What are the tasks of management?

There are eight, all focused on what makes management different from leadership: Leadership is about getting others to follow; management is about delivering results.

Follow @ITCatalysts Dear Bob ...

Can you point out any of your column wherein you list primary management duties? That is, what are the primary, basic duties that Management must do to make an organization function well? I think the list includes enforce schedules, budgets, quality, and professionalism.

Thanks.

- Managing

Dear Managing ...

Strangely enough, I just started outlining this, which I plan to incorporate in an upgraded version of Leading IT: The Toughest Job in the World to be titled Leading and Managing IT: Something or other (I'm not all that good with subtitles).

Here's my preliminary list of the eight tasks of management:

• Analyzing - Figuring things out

• Organizing - Designing processes and practices, and the org chart

• Planning and scheduling - Budgeting, establishing priorities, and deciding what happens when.

• Negotiating - Self-explanatory

• Provisioning - Making sure employees have the tools they need to do their work.

• Overseeing - Making sure employees do their work.

• Administering - Taking care of paperwork and related day-to-day minutia.

• Delivering - Getting the department's work out the door.

Please don't ask for too much analysis of what's inside each of these. That's what the book will be about, and I'm still recovering from writing the last one!

- Bob