Characteristics of the 21st century manager

The 20th century was characterized by a great technological and industrial development, and consequently, by the consolidation of the administration.

At the beginning of this century the scientific administration arises, being Frederick Winslow Taylor its initiator; thereafter, many authors dedicate themselves to the study of this discipline.

In turn-of-the-century management, the focus is on achieving the highest levels of competitiveness, conducting strategic planning, and beginning to use advanced tools such as Reengineering and Benchmarking, Total Quality, and Just-in-Time.

The demands of the business world are increasingly hard, and if the general preparation of the manager himself must respond to those demands.

2. Characteristics of the XXI Century Manager

As the 21st century progresses, various economic and demographic trends are having a major impact on organizational culture. These new trends and dynamic changes make organizations and their managers debate in the urgent need to orient themselves to new directions that have relevance not only locally but worldwide. Countries and regions collapse when the reference frameworks become obsolete and lose validity in the face of new realities.

From a more general perspective, globalization, economic openness, competitiveness are new phenomena that organizations have to face. To the extent that competitiveness is a fundamental element in the success of any organization, managers or leaders will make more efforts to achieve high levels of productivity and efficiency.

The new management schemes are a reflection of the way the organization thinks and operates, demanding among other aspects: a worker with the knowledge to develop and achieve business objectives; a flexible process before the changes introduced by the organization; a flat, agile structure, reduced to the minimum expression that creates a work environment that satisfies those who participate in the execution of organizational objectives; a reward system based on the effectiveness of the process where success and risk are shared; and a participative work team in the actions of the organization.

The uncertainty, in some cases chronic and progressive, about the evolution of the management function and its future content, generates increasing anxiety on the part of company executives, which can be satisfied by identifying some characteristics that define the profile of the manager of the new century that we are beginning.

One of the elements that are part of the lowest common denominator of the profile of successful managers is, increasingly, their ability to establish and develop relationships with other people. There seems to be a very close correlation between the ability to establish a wide and effective network of relationships, on the one hand, and the generation of new business opportunities, excellence in people management and customer loyalty, on the other. Experience shows that the ability to develop contacts is not an innate, genetic ability, but rather the result of exercise and learning, something acquired through practice.

There are many factors that stimulate the development of this skill. Having resided abroad for long stays, being part of large families or large family environments, managing multiple languages, job mobility or access to continuing education throughout a professional career are circumstances that foster a better disposition to create contacts effective.

The transformations of the business environment determine, increasingly, the need for managers to have this unique ability to develop networks. The globalization of markets or the diffuse barriers between business sectors make it necessary, for example, for a manager to have personal relationships in other countries or in different areas of activity.

In fact, the labor market values ​​this ability as one of the basic aspects in the selection processes of managers among the largest companies.

Adaptation to change and a strategic vision become mandatory and practically decisive. "Do the same" or "stay the same" are banished expressions of business argumentation.

Certainly, many opportunities to innovate or to develop new business opportunities consist of focusing business processes, the way of doing things, in a different way, different from the conventions.

One of the clearest recent examples is the distribution of consumer products through the Internet, a sector that worldwide has developed in a way that a few years ago we could not even imagine, it is more than it would seem to be taken from the movies. However, the increasingly rapid evolution of the changes makes it more necessary, if possible, to develop a strategic vision that allows identifying the nuclear activity of a company, based on the needs satisfied by its customers or users.

Having an entrepreneurial spirit has to do with the adoption of a business point of view, and not a purely administrative one, is one of the most demanded facets of the company manager.

This fact is clearly reflected in the organizational restructuring that is taking place in many companies as a result of mergers, acquisitions, etc. Its objective is to give business units greater responsibility and decision-making capacity, to the detriment of corporate decision-making bodies.

The progressive opening of international markets requires managers a marked ability to operate and conduct themselves in multicultural environments. This is manifested, for example, in the requirement to communicate, in many situations, using a pragmatic version of English manageable by managers from diverse backgrounds that represents the lingua franca of the business world. Therefore, the management of this language has become an essential tool for the future manager.

The use of a common language has been, for example, one of the factors that has most helped the huge direct investment of Spanish companies in Latin America in recent years.

It will be necessary to master at least two languages ​​correctly; three is a reasonable number, and with four you can already operate with ease. The best way to master any language is to spend a season in that country. English remains the leader in the language ranking. French and German follow, although the fundamental thing is to have knowledge of the language spoken in the multinational's country of origin. Future Spanish managers have an advantage: they know Spanish, the third language in the world and the main one in Latin America, a more relevant investment area every day.

In addition to mastering languages, it is also required to respect the idiosyncrasies of clients or partners from different cultures.

On the other hand, raising the awareness of managers towards ethical problems, both internal and external to the company, is another aspect that is progressively being valued by investors, customers and the rest of society.

Undoubtedly, the above characteristics point to a very different managerial profile from the manager from several decades ago, whose pattern was more closely related to control and supervision.

Motivating and generating trust, openness to innovation, ability to communicate effectively, managers spend most of their time talking to other people and strategic vision to undertake changes are all faculties, more political than managerial in nature, that draw a new style of leadership.

University preparation must seek a wide field of application and universality of knowledge. Properly guide young people who intend to start in the business world, so if an individual studies a career, it must be ensured that it is related to the company in which they intend to work. It is possible to study Hispanic philology and end up being the person in charge of a computer company, although it is not normal. More than the university studies themselves, what is relevant is having a good education and a lot of personal initiative.

Professional experience is an essential factor since, to be a manager, you must know the ins and outs of the company in detail. It is valued more than any previous study. In the end, when you are sitting in an armchair making decisions, you will have accumulated enough information and knowledge to solve problems. Once in the company, take advantage of time and absorb every new idea that comes up. Take initiatives, since the best way to show that you are worthwhile is to become essential. Then, patience, that promotions always come.

There is no minimum age threshold, but also no maximum. According to experts, the manager of the 21st century can be from 30 to 65 years old. Assuming that you have successfully completed your studies, that you have completed a master's degree and that you have studied abroad, you cannot enter a company until you are 25 years old. It is not normal, therefore, to access a high position before 30 because, until that age, the placement in the company has not ended.

As for sex, it is a question that has already been overcome. The percentage of job offers that take into account the sex of the applicant does not exceed 1.5%, while the rest, 98.5%, does not specify it as a selection criterion; data extrapolated to managers. Even sex is taken into account, but in its character of positive discrimination towards women.

Currently, they are the majority in university classrooms and, logically, they have more possibilities of taking over a managerial position. Companies have a special predisposition to adapt to the social environment that surrounds them and it is dominated by women. Even so, some companies consulted indicate that women have to demonstrate day by day that they are valid for the position, a situation that does not occur with men.

With computer skills, but without being a computer scientist. Computers are a working tool that should be used as freely as possible at work. It is essential to know how to navigate the Internet and have sufficient knowledge so that the telephone number of the systems engineer is not the most dialed. It would be useless to detail the programs that are necessary to know, because computing is being renewed day by day. Of course, you should not miss any news that arises.

You must have a deep understanding of business models, both companies and small businesses. To do this, you have to know how to listen to the person on the other side, but not passively, but reacting. Another aspect is having a passion for the business you are part of. If you have what Americans call passion for the bussines, the first two conditions come alone.

3. Conclusions