What is a Line Manager? | Responsibilities, the role, skills, types

What is a line manager in business? Checkoutthecoursesweoffer Skiptocontent Menu Business FoodHygiene HealthandSafety Safeguarding Care MentalHealth Resources Businessguides Careerguides FoodSafetyGuides CPDguides KnowledgeBase»Business»WhatisaLineManager? Inthisarticle Whatistheroleofalinemanager?Whatarethelinemanager’sresponsibilities?Whatskillsdoyouneedtobecomealinemanager?WhatisalinemanagerintheNHS?Whatisalinemanagerinaschool?Whatisalinemanagerinbusiness?Whatmakesagoodlinemanager?Managerialskills–atheoryFinalthoughtson‘Whatisalinemanager?’ Almosteveryoneintheworkforcehasalinemanagerandbecomingalinemanageristypicallythefirststeppeopletakewhentheyseektoprogressintheircareers.Alinemanagingpositionisoftenasteppingstonetohigherpositionsandisthefirstwayemployeesbegintoclimbthecareerladder.Butwhatisalinemanagerexactly?Andwhatskillsdoyouneedintheroleoflinemanager? Inthisarticle,we’llintroducewhatitmeanstobealinemanagerandgivesomespecificinformationaboutcommonlinemanagementroles. Whatistheroleofalinemanager? Linemanagersexistinallindustriesandatalllevels.Linemanagersmanageemployeesandareresponsiblefortheteamdevelopmentandperformance.Theywillalsobeapointofcontactbetweenthosetheymanageandtheseniorleadersabovethem. Typically,alinemanagerwillbeonepositionabovetheemployeestheymanage.Theywillcarryoutadditionalresponsibilitieslikeoverseeingtheirteam’sday-to-daytasksbutwilloftenworkonsimilartasksandprojectsasthosetheylinemanagetoo. Theroleofalinemanagerisveryimportantforbusinessoperationstorunsmoothly.Theygivejunioremployeesguidanceandsupportandprovidealinktothoseinhigherroles. Dependingonthebusinessorindustry,linemanagersmightalsobecalledteamleadersorsupervisors. Whatarethelinemanager’sresponsibilities? Sincelinemanagersexistinahugerangeofsectorsandindustries,theirdutieswillbevaried. However,linemanagersallsharecommonresponsibilities,whichmightinclude: Managingateamofemployees. Makingsuretheirteammeetsitstargets. Trainingjuniorstaffandworkingontheirdevelopment. Mentoringorcoachingteammembers. Reportingtoseniorleaderswithregardstoteamandindividualperformance. Managingabudget. Managingholidayapprovals. Holdingback-to-workinterviewsafteremployeesickness. Interviewing,hiringandinductingnewmembersoftheteam. Guidingemployeesthroughdisciplinaries. Leadingteammeetings. Leadingappraisals. Communicatingbusinesschanges. Identifyinggapsinknowledgeandarrangingtrainingopportunities. Withalloftheseresponsibilities,you’relikelytoseelinemanagersdissectingreportsandworkingonspreadsheets,meetingminutesandperformancereviewsinfrontofacomputer.They’llalsohavefrequentmeetingswithseniorsorotherlinemanagers. Whatskillsdoyouneedtobecomealinemanager? Mostfirst-levellinemanagersdon’thaveanyspecificqualificationsalthoughtheymighthaveundertakenin-servicetrainingfortherole.Alotoflinemanagementskillsaredowntoexperience–andexperienceisoftenthemostimportantaspectofapplyingforalinemanagementrole. Nomattertheindustryorsector,alinemanagerneedstohaveacomprehensiveunderstandingofthebusiness.Thismeanstheycanhelpthosetheylinemanageandsupportthemasnecessary. Includedinimportantlinemanagerskillsare: Excellentcommunication. Excellentorganisation. Abilitytodelegate. Abilitytoprioritise. Abilitytobeobjective. Abilitytomotivate. Abilitytoanalyse. Abilitytobeevaluative. Themostimportantoftheseskillsiscommunication.Goodlinemanagerswillbeawareofallthedifferentwaysofcommunicating.Withouteffectivecommunication,abusinesscan’tbeassuccessful.Alinemanagerneedstobeabletoactasamediatorandtranslator–notintermsofspeakinganotherlanguage,butittermsofpassingoninformationtodifferentpeopleindifferentways. WhatisalinemanagerintheNHS? Sinceitsinceptionin1948,theNHShasundergonesignificantdevelopmentsandchanges.LinemanagersexistinallareasoftheNHSfromfront-lineworkerstoadminstaff.TheNHSisuniqueinthatnomatterwhatroleyouplay,youaffectthepatientexperience.TheNationalInstituteforHealthResearchdefineslinemanagersas“seniorprofessionalswhohavefirst-linemanagementinadditiontotheirprofessionalresponsibilities.” AccordingtotheNHSLeadershipAcademy,thereare78differentcategoriesoflinemanagerrolesintheNHS.Theseincluderolesinfinancialmanagement,ITmanagement,HumanResourcesmanagement,andclinicalmanagement.Infact,around5%oftheNHSworkforcecouldbeclassifiedasamanager.However,therearemanypeoplewhowillundertakesomemanagementactivitieswithouttheofficialtitle. Whatisalinemanagerinaschool? Educationisonesectorwheretheroleoflinemanagershasgrownhugelyoverthelastdecade.Accordingtothemostrecentteacherworkforcestatistics,39.3%ofsecondaryschoolteachersarealsomiddleleaders.Asforseniorleaders(headteacher,deputyheadteacherandassistantheadteacherroles),thenumberhasalsogrown.Theseleadersnowmakeupover18%oftheentireteachingpopulation.Backin2010,thisfigurewasonly10.8%. Inschools,allteachingandnon-teachingstaffhavealinemanager.ThosewholinemanageteachersareusuallystillclassroomteachersthemselvesbuthaveanadditionalresponsibilitysuchasbeingaHeadofDepartmentoraHeadofFaculty. Linemanagerstoteachersusuallyhavewhat’scalledaTLR(TeachingandLearningResponsibility),whichisanadditionalpaymentfortheirextraresponsibilitiesasalinemanager.LinemanagerswithTLRsusuallyremainonthesameteachingpayscaleasthosetheymanage. Payscalesinteachingaredecidednationallybutwiththeincreaseinfreeschoolsandacademies,thereisawidevariationbetweenwhatteachersandlinemanagersearnindifferentschools.Therearealsodifferencesbetweenwhatisneededtoclimbupthepayscales. Seniorleadersinschoolsareonadifferentpayscaleentirely(theLeadershipPayScale)andhaveadditionalresponsibilities.Theywillusuallybethelinemanagerofafewdifferentmiddleleaders(HeadsofDepartment/HeadsofYear)andtheirlinemanagerisusuallytheHeadteacher. Insomeschools(typicallylargeMultiAcademyTrusts)theirHeadsofDepartmentandHeadsofYearareontheleadershippayscale.Whilethisdoesn’tnecessarilymeantheyearnmore,itdoesmeanmorecanbeaskedofthemintermsofhoursandresponsibilities. Asforschoolsupportstaff,therearevariouslevelsandscalestoo.However,thereisnostatutoryprogressionframeworkorpayscaleforsupportstaffasthesearedecidedlocally.Usually,supportstaffinschoolwillhaveasupportstafflinemanagerandthereisoftenatleastoneortwomembersoftheSeniorLeadershipTeamwhoarenon-teachingstaffwhomanagethissideofthebusiness. Whatisalinemanagerinbusiness? Dependingonthenatureofthebusinessandthebusinessstructure,alinemanagerinbusinesscanincorporatemanydifferentrolesandresponsibilities. Someexamplesoflinemanagersinclude: Assetmanagers. Brandmanagers. Communicationsmanagers. Officemanagers. Operationsmanagers. Networkmanagers. Talentmanagers. Systemsmanagers. HumanResourcesmanagers. Salesmanagers. Supplychainmanagers. Whetherthebusinesslinemanagerroleinvolvestheoverseeingofday-to-dayworkforceoperationsormentoringstaff,itisanall-encompassingroleinamodernbusiness.Linemanagersareessentialtotherunningofaprofitablebusinessandtheirroleisvitalinitssmoothrunning. Nomatterthenatureofthebusiness,alllinemanagersareessentialculturecreators.Theymust,psychologicallyspeaking,beinlotsofdifferentplacesatonce. Ultimately,motivationandmoralearethelinemanager’sresponsibilitybutmanylinemanagersfailtorealisetheirimportantroleindevelopingthisculture.What’smore,thereisacertaintalentinbeingabletoworkcloselywithco-workerswhileinspiringrespectastheseniorpersonintheteam. AccordingtoresearchbyGreatPlacetoWork,70%ofemployeesintendtoseekalternativeworkinthefuture.Themainreasonforthesethoughtsisbeingsubjectedtopoorlinemanagementandpoorrelationships.Thus,beingagoodlinemanagerisessential. Whatmakesagoodlinemanager? Agoodlinemanagermakesallthedifference.Greatlinemanagementiseasilyseeninahappy,successfulteam,comparedtothefraught,unsuccessfulonesthatarearesultofpoorlinemanagement. Therearethreespecificthingsthatalinemanagercanlearntobeeffective: 1.Learnhowtodelegate–Thefront-lineworkisn’tyourjob. 2.Learnhowtotrustthoseyoulinemanagerandgivethemcontrol–Avoidmicromanaging. 