Call to mind a typical week at work. Of the activities listed below, place a checkmark next to those you do on a regular basis.
Estimate, on average, the percentage of time you spend on each.

All of these activities involve communicating in one form or another. Chances are, you spend the bulk of your time involved in such activities. No matter what your “official” title—team leader, supervisor, manager, director, business owner, or the like—if you manage people, communication is a critical part of what you do. A Model of Management Suppose you signed up for a course entitled Management 101. During the first session, the instructor poses this question to the class: “What is management?” How would you answer the question? Figure 1-1 suggests some answers to this question. After decisions are made about the results to be accomplished in the area you manage, you direct and coach employee performance toward achieving those desired results. You then monitor what’s going on and report on progress or problems. At every stage, you communicate. You interact with the boss, with employees, and with other departments. You may interface with entities outside of the organization, including suppliers, contractors, and government or community agencies. At every stage, you encounter this challenge. You’re accountable for seeing that results are achieved. But you don’t produce them directly yourself. The results are produced by others (unless you’re a “working supervisor” doing the jobs of both employee and manager). In other words, you’re in the middle of it all (Figure 1-2): For many managers, this realization requires a shift in mind-set and skills.

Management The process of producing results through other people.