The purpose of this exercise is to help you get a firsthand picture of the role of a manager and the skills required to perform that job successfully.
Your assignment is to interview with three managers who are employed full-time. You should use the questions below in your interviews, plus use others that you think might help you identify effective management skills. The purpose of these interviews is to give you chance to learn about critical managerial skills from those who have to use them.
Please treat the interviews as confidential. The names of the individuals do not matter-only their opinions, perceptions, and behavior. Assure the managers that no one will be able identify them from their responses. Keep written notes of your interviews. These notes should be as detailed as possible so you can reconstruct the interviews later. Be sure to keep a record of each person's job title and a brief description of his or her organization.
1- Please describe a typical day at work. What do you do all day?
2- What are the most critical problems you face as a manager?
3- What are the most critical skills needed to be a successful manager in your line of work?
4- What are the major reasons managers fail in positions like yours?
5- What are the outstanding skills or abilities of other effective managers you have known?
6- If you had to train someone to replace you in your current job, what key abilities would you focus on?