On managers and workers..

Many think management is an easy job. Managers are perceived as people who just delegate, sit back and then monitor. The "real work" is usually done by the team members. Is that really so?

To know what it takes to be a manager, here is a very interesting post by Skip "Management's got it easy!" Skip throws light on importance of "workers" (team members) and "managers" (team leaders) in success of projects, teams and organizations. I like the analogy he presents between composition of a team and that of an orchestra. I agree to Skip that both managers and workers are essential for success.

He says..

"Therefore, the higher you move up into management, the more knowledge you must have, the better direction you must provide, the more coordination you must lead, and the more dependencies you must understand.  Though it takes knowledge and skill for each individual to do their part, it requires management to understand everybody's part.   As for me personally, I found that both the duties and responsibility that came with being a programmer were much less demanding and less overall thinking than it has required of management.   You can't play any composition without an orchestra, but you can play a lousy composition if the orchestra doesn't have good management.  Both are essential for success!

Looking back to my early days, I made the wrong assumption, the ol' adage "Out of sight, out of mind". I assumed that because I didn't see what my manager was doing I assumed he was doing nothing at all.  Instead, what I didn't realize is that I was able to do the work I had because he was doing those things "behind the curtain" to make sure that I could continue working.  He was also making sure that I had what I needed from others and that they had what I was providing."

Thanks Skip, for providing useful insights.