What Managers Actually Do

Ask ten people what managers do and you get ten vague answers. Management theory gives a precise one: managers plan, organise, lead and control — continuously and in parallel.

Key Concepts

• Planning: setting goals and deciding how to reach them
• Organising: arranging people, resources and authority to execute plans
• Leading: motivating, communicating and influencing people to perform
• Controlling: measuring results against goals and correcting deviations
• Mintzberg's reality check: managers also live interpersonal, informational and decisional roles daily

Try It Yourself

Take a task you will do this week and write one line each for how you will plan, organise, lead and control it. POLC works at any scale.