, then achieving the desired level of discipline will not be difficult.
- Competently delegate tasks. The director needs to distribute responsibilities among other officers and entrust them with the management of certain areas of the company. This includes working with deputies, managers of branches, as well as heads of production and functional units.
Knowledge base
In general, the requirements for the head of the organization regarding his qualifications include training in different directions.
In addition to the director must be able to work with people, he must know the regulatory, legal and legislative acts that relate to the activities of his organization. The manager should also study methodological and other materials related to his profile.
What else are put forward to the person applying for the position of leader, requirements? Very important is knowledge of the strategy, priorities and prospects of the economic and social development of the organization. Managers of different levels must understand where and how the company is moving globally in order to make strategically correct local decisions.
Also, the manager is required to know his sector and organizations related to him. That is, those who perform the function of a manager need to have information about suppliers, competitors, new sales markets and be able to use a system of economic indicators. The latter is needed in order for the company to be able to determine its place in the market and develop programs for reaching new sales levels.
Practical marketing, sales management, advertising techniques, experience in concluding and subsequent execution of contracts (business and financial) are also necessary for the manager’s knowledge.
To maintain the required level of knowledge, the leader needs to, among other things, study the experience of other companies, both national and foreign.
Leadership style
Professional requirements for the leader also include the ability to choose the most suitable management method.
There are different leadership styles, and the director / manager needs to know them in order to maintain flexibility in working methods. You can choose among the following options:
- Collegial style. With this management, subordinates get more freedom in the framework of the production tasks, but the manager always leaves the last word for himself. Issues are resolved collectively by informing employees and defining common goals and objectives. Powers are delegated actively. The manager contributes to the development of the creative component of employees and encourages initiative. Excessive control and guardianship are absent.
- Directive style. It is based on the desire for autocracy and the principles of authoritarian ethics. The methods of action and tasks of subordinates are strictly regulated. As for resolving issues, this process is carried out exclusively centrally. Managers operating within such a management style more often choose obedient and loyal employees than free-thinking specialists. As a result, the initiative and the creative component of the workflow are severely suppressed. Ideal order and formal discipline are most valued.
In reality, of course, it’s difficult to find management implemented within the framework of strictly one style. Usually, the elements of both directions are combined depending on the specifics of the enterprise and on what requirements the company owners make to the manager.
Permissive style
This type of management deserves special attention, since it is an example of ineffective interaction with subordinates. For such a - liberal - leadership style, the following symptoms are characteristic:
- manager avoids conflict resolution and contentious issues;
- various management tasks are often delegated to subordinates;
- the manager refers to decisions of higher authorities, not wanting to take risk and responsibility on himself;
- the head does not pay attention to any assessment by subordinates, does not prohibit anything and does not notice violations.
With this approach to leadership, gaining credibility in the team and achieving significant results will be extremely difficult.
Assessment Methods
In addition to determining the requirements for the manager, it is important to develop a system for verifying compliance with them. A competent analysis of the qualities of the candidate for the position of leader is also required. For these purposes, the following methods for evaluating managers are used:
- Interview At this stage, professional knowledge, attitude and business behavior are assessed.
- Conducting group discussions. Such an event allows you to assess leadership potential, knowledge, business and personal qualities of leaders. Also, in the process of discussion by the group of solving specific problems, one can test the communicative skills of managers.
- Biographical method. The leader is evaluated based on data from his biography.
- Situation analysis. To assess the level of professionalism and qualification of the leader, a analysis of specific problems is carried out. Resource and personnel management personnel must identify the most important facets of the situation and propose their own methods for achieving the desired result.
- Assessment of achievements. It is a written or oral description of the specific work performed by the manager.
- The method of critical situations. It is possible to understand whether the head meets the official requirements by analyzing his behavior in difficult circumstances. This may be an unfamiliar situation or a decision involving a high level of responsibility.
- Scoring method. Its essence boils down to the formation of a system of assessments of completed actions and decisions made. When the requirements for managers and specialists are met, and managers show themselves to be competent and highly qualified employees, points are awarded. With unprofessional behavior, evaluation units are taken away. At the end of the month and quarter, you can determine the level of effectiveness of the leader’s actions by the number of points scored.
- Using a standard list. The characteristics and results are compared with the list, which contains the requirements for the official behavior of the head.
- Conducting business games. Initially, a scenario is developed based on which a situation is simulated that simulates production conditions. The manager is required to make a decision using the information available to him.
Also, to determine the effectiveness of the work of managers at different levels, an assessment of the annual performance of their units is used.
Summary
The system of criteria and requirements aimed at evaluating the leader allows you to initially select the best specialists and subsequently increase their level of effectiveness. Also, the directors and managers themselves will be able to quickly and more accurately adjust their management style, having a clear picture of the correct work within the framework of their responsibilities.