Jory MacKay on November 26, 2025 How to master the four functions of management
Becoming a manager is an exciting step up on the career ladder for most people — but it also comes with a whole host of new responsibilities, tasks, and additional stress.
Nearly half of managers report feeling stressed out from trying to balance their own workload with providing support to their team.
Rather than trying to find some secret or complex corporate theory, it’s best to go back to the basics with the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
By understanding and applying these functions, you can move from feeling reactive and overwhelmed to proactive and in control.
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What are the four functions of management?
The four functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling) describe the key responsibilities and skills required to be a great manager.
These core management fundamentals were first identified by a French mining engineer named Henri Fayol in the early 20th century. He was one of the first people to analyze management as a distinct set of skills that could be learned and developed.
Fayol argued that no matter the industry or the size of the company, all managers perform the same fundamental activities to achieve their goals.
These four functions are:
- Planning: Deciding on the objectives and the course of action to achieve them.
- Organizing: Coordinating the resources—people, tools, and budget—to execute the plan.
- Leading: Motivating, guiding, and inspiring the team to perform at their best.
- Controlling: Monitoring progress against the plan and making adjustments as needed.
These functions aren’t a checklist, they’re a continuous cycle. You plan a project, organize the resources, lead the team through execution, and control the outcomes.
The outcomes then inform your next round of planning, and the process begins again.
Understanding this framework is essential for any new manager because it:
- Provides a clear structure for your role. Knowing your core responsibilities gives you a mental map for what you should be focusing on and when.
- Helps you prioritize. You can better distinguish between urgent day-to-day tasks and important strategic activities.
- Ensures balance. A broad understanding of all of your potential tasks helps prevent you from getting stuck in one area (like constant planning) at the expense of others (like leading your team).
- Guides you toward proactive leadership. Instead of just fighting fires, this framework encourages you to anticipate challenges and build systems for success.
- Helps you stay in control. Having a framework ensures you and your team stay aligned, helping you stay calm under pressure, reduce stress, and avoid burnout.
The four functions of management explained (with examples)
While this system probably seems overly basic compared to other management styles or processes, it’s a mistake to overlook it. Instead, a solid grasp of each of the four functions of management gives you the foundation you need to help your team succeed.
Let’s take a deeper dive into each function, the key responsibilities and skills associated with it, and how they apply to your role as a project manager or team lead.
The four functions of management offer a timeless blueprint to help you stay grounded.
Planning: Setting objectives and planning your course of action
Planning is the foundation of everything else. It’s where you define what you want to achieve and how you’re going to get there. Without a solid plan, your team is just a group of people doing tasks without a shared purpose. A good plan aligns everyone and provides a roadmap to follow.
Key responsibilities:
- Setting clear, measurable, and achievable goals (for example, by using the SMART framework)
- Forecasting and prioritizing future needs, opportunities, and risks
- Developing strategies and action plans to meet objectives
- Creating budgets and allocating financial resources
- Defining the scope of a project or initiative
Skills to help you succeed in planning:
| Skill | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic thinking | The ability to see the big picture and connect your team's work to the company's wider goals, rather than just focusing on tactical tasks. | Instead of just assigning tasks for a new website launch, you step back and first define the project goals, objectives, and scope, to form a 90-day plan. |
| Data analysis | Using performance metrics and historical data to make informed forecasts and decisions. | You analyze data from your last three projects to set a realistic budget and timeline for the next one. |
| Risk management | Proactively identifying potential problems that could derail your plan and developing contingency plans. | You identify that a key developer leaving is a major risk to your project timeline, so you plan to cross-train another team member. |
| Decision making | The ability to evaluate different options and choose the most effective course of action. | When faced with a choice between two software vendors, you methodically compare cost, features, and support, to come to an objective decision. |
Organizing: Structuring and coordinating resources
Once you have a plan, the next step is to organize your resources to make it happen. This is about creating structure: who will do what, what tools do they need, and how will everyone work together?
Project management tools like Planio help you organize your project’s tasks, goals, and objectives. This way there’s no confusion about what needs to get done, when, and by whom.
