Besides, his foremost challenge is to develop a team of performers because ultimately the every member of the team has to play his role to achieve the set goals.
First of all he has to be a star performer himself. I wish to repeat that he has to lead his team by example setting high standards of excellence in every field. For this he has to put his heart and soul, his sweat and blood. He needs a constant and most honest self-assessment of his overall performance, behaviour and actions before others point them out.
The manager is expected to be a Superman but after all he is also a human being and can not be perfect. All of us are fallible human beings. We commit acts of omissions and commissions. Perhaps the maxim " to err is human" is the only consistent feature of our character.
The expectations of the management from the manager are too high. Whether matters are related to Credit, Foreign Trade, General Banking or operations, he should be in complete command of everything of the branch. He is supposed to keep the discipline, maintain decorum keeping the house in perfect order and free from all sorts of problems and audit objections. He has to maintain strict checks and controls in the branch to avoid any kind of irregularity or mishap.
At the same time he is expected to bring business for bank, to keep his customers, his management and also his colleagues (Staff) happy, satisfied and motivated. He has to use his position, discretionary powers/authority prudently, wisely and honestly with best intentions while keeping his professional image and integrity fully intact.
At times the manager does not enjoy the trust and confidence of his boss who could be biased, negative and critical of his actions. To me this is again one of the biggest challenges he has to face. Here he needs to be patient, extra alert, careful and professionally conscious so that he may not commit any mistake giving chance to his boss to exploit the situation and damage his image and ultimately his career.
This is another kind of test and challenge, which will certainly bring out his hidden qualities to handle such situation patiently, bravely and professionally. Thus the assignment of the manager is not only very exciting one but is also a challenging one. Any person who has the guts to face and handle the hard realities and situations with courage and resilience is bound to achieve success and distinctive position in his career.
Nobody can beat the law of nature because it has its own ways to reward the performers and check/warn the unfair and biased people. I do not know who suffers more - the exploiter or the exploited.
HIS LIMITATIONS: With my experience of three decades as manager let me say it is indeed a very exciting, interesting and challenging assignment. Besides own professional and personal traits of the Manager, the real magic of his success and confidence lies in complete backing and support of his seniors.
His seniors should know him and his style of working. He should only be appointed as manager when his seniors really trust him and have confidence in his wisdom and decisions.
Generally speaking, it is observed that the manager has hardly any role in selecting his team. He is just given a bunch of mixed people more averaged and just few good ones. He does not know the background, capability and the real potential of his people and is expected to produce quality performance/results. This, I feel, is not justified. For quality product we need quality raw material.
In the event of any mistake, mishap and unfortunate happening the manager is the first person to be held accountable and responsible even for the wrong doings of others. The fact of the matter is that he has other team members as well including senior executives/officers who are working with him as departmental heads; I believe that they should be accountable for the mistakes of their respective areas/departments.
The first and foremost responsibility lies on the shoulders of head of the departments and then the manager comes in the picture.
The juniors are under no obligation to respect and obey the manager, when they have easy access to the respective Regional/ Head offices/senior officers and are encouraged to talk against their managers.
This is worst form of management. It would mean damaging the effectiveness, importance and creditability of the manager, which in turn will affect the position, image and overall performance of manager and finally will hit the discipline/decorum of the branch. Can any prudent management afford this kind of situation in their branches?
To me, the right man to get report on the conduct of the manager including monitoring the overall activities of the branch should be the internal auditors and no one else. It goes without saying that it is the prerogative of the management to have complete information about the branch. In case of any matter of concern, the management should discuss with manager in person to get his point of view on the same.
It goes without saying that checks and controls have to be in place. In any case the contact point of the senior management should always be the manager and no one else. This will give the manager great strength and support to maintain his effective administrative control, discipline and decorum in the branch.
The question arises, was he provided adequate and capable team of his choice to deliver? Was he provided the tools, technology, environments/premises, and the latest facilities his competitors have to attract the customers? Has he been given complete support and backing by his seniors enabling him to perform as is expected from him? Was he given equal ground level to compete with other players in the market?
Keeping in view the great importance and vital role of the Managers in banking his selection is as critical as his assignment. The management cannot afford any mistake while selecting him. Once selected and appointed as the manager, he deserves every support and respect. His words should be given value and serious consideration.
The management should trust his judgement, decisions and recommendations. Of course the managers are expected to be fully aware of the fact that they will be accountable and responsible for all what they say and act. Besides, he should be involved in the selection process of his team so that he should be aware about the background and potential of his team members.
He should be given a fair chance of recommending his own tested and tried person if he can and let the selection committee interview the candidate for the final selection in the presence of manager.
It is the foremost duty of the management to make the manager as effective as possible by giving him complete respect and support. His position should never be undermined and he should not be dispraised in the presence of his staff and the customers. Both the customers and the staff members should be clear that without the recommendations and consent of manager the management would not entertain any proposal going directly to them.
His recommendations should not be ignored without taking him in confidence. Provide the manager with all the tools he requires to deliver and achieve the desired results for the bank. In testing or difficult times the management should give him support, guidance and encouragement.
Out of my sheer experience of decades, let me assure that the manager will deliver much more than what is expected from him. A prudent management cannot afford to be biased, negative or wearing dark glasses while dealing with staff especially with managers of their branches. I repeat, besides the essential qualities, magic of the success of any manager lies in complete support and confidence of his seniors.
(Concluded)