As a manager, you're going to be faced with the challenge of deciding between competing ideas. That's part of your role as the person in charge, but it's also one of the most difficult parts of having contract management jobs. If you're looking for solutions to a problem and you are presented with a couple of different ideas on how to approach it, it's likely that you'll sense some tension between the people who are promoting their own ideas.
Now, if you choose one person's or group's ideas over another's, you run the risk of alienating those other people, which can make the rest of your management job quite difficult. Instead, the best managers take an integrative approach to decision making.
The reality is that most ideas aren't perfect anyway. By picking and choosing the best parts of all the ideas offered and combining them into a feasible solution, you end up making everyone happy while also demonstrating what sets you apart from the rest of management.
Planning Ahead
In a contract management job, you're likely to see plenty of things changing over a short amount of time. There won't be a lot of time for on-the-spot planning, and that's one reason why you have to always be on your toes. When you enter the work environment, you should begin by deciding who would need to be involved in your strategy planning and deliberations. Ask yourself who you need to consult before making any type of decision.
Once you have those individuals in mind, you'll be ready at a second's notice to jump into decision-making mode. While other managers are looking confused and wondering what to do first, you'll be ahead of the game and taking actions.
Be Open to Ideas
When some people take on contract management jobs, they don't always want feedback from the people around them. They sometimes come into the job with the attitude that they were hired to make the decisions, not to ask for opinions. While it is true that the manager is ultimately going to be held responsible for the good and the bad decisions that are made, there's no reason to block out feedback and input from those around you.
And, at the very least, the people working with you will appreciate having your ear for their ideas even if few of them are implemented.
Know When to Make Which Types of Decisions
In contract management jobs, you'll be facing lots of tough decisions, and that means you need to go into the given position feeling confident that you can make those challenging choices when necessary. However, what you may not realize is that there are a couple of ways to make a decision, and the way you choose shouldn't depend on your personality.
In some situations, you're going to have time to analyze all of the factors involved in the decision. You'll be able to review each side of every argument, look at all of the alternatives carefully, and even consult the rest of your management team for their ideas on what will work. Of course, all of this takes times. If you have the time, you should definitely take it so that you can be confident in the final outcome.
However, you won't always have the luxury of time. In such cases, you're going to have to be prepared to skip the analysis and go with your gut instincts.
The problem for most people in contract management jobs is they want to always take one approach or the other based on the method that makes them the most comfortable. Unfortunately, your job sometimes means stepping outside of your comfort zone and doing what needs to be done.
Implement the Decision Effectively
Another common mistake in contract management jobs is the way final decisions are implemented: They are often told to the subordinates as if they were religious commandments that cannot be questioned and do not have to be explained. Even worse, they are sometimes implemented without any real sense of how to make them happen in the first place.
To be a great manager, your implementation strategy should include explaining the reasons for the decision, communicating the requirements of the decision, and developing a concrete action plan to put the decision into high gear.
Reward Superiority
Remember when you were in school and you received a gold star or smiley face for a job well done? That small recognition of your efforts by your teacher gave you a good feeling and made you want to work harder. Interestingly, that's one thing about most of us that doesn't change — we want our hard work to get noticed.
If you have someone working with you who is doing a great job, don't let it go unnoticed. You should tell him or her that you appreciate the hard work. In fact, finding ways to reward someone for an excellent job is one of the best motivational tools you can find. Make sure you only provide praise when it is warranted, however.