Key responsibilities:
- Designing governance, workflows, and processes
- Defining roles and responsibilities for each team member
- Delegating tasks effectively based on skills and workload
- Allocating resources like people, equipment, and technology
- Establishing communication channels within the team and with stakeholders
Skills to help you succeed in organizing:
| Skill | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Process mapping | The ability to visualize and document workflows to identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. | You set up a Kanban board to visualize your team’s work, identifying bottlenecks and supporting workload management. |
| Delegation | Setting clear roles and responsibilities, then trusting your team and giving them the autonomy to complete their work. | Instead of reviewing every single line of code yourself, you delegate code reviews to your senior developers, empowering them and freeing up your time. |
| Communication | Clearly explaining roles, responsibilities, and expectations to ensure everyone is aligned, and create mechanisms to stay up to date and collaborate as a team. | You create a project communication plan to outline who gets what information, when, and in what format, preventing miscommunication. |
| Resource management | Effectively assigning and managing your available resources to maximize productivity. | You use a shared resource calendar to track team availability, ensuring you don’t overcommit your designer to too many tasks at the same time. |
Leading: Motivating and inspiring team members
Leading is the human side of management. You can have the best plan and the most organized structure in the world, but without effective leadership, your team won’t be motivated to perform—- this is the difference between being a manager and a leader.
Leading is about influencing, inspiring, and guiding your team toward the shared vision you established in the planning phase.
Key responsibilities:
- Communicating the vision and goals to the team
- Motivating and inspiring team members to do their best work
- Coaching and developing individual skills and careers
- Resolving conflicts and fostering a positive team culture
- Recognizing and rewarding good performance
Skills to help you succeed in Leading:
| Skill | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional intelligence (EQ) | The ability to understand your emotions and the emotions of others to guide your communication and management style. | You notice a team member seems disengaged and stressed. Instead of ignoring it, you have a private conversation, understand their challenges, and put actions in place to resolve them. |
| Active listening | Genuinely hearing what your team members are saying (and not saying) to understand their perspectives and concerns. | During a daily stand-up, a developer says their task is "fine" but you pick up on their hesitant tone. You follow up with them one-on-one and discover they’re stuck on a technical issue they were afraid to mention. |
| Coaching | Helping team members grow by providing constructive feedback and guidance rather than just giving orders. | A junior project manager struggles with running meetings effectively. Instead of taking over, you coach them on creating an agenda and facilitating discussion. |
| Conflict resolution | The ability to mediate disagreements and find solutions that work for everyone involved. | After two team members disagree on the best technical approach for a new feature, you facilitate a discussion where both can present their views and guide them to a collaborative agreement. |
Controlling: Monitoring progress and making adjustments
Controlling is about making sure everything is on track. It involves monitoring performance, comparing it against the plan, and making corrective adjustments when things go off course.
This function closes the loop, providing the data and insights you need for future planning. But remember, effective control isn’t about micromanagement; it’s about visibility and agility.
For example, Planio includes powerful Agile metrics and charts to show you if your project is progressing as planned or if you’re running into scope creep, resource limitations, or other common issues.
Key responsibilities:
- Setting performance standards and key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Monitoring progress against goals and deadlines
- Conducting quality assurance checks
- Analyzing variances between the plan and actual results
- Providing feedback and implementing corrective actions
Skills to help you succeed in Controlling:
| Skill | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical skills | The ability to interpret data and performance metrics to identify trends and the root causes of problems. | You review the project’s milestone tracker and see that the team is falling behind schedule. You analyze the data to pinpoint which tasks are taking longer than estimated. |
| Attention to detail | Noticing small deviations from the plan before they become major issues. | You review a draft of a Project Sponsor update pack and catch a small but critical data error that could have caused unnecessary concerns. |
| Problem-solving | Identifying the root cause of an issue and implementing an effective solution. | After discovering the project is behind schedule, you facilitate a team brainstorming session to find ways to get back on track, such as re-prioritizing tasks or simplifying a feature. |
| Constructive feedback | Communicating performance issues clearly and supportively, focusing on improvement rather than blame. | You need to address a team member’s missed deadlines. You schedule a one-on-one and say, "I’ve noticed you've missed the last two deadlines. Let's talk about what's getting in the way and how I can help you." |
How to become a better manager using the four functions
The best managers are constantly looking for ways to improve their skills. Here are some simple, attainable ways you can start strengthening each of the four functions right away.
How to improve your planning skills
Planning is a mix of data and people, ensuring you use all the information at your fingertips to lay out the best path possible. Then, once you’re happy, engage your stakeholders and team to bring everyone on board.
- Use data to build a plan: Use performance data from your project management tool, CRM, or analytics software to create a project plan with data-backed timelines, budgets, and resource forecasts.
- Involve stakeholders early: Compile a list of your key stakeholders and schedule a kickoff call and/or one-on-one meetings. You should also make sure the stakeholders sign off on your project documentation, including a project charter, scope document, and stakeholder management plan.
- Revisit plans regularly: Schedule recurring weekly or biweekly meetings with your team to review progress against the plan. Use what you learn in these meetings to update project plans, risk logs, and stakeholder communications plans.
