What is an Executive Manager’s Role and Responsibilities?

Want to employ or become an executive manager?

Reading this article will help you learn everything an executive manager can and should do. You will also learn about an executive manager’s role and responsibilities. 

An executive manager has an integral role in every company and office, regardless of department size. Executive managers are responsible for the smooth operation of functions within their departments and are arguably the most visible person in their offices.

Typically executive managers hold a broad responsibility that entails overseeing the department budgets, hiring, firing, and general workloads of members in their departments. 

Let’s dive into the details of an executive manager’s role and responsibility and the values they add to a company’s growth. 

What is an Executive Manager?

The roles and responsibilities of an executive manager can vary from company to company based on the operational workflow of a department.

Below are some typical responsibilities that executive managers share in such a position:

• Supervising a department’s operations and activities
• Cooperating with other department managers, which is a core responsibility of executive managers
• Reporting to the upper management on the department’s progress
• Creating change in the department that is beneficial to the company as a whole is one of the most crucial talents an executive manager should possess
• Being able to communicate successfully with everyone in their department regardless of their personality type
• Allocating budgets and implementing policies and procedures to achieve set goals
• Creating a strategic workload balance and pre-empt possible resourcing issues
• Managing personnel matters like recruiting and firing
• Handling contract management and negotiation, as well as data performance analysis to make the best business decisions
• Sharing PDF documents with teams to coordinate work on ongoing projects, or you can enhance collaboration and efficiency by sharing a PDF summary.

An executive manager should have a minimum of five years of professional experience and, ideally, an MBA. Executive managers are conditioned for progression into senior roles, including becoming a chief operating officer, chief executive officer, and executive director. There are multiple CTO consulting services in the market to hire executive managers.

What values does an Executive Manager bring to an organization?

Executive managers are an organization’s backbone. While the return on investment may only sometimes be quantifiable in concrete units, there is a lot to be gained by hiring executive managers. Here are a few reasons why small businesses should think about hiring an executive manager:

Increased Productivity 

If you are a knowledgeable and experienced leader, you know that the productivity of your team members matters a lot. Employee productivity has a direct impact on your business and its success.

If productivity is low, you cannot expect to achieve company goals quickly and efficiently. Therefore, it’s essential not to cut corners when it comes to helping improve employee productivity.

One way to do this is by hiring an executive manager. An executive manager can boost your productivity remarkably. They can adopt strategies based on their expertise and change the whole organization.

Executive managers bring value to your team by freeing up significant blocks of time through their ability to handle a variety of responsibilities.

Once you have an executive manager on board, let’s break down their role visually and systematically into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Nifty’s easy-to-use work management software makes this an easy process. You can create Projects for each group you manage using Project Portfolios that can be structured around departments, teams, or clients.

Then, by using milestones within each project, we can break down the different phases for managers to track department progress in real time based on the completion of tasks that are tied to these milestones.

✨ Nifty provides ready-to-use templates that make teamwork a breeze. Try Nifty for free today

Increased Collaboration

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most businesses were empowered to adopt remote work with their team, and many are still working remotely. While remote work can certainly bring increased productivity, it also makes it more difficult for team members to collaborate as much as they used to in the office.

As a result, businesses need to provide the tools and means to encourage meaningful collaboration amongst team members, even when they are working remotely.

Adopting collaboration software to help keep track of employees, tasks, and overall communications can lead to over 50% reduction in burnouts.

Finding software to help you manage time and resources without confusion is just half the battle; implementing it is the second challenge. 

Let’s meet Nifty!

Nifty is a complete workflow management and collaboration software that helps executive managers simplify their day to day by consolidating team communication, project management, and client collaboration into one easy to use workspace.

Looking to increase collaboration within your departments?

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3. Efficient Problem Solving

A superb executive manager is a crucial strategic partner who regularly searches for ways to improve the organization. They are familiar with many day-to-day nuances, making them exceptionally qualified to identify pain points and solutions that lead to improvement.

Executive managers may have dealt with similar scenarios when serving past clients and may know the correct solution to numerous challenges. They supply answers to some of the most difficult problems and keep a company moving forward.

4. Business Growth

Growing a business, especially if it is large, requires a team to be fulfilled. The executive manager understands this well enough. They bring people and projects together, ensuring that everyone is working toward the same goals and, as a result, achieving them faster.

This means being able to focus on even more expansion and higher-value work. Many teams are discovering they can scale swiftly in today’s digital environment by bringing on people from across the country. This results in a stronger remote or in-presence team.

By utilizing executive recruiting firms, small businesses can access specialized expertise, industry knowledge, and a broader network to identify and hire qualified executive managers who can drive growth and strategic direction for the organization.

Executive Managers in Small Organizations vs. Large Organizations

Working for large organizations can be both advantageous and challenging at the same time. For instance, while there may be more opportunities to grow in larger organizations, there will be little job security as an executive manager. Additionally, the roles and responsibilities will likely have specific task sets rather than a broader management opportunity.

It’s common for new managers to leverage executive coaching services when they start a new position. The personalized guidance and support help managers navigate complex challenges, improve decision-making abilities, and enhance their overall performance to achieve even greater success in leading their departments and driving organizational growth.

The same is true for small organizations. While you are like a family member of the team, there is little opportunity to grow in the position. Or, you should wear different hats without being a specialist in all the various tasks.

Taking a look at this chart can show you the difference between being an executive manager for a small organization and a large organization:

How does an Executive Manager differ from an Account Manager?

To know how an executive manager differs from an account manager, we will explain the similarities and differences between the two roles.

Similarities Between Executive Managers and Account Managers

Account managers and account executives establish relationships with clients to offer their company goods and services. Executive managers work with new clients, while account managers work with existing clients. However, their tasks and duties overlap often. Some businesses hire a single person to fill both responsibilities. These terms are also used interchangeably by other businesses.

Both work in various fields, including finance, retail, and advertising. They both must have excellent interpersonal skills, which they use to understand their client’s needs while keeping an eye on expectations. Prospective account executives and account managers with marketing, communications, or business backgrounds are ready to undertake entry-level roles and proceed to higher positions over time.

Differences between Executive Managers and Account Managers

Despite the similarities, there are important distinctions to be made between these two positions. Here are the responsibilities of an account manager. They should:

• Make sure that their customers get the products and services they need
• Take on several existing client accounts and help the account teams better understand how to service their clients properly.
• Forecast and solve the demands with their excellent communication and problem-solving skills
• Communicate with clients frequently.
• Maintain information flow between clients and project teams
• Provide follow-up services to clients to foster positive long-term relationships
• Maintain knowledge of their company’s offers and promote new products to customers to increase sales
• Help dissatisfied clients communicate their needs to project teams.

As we have discussed the responsibilities of an executive manager, you can see that their tasks and duties are quite different. However, as we have said, some companies employ one person and expect them to do all these tasks. 

Conclusion

If you want to hire an executive manager for your small or large business, the tips above can give you a clue about what responsibilities you should assign them. In addition, this article indicates what values an executive manager can add to your organization regardless of its size. So, make the right decision and choose the best executive manager or assistant among the CVs you receive.

Redefine your workflow and automate your day to day operations.

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