Mintzberg’s set of Ten Roles

Professor Henry Mintzberg, a great management researcher, after studying managers for several weeks concluded that, to meet the many demands of performing their functions, managers assume multiple roles.

He propounded that the role is an organized set of behaviors. He identified the following ten roles common to the work of all managers. These roles have been split into three groups as illustrated in the following figure.

Interpersonal Role

Figurehead – Has social, ceremonial and legal responsibilities.

Leader – Provides leadership and direction.

Liaison – Networks and communicates with internal and external contacts.

Informational Role

Monitor – Seeks out information related to your organization and industry, and monitors internal teams in terms of both their productivity and well-being.

Disseminator – Communicates potentially useful information internally.

Spokesperson – Represents and speaks for the organization and transmits information about the organization and its goals to the people outside it.

Decisional Role

Entrepreneur – Creates and controls change within the organization - solving problems, generating new ideas, and implementing them.

Disturbance Handler – Resolves and manages unexpected roadblocks.

Resource Allocator – Allocates funds, assigning staff and other organizational resources.

Negotiator – Involved in direct important negotiations within the team, department, or organization.