A managing director is a senior-level executive focused on business development, client retention and employee recruitment. Managing directors are utilized in many different industries and typically hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree coupled with extensive work experience in the field of choice. A managing director is a position you hope to attain through promotion and time. As you learn the inner-workings of a company you become more prepared to take on this type of job, it is not something you attain right out of school.
What You Do
The managing director tends to work with other top-tier executives in overseeing the company’s operations. You can do this in many industries such as healthcare, advertising, marketing, government, banking and information technology. A managing director will establish new contacts as potential clients or employees. In general a managing director will develop strategic marketing and sales plans to boost efficiency and profits. It is important for a managing director to keep tabs on all the various departments so he can best see how to adjust the program to become more effective.
You will be the liaison between departments to ensure the lines of communication are open and effective. You will need to know what is going on in the finance department as well as legal, marketing and sales. This allows you to formulate a plan of how exactly to meet company goals. You will often oversee other managers and department heads and interact with the board of directors.
Requirements
Typically a managing director holds degrees in business administration or a specialized field associated with the company where you want to work such as finance for banking, healthcare administration for healthcare and advertising for marketing jobs. Many of the managing directors go on to get a master’s degree before they are promoted to the position. The person put in a managing director position often works for the company and is promoted from within or is recruited from another similar company after many years of experience.
Skills Required
Leadership is a key skill for managing directors. You need to know how to inspire your workers and create a positive work environment. You should be results oriented and have the ability to make plans to help increase productivity. It is important that you have great people skills as you will often be working with both clients and other employees. Problem solving skills are key as you never know what is around the next corner. An analytical eye for evaluating numbers and assessing what the statistics truly mean for the company is quite important. You need to be able to translate data into an effective plan for reaching company goals. You will also be paramount in helping set the goals for the company as well as particular departments and employees. You will evaluate co-workers and subordinates and provide them with yearly reviews of their performance so everyone knows what their particular goals are for the upcoming year.
