Manager behaviours

Manager capability focus

Medicare Australia relies on a team of managers who operate at the frontline of our services. More than at any time in the past, our frontline managers need to focus on their specific manager responsibilities. They need them to operate as effective people managers to ensure we realise the full potential of the people they manage.

This document aims to provide all managers in Medicare Australia a lens through which they can look at the Medicare Australia Capability Framework and understand what good manager behaviour looks like when applying these capabilities.

This sets the standard for manager behaviour in Medicare Australia and provides the basis for development programs for our current and emerging managers.

Medicare Australia has identified eight capabilities and associated behaviours that are expected of our managers. These are

Inspires a sense of purpose and direction
Builds organisational capability and responsiveness
Steers and implements change and deals with uncertainty
Facilitates cooperation and partnerships
Guides, mentors and develops people
Engages with risk and shows personal courage
Displays resilience
Communicates clearly

The other capabilities are still important and every manager should also exemplify these capabilities.

Scope of manager role

The behaviours identified below are not specifically laid out in terms of positional level. They apply as much to a manager at APS 4 as they do for a Senior Executive manager. It is the environment in which these behaviours are practiced that changes as the level of the position increases. The size, breadth, scope, complexity and sphere of influence of the manager’s area of responsibility increases the higher the level of the manager. Teams get more complex, budgets increase and the complexity of relationships they manage increases.

It is clear however, regardless of level, that the basic principles of effective management remain the same. Ensuring open and regular communication, regular feedback to their reports, communicating a sense of purpose, guiding and mentoring people and proactively managing both human and physical resources are as important for a Team Coach or Assistant Branch Manager as they are to our Senior Executive Service managers.

Exemplifies great service	Manager behaviours
Makes it easy for their customers	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to make it easy for their customers.
Gets it right	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people get it right.
Is genuinely interested in their customers	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure the customer feels the area is genuinely interested in them.
Respects their customers’ rights	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their customer’s rights are respected.

Shapes strategic thinking	Manager behaviours
Inspires a sense of purpose and direction	Involves their team in the business planning process. Communicates a clear sense of purpose for their team’s work and helps operationalise the strategy. Ensures their team/s understand how this purpose fits with the Medicare Australia National Business Plan. Inspires and builds a sense of pride and enthusiasm for their team’s work. Understands how they treat/mange their team members directly influences the motivation, performance, behaviour and attendance patterns of their team members and ensures they are treated as individuals, with respect; and fairly.
Focuses strategically	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people focus strategically.
Harnesses information and opportunities	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people harness information and opportunities.
Shows judgement, intelligence and commonsense	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people show and apply judgement, intelligence and common sense.

Achieves results	Manager behaviours
Builds organisational capability and responsiveness	Draws together teams with required capability to advance their team’s business plan. Provides clear direction on role and responsibilities for their team through the development of an effective PSA. Recognises and responds to individual needs. Adopts a planned approach to future workforce needs. Ensures a project and risk management methodology to their team’s work. Identifies and communicates appropriate critical success factors and performance indicators. Ensures the appropriate use of resources to ensure the best results for the organisation. Proactively manages for a safe and healthy workplace to prevent injury and minimise unplanned absences. In consultation with the relevant Medicare Australia OHS Consultant, identify suitable duties and facilitate an early and safe return to work for ill/injured employees. Ensures agreed budget is met.
Marshals professional expertise	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people marshal professional expertise.
Steers and implements change and deals with uncertainty	Ensures business plan identifies risks and implements appropriate mitigation strategies/contingencies. Maintains and ensures focus on the big picture and agreed outcomes. Provides team with rationale for the change agenda and communicates the what, how, why and when of change. Communicates key corporate messages around the change agenda – in face to face meetings.
Ensures closure and delivers on intended results	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people ensure closure and deliver on intended results.

Cultivates productive working relationships	Manager behaviours
Nurtures internal and external relationships	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people nurture internal and external relationships.
Facilitates cooperation and partnerships	Fosters team work within and across teams. Resolves conflict using appropriate strategies. Fosters and rewards cooperative and collaborative behaviour within and across teams. Celebrates individual and team success.
Values individual differences and diversity	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people value individual differences and diversity.
Guides, mentors and develops people	Guides, mentors and develops by “walking the talk”, and exemplifying the Medicare Australia values and capabilities. Empowers their team through delegation of tasks and roles that provide challenge and opportunity for development. Having delegated task, trusts their teams to complete the task, ensures regular reporting but does not micro manage. Makes time for people despite competing priorities – recognises the individual and their diverse needs. Ensures regular Performance Management Agreements are developed with their reports and formal assessments occur. Individualises PSA performance and development discussions and recognises the diversity of individual styles and needs. Provides regular, timely and constructive performance feedback and recognition to their team members (in addition to PSA). Ensures direct reports provide regular and constructive feedback to their team members. Actively coaches and mentors members of their team/s or ensures cross team coaching or mentoring. Identifies those who are capable of further development and promotion and provides appropriate development opportunities. Manages underperformance issues early and constructively and collaboratively identifies and implements improvement strategies.

Exemplifies personal drive and integrity	Manager behaviours
Demonstrates public service professionalism and probity	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people demonstrate public service professionalism and probity.
Engages with risk and shows personal courage	Encourages constructive debate within their team/s. Supports the organisation’s position and highlights benefits. Creates a culture where different ideas are valued and tested. Is aware of their strengths and builds on them. Is aware of their weaknesses and develops and implements strategies to supplement or develop into a strength. Creates a culture where problems and mistakes are recognised early and lessons learnt.
Commits to action	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people commit to action.
Displays resilience	Helps develop a supportive environment that assists their team to persist and complete the task. Ensures a culture of support and enthusiasm that ensures their teams bounce back when setbacks occur. Provides their team/s an opportunity to debrief, particularly when major change or a shift in priorities occur. Helps develop a culture where there is appropriate fun and playful activities to build team cohesion and resilience. Promotes and exemplifies a health work-life balance in own behaviour and work style. Ensures a culture where criticism is constructive and not personalised – leads by example.
Demonstrates self awareness and a commitment to personal development	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people demonstrate self awareness and a commitment to personal development.

Communicates with influence	Manager behaviours
Communicates clearly	Communicates clearly – draws on corporate change and communication strategies and support material. Delivers corporate messages in a confident, consistent and supportive manner. Listens to their people and demonstrate that they value their contribution. Holds regular team meetings with immediate reports and shares information openly – provides opportunity for questions.
Listens, understands and adapts to audience	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people listen, understand and adapt to their audience.
Negotiates persuasively	Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people negotiate persuasively.

Communicates with influence

Manager behaviours

Communicates clearly

Communicates clearly – draws on corporate change and communication strategies and support material.

Delivers corporate messages in a confident, consistent and supportive manner.

Listens to their people and demonstrate that they value their contribution.

Holds regular team meetings with immediate reports and shares information openly – provides opportunity for questions.

Listens, understands and adapts to audience

Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people listen, understand and adapt to their audience.

Negotiates persuasively

Exemplifies all elements of this capability to ensure their people negotiate persuasively.

Last updated: 31 July, 2008