People don't always stop to think about the question of the precise role and purpose of a manager. They think it's obvious, so they don't bother to articulate it, or even to think about it much.

Actually, though, if you ask most managers, they'd be unlikely to zero in on the one thing that should in fact be guiding their thinking as managers:

The role of a manager is to maximize the performance of the people who report to him or her, in order best to achieve the objectives of the organization.

Take a close look at the preceding statement, and think about its implications. What does it say about how managers should conduct themselves, and about management style?

Many managers, especially new ones, take the position that they're the boss and that it's up to their employees to adapt themselves to the manager's preferred way of doing things; that managers have their own styles and preferences, and everyone needs to adapt accordingly.

But how likely is that approach to lead to optimal performance on the part of employees? For example, if a certain employee does excellent work by organizing the work on his or her own, does it really make sense for a manager to step in and tell the employee to organize it some other way; the way in which the manager used to do it before becoming a manager? Is this likely to produce the best work of which that employee is capable? Will it motivate that employee and increase loyalty? In a case like this, it makes more sense for the manager to adapt to the employee, rather than the other way around.