Understanding a Manager’s Role and Responsibilities

It’s Monday morning, and the company owner calls you into his office for a meeting.
“Oh no, what could he possibly want this early on a Monday?” you wonder, summoning your most exhausted enthusiasm to appear interested.

During the meeting, after praising your work and expressing his trust in you, he announces that he wants you to take over as head of your department. In short — team leader, or manager.

He continues: he no longer wants to deal with daily problems, customer issues, production delays, or employee complaints. He wants you to handle all that, so that everything “runs like clockwork.”
He also informs you about a salary increase, a managerial allowance, and possibly a bonus if things go well.

Sounds tempting, doesn’t it?
There’s every reason to feel satisfied and proud — and of course, the extra money doesn’t hurt.
And yet, you feel a knot in your stomach. A wave of stress begins to set in:
“Manager? What exactly does that mean? I’ll be responsible for the whole department? How does this work? What am I supposed to do? And what if I mess things up?”

Perfectly natural questions.
Every time someone takes on a position of responsibility, they face the same thoughts and challenges.
The same happens in succession cases — when an owner wants to transfer management to a son or daughter.
Management is a new, often unfamiliar field, and for someone who hasn’t experienced it before, it can feel like diving into deep water.

What Are the Manager’s Duties?

Whether you are a manager in a pizzeria, a factory, a sales department, or a restaurant, your role as a team leader can be summarized in six key management functions:

• Planning
• Organizing
• Training
• Directing and motivating
• Decision-making
• Controlling

If we wanted to expand this list, we could also add coaching — empowering and inspiring people — which is essentially an extension of directing.

From Employee to Manager
Until yesterday, as an employee or technician, your job was to do your own work well and efficiently.
Now, your role changes: your job is to ensure that others do their work well and efficiently.

In other words, while before you only had to manage yourself — to be consistent, productive, and cooperative — now you need to manage other people so they can achieve the same.
And of course, you can’t manage others unless you first learn to manage yourself.
But even that alone is not enough.

The Six Core Functions of Management

1. Planning
The manager plans daily, weekly, or monthly tasks to achieve goals and follow company policy.
How many units will be produced today? How many sales should be closed? Which orders must be shipped?
This is the stage of planning.

2. Organizing
They assign tasks, define who does what, how, and by when.
Clarity about duties and deadlines is crucial for smooth operation.

3. Training
They show how the work is done, explain processes, and share experience and techniques.
The goal: work done correctly, quickly, and efficiently.

4. Directing and motivating
They select staff (in collaboration with management), inspire, and motivate.
They understand what drives each person, helping them bring out their best self and go the extra mile.

5. Decision-making
Within their area of responsibility, they decide what takes priority, who does what, who takes leave, and who handles new projects.

6. Controlling
You delegate the work — but you also check that it’s done.
Control doesn’t mean hovering over people’s shoulders; it means monitoring results and performance indicators such as sales, productivity, and collections.

A highly effective practice is a short daily meeting (5–10 minutes) with each team member to review their task list and priorities.
This “daily review” helps prevent mistakes, organize time, and keep the team aligned.
Even in remote work, it can be done via a quick video call.

The Art of Supervision and Communication
Supervision must always be done with respect.
We don’t belittle, insult, or criticize publicly.
We may comment on a behavior, but never on the person.
If something wasn’t done correctly, we discuss it privately, explain the proper approach, and end on a positive note:
“I’m confident that from now on, things will go great!”

Managing Is Both a Science and an Art
Management is not just a matter of experience or personality.
It is a science with methodology — and an art that can be cultivated.
Leadership skills are not innate; they can be learned and developed.

This means that anyone can become an effective manager, as long as they are willing to learn, improve, and grow.