How to improve your organizing skills
Organizing is all about getting the right people in the right place to maximize your chances of success. Create structures, define workflows, and document key ways of working to get yourself set up.
- Document key processes: Take time with your team to map out recurring workflows (such as bug fixes or content publishing). Make sure to store these workflows as a simple flowchart or checklist in a shared space (like a Planio Wiki) that anyone on the team can find.
- Clarify roles and responsibilities: List out team members with key project tasks. Using a template like a RACI chart (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) can eliminate confusion about who is supposed to do what.
- Create a resource management plan: Document both human and technical resources that your project needs to succeed. Make a plan to acquire, allocate, and reallocate resources throughout the project.
How to improve your leading skills
As we mentioned earlier on, leading is all about the human side of being a manager, building strong relationships that inspire trust and connection across the team.
- Build trust through transparency: Get an understanding of how your team wants to work together. An “open-door” culture where team members have psychological safety, can provide the confidence to raise issues and provide honest feedback without fear.
- Lead by example: Define your own management style, and set non-negotiables for how you’ll work everyday. You can set the tone with your team by role-modeling the values, actions, and behaviors you expect (e.g., meeting deadlines, communicating respectfully).
- Invest in team development: Use regular one-on-one meetings to understand each team member’s career goals and skill gaps. Then, create a personal development plan for each team member with clear goals for training, mentoring, or taking on new challenges.
How to improve your controlling skills
As you move through your work, the controlling function will become essential for spotting when things are going off track. As a manager, you have to be careful here, ensuring you keep control without drifting into micromanagement territory.
- Use project management tools: Planio provides a clear and actionable project dashboard, Agile charts and progress reports, and collaborative tools like chat and file-sharing to give you visibility into all of the critical aspects of your project.
- Set clear benchmarks: Your initial project plan should have clearly defined goals, milestones, and KPIs. However, at regular intervals, it’s important to sit down with your team to monitor performance, using data-driven metrics to keep things objective and minimize emotion.
- Act quickly on performance issues: Your project management tool and KPIs should inform regular check-ins with your team. Don’t be afraid to step in on problems early. It’s better to solve a small problem with effective feedback, then be stuck dealing with a project-derailing crisis.
Common mistakes new managers make (and how to avoid them)
As you start applying these functions, it’s easy to fall into a few common traps. Being aware of them is the first step to avoiding them. Here are the mistakes we see most frequently, and some expert tips to avoid them:
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Focusing too much on one function. Some managers love to plan but hesitate to lead. Others are great at leading but neglect the controlling function. | How to avoid it: Consciously review your week. Have you spent time on all four areas? If you’ve been stuck in planning meetings all week, make sure you schedule time to check in with your team (Leading) and review progress (Controlling). |
| Micromanaging instead of organizing and leading. This often comes from a fear of letting go of the work you used to do. You end up telling people how to do everything instead of clarifying what needs to be done and trusting them to do it. | How to avoid it: Focus on outcomes, not activities. Delegate tasks clearly and give your team the autonomy to find their own solutions. |
| Avoiding difficult conversations. It’s uncomfortable to give negative feedback or address conflict, so many new managers put it off. Ultimately, this hurts team morale and performance and will create bigger problems down the line. | How to avoid it: Reframe feedback as a tool for growth, not criticism. Use frameworks like the "Situation-Behavior-Impact" model to keep feedback objective and constructive. |
| Ignoring data when making decisions. Going with your "gut" can be tempting, but it’s often unreliable and can lead to biased decisions. | How to avoid it: Make a habit of asking, "What data do we have to support this?" and use trusted decision-making frameworks to come to an objective solution that removes your own bias. |
| Not adapting to change. A plan is a guide, not a sacred text. Sticking to a plan that is clearly not working because you’re afraid to change course is a recipe for disaster. | How to avoid it: Build regular reviews into your process (Controlling) and create a culture where the team feels safe pointing out when the plan isn’t working. |
Being a good manager isn’t about being perfect — it’s about learning, adapting, and growing alongside your team.
The bottom line: Management is a constantly evolving role
Being a good manager isn’t about being perfect — it’s about learning, adapting, and growing alongside your team.
The four functions of management offer a timeless blueprint to help you stay grounded. They are your compass for navigating the complexities of your new role, helping you build a high-performing team and deliver outstanding results.
At Planio, we know that great managers need great tools to help them. That’s why we’ve built a platform that supports all four functions of management, including:
- Project Planning with Gantt charts and roadmaps
- Organizing tasks and workflows with agile project management features
- Controlling with real-time progress reporting, notifications, and dashboard
- Communication and collaboration that make Leading with confidence simple.
Try Planio with your own team, free for 30 days (no credit card required!)
