Informational

1. Role: Monitor

Activity: Seek and acquire work-related information

Examples: Scan/read trade press, periodicals, reports; attend seminars and training; maintain personal contacts

2. Role: Disseminator

Activity: Communicate/ disseminate information to others within the organization

Examples: Send memos and reports; inform staffers and subordinates of decisions

3. Role: Spokesperson

Activity: Communicate/transmit information to outsiders

Examples: Pass on memos, reports and informational materials; participate in conferences/meetings and report progress

Interpersonal

1. Role: Figurehead

Activity: Perform social and legal duties, act as symbolic leader

Examples: Greet visitors, sign legal documents, attend ribbon cutting ceremonies, host receptions, etc.

2. Role: Leader

Activity: Direct and motivate subordinates, select and train employees

Examples: Includes almost all interactions with subordinates

3. Role: Liaison

Activity: Establish and maintain contacts within and outside the organization

Examples: Business correspondence, participation in meetings with representatives of other divisions or organizations.

Decisional

1. Role: Entrepreneur

Activity: Identify new ideas and initiate improvement projects

Examples: Implement innovations; Plan for the future

2. Role: Disturbance Handler

Activity: Deals with disputes or problems and takes corrective action

Examples: Settle conflicts between subordinates; Choose strategic alternatives; Overcome crisis situations

3. Role: Resource Allocator

Activity: Decide where to apply resources

Examples: Draft and approve of plans, schedules, budgets; Set priorities

4. Role: Negotiator

Activity: Participates in negotiation activities with other organizations and individuals.

In the real world, these roles overlap and a manager must learn to balance them in order to manage effectively. While a manager’s work can be analyzed by these individual roles, in practice they are intermixed and interdependent. According to Mintzberg: “The manager who only communicates or only conceives never gets anything done, while the manager who only ‘does’ ends up doing it all alone.”

Reference:

http://management.atwork-network.com/2008/04/15/mintzberg’s-10-managerial-roles/