manager needs to know is the definition of their role. In simple terms, management is the planning, coordination, and control of projects, processes, programs, and people.

The first three elements – projects, processes, and programs – are the easy parts. They all respond to input in designated and predictable ways. However, managing people is tricky: it requires knowledge of behavioral competences.

Study Vs. Practice

There is a natural tension between management scholars – who study the field – and management practitioners – the executives who put the ideas into practice. Scholars approach management like a science to analyze, hypothesize, and theorize. Practitioners, however, need to get tangible results from their people. Practitioners need to know what to do and how to do it – not just how to think.

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Great managers, then, need to know how to practice management. Luckily, there are many methods available to translate evidence-based theories into actions. Managers can also simply practice until they become effective – and then note what works, so that they can replicate their actions.

The purpose of management is to produce better business results. But improved outcomes cannot be left to chance – great managers carefully orchestrate them, using a wide range of behavioral tactics, theories from scholars and their own years of experience to get the best from diverse teams of people.