3.Learnhowtomanageothers–Dosometraining. Linemanagersareaccountableandresponsibleforboththefailuresandsuccessesoftheirteam.It’sreallyimportantthattheytakeresponsibilityforanyfailingsanddon’tplayablamegame. Otherthingsthatmakeagoodlinemanager: Praisinghardworkandsuccess Whenalinemanagerrecognisesaperson’ssuccessandperformance,itmakesadifference.Whethertherecognitionispublicorprivate,agoodlinemanagermakessurededicationandhardworkdoesn’tgounnoticed. Planningforfutureandprogression Agreatlinemanagerwillwantthepeopletheymanagetoimproveandprogress.Whetherthisistrainingordevelopmentplans,it’simperativethatemployeesareempoweredtoimproveandseekprogression. Treatingco-workersasindividuals Whenanemployeefeelstrulyvalueditmakesadifference.Agoodlinemanagergetstoknowhisorherco-workersonanindividuallevel.It’snotjustabasichowareyou?butindividualengagementandgenuineinterest. Beingsupportive Aspreviouslydiscussed,itisimportanttohavehealthyrelationshipsbetweenlinemanagersandthosetheymanage.Beinganapproachableandeasy-goinglinemanagercanmeanstaffdotheirtaskswellbecausetheywanttoratherthanbecausetheyfeartheconsequencesofnotdoingso.Italsomeansthatemployeeswillseekadviceandsupporttoensurethey’redoingthingscorrectlyratherthanjusthopingforthebest. Havingempathy Withempathy,alinemanagerisinfinitelybetter.Whenalinemanagerlacksempathy,employeescanbecomedisengagedanddissatisfied.Theyalsowon’tbeinterestedindoingtheirbestatwork. Organisation Beingalinemanagerinvolvesspinninglotsofplates.Thismeansorganisationisvital.Linemanagershaveresourcesthatneedmanaging,peoplethatneedleading,resultsthatneedanalysing,andlotsofothertasksbesides.Agoodlinemanagerneedstohaveexcellentorganisationallinemanagementskills. Beingdecisive Theroleoflinemanageroftenmeansmakingtoughdecisions.Goodlinemanagersareconfidentinacceptingresponsibilityandmakingdecisions.Accordingtoresearch,aspeopleclimbthemanagementladder,theyhavetomakemoreandmoredifficultdecisions.Beingindecisiveasaleaderisn’tgoodforteammoraleandtrustinmanagement. Managerialskills–atheory Afamoustheorist,HenriFayol,wasgiventhenicknameFatherofModernManagement.Histheoryidentifiedthreemainskillsformanagement.ThesewereConceptualSkill,HumanSkillandTechnicalSkill. Let’slookatthesefurther. ConceptualSkill Thisisthemanager’sabilitytoenvisionthebusinessasawholeentity.Beingconceptualmeansunderstandinghowallofthesmallcogsworktogetheranddependononeanothernomattertheirindividualrole.Anothervitalelementtothisisthemanager’sabilitytothinkoutsidethebox. HumanSkill Havinghumanskillisbeingabletounderstand,motivateandworkwithothersbothinagroupandindividually.Italsoinvolvesbeingabletogetotherstoco-operateintheteam. TechnicalSkill Thisinvolveshavingtheskillsandknowledgetoperformcertaintasksandspecialisedjobsintheprofession.First-linemanagersneedtechnicalskillstotraintheirsubordinatesandtosupervisetheirtasks,forexample. Finalthoughtson‘Whatisalinemanager?’ Linemanagersareinalmosteveryorganisationandindustryfromfinance,wastedisposalandfoodservice,tomedia.Inatypicalbusiness,thelinemanagerwillleadarevenue-generatingteaminacompany,anditisthispersonwhoactsasthemaingo-betweenforfront-lineworksandseniormanagement. Whenalinemanageriseffective,itmakesahugedifferencetotheworkforceandthesuccessofthebusinessororganisation.Equally,withpoorlinemanagement,anorganisationwillsuffer,andtheteamwilltoo. Ultimately,agoodlinemanagerhastheskillsneededtoworkwithateambothprofessionallyandpersonally.Theyareaneffectiveorganiser,decisionmakerandleaderwhowillgivepraisewherepraiseisdueandwhoisn’tafraidtotakeresponsibilityforfailings. ManagementLevel3 Just£20StudyonlineandgainafullCPDcertificatepostedouttoyoutheverynextworkingday. Takealookatthiscourse Abouttheauthor EvieLee EviehasworkedatCPDOnlineCollegesinceAugust2021.SheiscurrentlydoinganapprenticeshipinLevel3BusinessAdministration.Evie'smainrolesaretouploadblogarticlesandcoursestothewebsite.Outsideofwork,Evieloveshorseridingandspendingtimewithherfamily. 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