Managerial role

A managerial role (hereinafter, the Role) is any role that managers play. The Role is a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to managers.

Definition

According to Management by Robbins and Coulter (14th edition),

Managerial role. A specific action or behavior expected of and exhibited by a manager.

Classification

Henry Mintzberg studied actual managers and concluded that what managers do can best be described by looking at the Roles they engage in at work.

Decision-making

Main wikipage: Decisional role

A decisional role is the Role that revolves around making choices. Henry Mintzberg identified the following four decisional roles: negotiator, resource allocator, disturbance handler, and entrepreneur.

Level	Decisional role
Non‑manager	Negotiator	Rarely, allocator	Disturbance handler	Rarely, visionary or entrepreneur
Frontline		Resource allocator
Middle
Top				Visionary or entrepreneur

Interpersonal relationships

Main wikipage: Interpersonal role

An interpersonal role is the Role that involves people and other duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature. Henry Mintzberg identified the following three interpersonal roles: figurehead, leader, and liaison.

Level	Interpersonal role
Non‑manager	Rarely, figurehead	Rarely, influencer	Liaison
Frontline	Figurehead	Influencer
Middle
Top

The transfer of information

Main wikipage: Informational role

An informational role is the Role that involves collecting, receiving, and disseminating information. Henry Mintzberg identified the following three informational roles: monitor, disseminator, and spokeperson.

Level	Informational role
Non‑manager	Monitor	Disseminator	Rarely, spokeperson
Frontline
Middle			Spokeperson
Top