Senior manager was in the IT web based development role however this will apply to all organisation and project based work. I think it is always beneficial to know the problems/challenges those above you are facing.
On Hiring People – I check whether they can do the job and then their approach to problems. It is better to choose someone with the right attitude than introduce a bad egg into the team. The bad egg will drag everyone else down in the team.
On culture – this is important to keep an open door so everyone is free to speak with you. Able to provide you with more information to make choices. Also have informal catch ups monthly with persons to keep people updated in the company, direction and any comments they may have. This provides you with information you might now have known. Everyone works in Silos which results in duplication or incompatibility.
On managing deadlines – this is related to managing expectations. If something is due by such date see whether you can achieve with the time and resources available. If not it is time to prioritise the tasks and take resources away from other areas. If a deadline is not being achieve, you need to take steps to find out why or work towards it.
On completing work – Better to have the work from those underneath you to be 80% than 100% with you neglecting your important duties. The purpose of a manager is to delegate work and have the higher functions tended to. If the staff’s work is not up to scratch then training or replacement is needed.
On staff not performing – Put them on notice and monitor their output on some regular schedule. Either they will improve or lower. It is best to understand the reason for their underperformance and provide consideration (some work flexibility, training). But at the end of the day they need to be able to manage their affairs and do their job
On employees with children – does not matter as long as they can do their job
5 Percent a day 