The Frontline Manager

Last week we discussed the specific role of the Team Leader, and how this is not a level of management.  This time we will look specifically at the first level of management, the Frontline Manager.

This role is often known simply as ‘Manager’, as in ‘Sales Manager’ or ‘Call Centre Manager’.  Some organisations, however, add to the fun by giving this role the title of Team Leader, Supervisor or Coordinator.  I have seen this done for a range of reasons, with the most insidious being due to having too may layers of management in the first place, so we simply run out of titles.

Whatever we call it, the Frontline Manager is accountable for solving a particular problem – how will we deliver our year’s work, at the quality required, with the resources that I have available?   And once they’ve decided this, same as managers at any level, they are then there to add value to the decision-making of their people and assure the work is successfully executed

Note the timeframe of the Frontline Manager – one year.  This is no accident; the annual targets that need to be hit are ultimately agreed or decided by middle management, and it is then up to Frontline Managers to deliver.  This means forecasting what will happen over the year; and working out a response and plan to all the expected events to ensure the work continues as expected.  And when problems arise that can cause major issues to customer expectations being met, the Frontline Manager is there to ensure the issue is resolved.

If the Team Leader role (if necessary) is the Captain on the field, think of the Frontline Manager as the traditional Coach.  They are accountable for winning the premiership, or meeting expectations in terms of the year.  They will have a plan starting from pre-season, but will also make adjustments as the season occurs to handle unexpected events.  And at the end of the year, their effectiveness as a Coach will be judged on the performance of the team given the circumstances.

Check with your Managers on what they see themselves as accountable for.  If they say “my people’s work and how they go about it”‘, that’s a good start.  If they say “deliver the year’s work”, even better.  And if they also add “improving how we do things to save money”, you’re onto a winner!

(For more, see Section II of Andrew Olivier’s book Organisational Design: What Your University Forgot to Teach You, and also check out this post on Tom Foster’s blog (have you signed up yet?).  Acknowledgement to Elliott Jaques who first observed the above concepts)