Is Management a Profession?

I get called to fix people problems and I'm really good at that. However, most often the person I'm helping has a supervisor or executive team member who has huge gaps in their own management skills. For example here are some of the deficiencies I observe:

Lack of knowledge and application of that knowledge regarding the differences in people otherwise know as personality differences

Stagnant professional development

Deficient skills in the areas of providing and getting feedback, coaching for improvement, delegating, holding people accountable, listening, etc.

Engaging in ineffective and unproductive behaviors

Poor interviewing and new employee selection knowledge and skills

Holding onto thoughts and attitudes that hurt morale and efficiency of the workplace

The question is, "Is Management a Profession?" The only answer is YES! In many professions like health care and medicine, members are continually learning new treatments, techniques, medicines, procedures, and continually honing their professional skills.

They can't neglect growth, development, and professional advancement or they will become outdated. At worst, an oversight board of professionals learns of some professional neglect and out goes their license to practice in that profession.

If management is a profession, why aren't managers at all levels of organizations constantly aspiring to improve and become better managers? Why is it that they exhibit the deficiencies I listed above? Are they not being held accountable for their professional development? Are they waiting for the company to invest in their training and development? Are they too busy working to engage in development activities?

There are some very significant benefits associated with self-development as a manager. You will notice an increase in your self-esteem because you will be developing and using more of your undeveloped potential and greatness.

You will feel like you are making progress in your life and according to Abraham Maslow that is living at the self-actualization level of motivation.

These two benefits relate directly to a person's emotional intelligence and a manager's emotional intelligence can contribute up to 40% of their success at work. Is self-development beneficial? You bet!

If you are a professional, you will seek and find the resources you need to overcome every deficiency and area for improvement that you identify. A professional invests in his or her own training and development.

As a rule of thumb, you should be investing one to two percent of your wages in professional development leading to more complete knowledge and competency development.

Wake up managers. It's time to move out and become the very best manager you can become. The resources are there. You only need to choose, change what you thought and did in the past, and begin traveling toward professional excellence. Do it now!

See Also : ">House Sale 2 Family Insurance

Generating Excitement For Apartment Management Careers

Finding exceptional employees for the apartment management industry requires educating prospective employees about the career opportunities. Lane Company, located in Georgia, is one of the founders of the Georgia Apartment Industry Education Foundation. The main intent of this organization is to tell people about the apartment management industry and the various types of careers available in that industry.

Though the Foundation is not very old, it has raised nearly half a million dollars to further education in this area, and also to make connections with various universities in the area. The first property management courses were started at the University of Georgia, with the first class having an enrollment of one hundred and twenty students. The next semester the class had more than tripled in size, with nearly four hundred students requesting enrollment.

The class utilized the apartment management community in the area, with frequent guest lecturers from various apartment management companies within Georgia. College students are very interested in the field, and they view it as related to the hotel management industry but without many of its drawbacks, such as extremely long and varied hours. Other universities, such as Georgia Tech, also offer management courses with success.

One of the more established college programs is given at Florida State. The apartment management courses offered there are part of their residential property management major, and have an established curriculum and internship program. The program is successful enough that the college now has a job fair exclusively for the property management school

The success of this program can and does attract a number of the large regional apartment management companies as participants. All of the prospective employees that attend the job fair have already made property management their intended career and are very excited about it. It is so encouraging to see so many young people actively interested in the details of each apartment management company.

In addition to coursework in apartment management offered by the colleges, internships are also a great way to get students interested in an management career. Again, using Lane Company as an example, they offered a thirteen week internship over the summer. Seven interns enrolled in the program this past summer, and these interns applied after they heard about the great time the interns had during the previous summer.

This particular summer internship program is much more than just a summer of management leasing or busy work. It is a very structured program that exposes the students to the major tasks of each different position within the company. It does include weeks with leasing agents, with maintenance employees, and even with the accountants and construction crews on new apartment complexes.

Finding the employees of tomorrow requires educating the college students of today in the many opportunities of an management career. Each of the many apartment management communities should consider giving their time and expertise to the local colleges. This might be in the form of an occasional guest lecture, or working with some professors to design and implement a great summer internship program. It is worth it.

Related : ">House Sale 2 Family Insurance