How To Become A General Manager

Perhaps you’ve noticed the recent trend of news directors becoming general managers. It’s noticeable because for the past 15 years or so the new GM ranks have been dominated by sales managers although a few news directors and creative services directors have shown up here and there. The path through sales continues to be the easiest route to the top and probably always will be, but if you are a department head in another area and aspire to run a station, this column is for you.

Leading a television station seems simple from the outside, but it’s a complex job that requires balancing many competing interests to reach a few common goals. No matter what you hear about ratings, awards and innovation, it really does come down to consistently achieving the bottom line. GMs who make their profit goals keep their jobs. Those who do not don’t last long. This is the first and most important rule of running a station.

That does not mean the bottom line is achieved by squeezing expenses and emphasizing sales over everything else. Many have tried that approach and their stations have suffered from it. An outstanding news operation, high morale, great community relations and the willingness to sometimes put coverage and public safety before sales, are essential to long-term profit, so just saving every penny does not work. The trick is to know where to invest and where to save.

The best general managers have a vision for their station’s future and work daily to get buy-in from their staff. Success or failure of the leader’s vision shows up in every function of the station, including the bottom line. The best-in-class managers also grow new leaders, allowing department heads to do their jobs without micromanagement.

I could go on, but you get the idea. General managers are the big thinkers who lead their stations. I’ve written a book on the subject if you want to dig deeper.

So, why do group owners usually promote general sales managers to the top job? Part of the reason is that owners assume sales managers will at least understand how to maintain revenue, which is never an easy task. Another reason is that GSMs are already responsible for producing the sales half of the operating budget. That should make learning the expense side of the ledger somewhat easier.

Sales managers also spend a lot of time interacting with their general managers, as well as time with group heads, so that keeps them visible, which is a huge advantage. They travel to see clients, which broadens their outlook. And don’t forget that most group heads came out of sales themselves, so they have a natural comfort with other salespeople. Smart sales managers use all these opportunities to build their personal brands.

So, is sales experience a prerequisite? Absolutely not. I didn’t come out of sales, nor did many other GMs, not to mention more than one group head, so don’t think that is the only route. News directors, creative services directors, business managers and even chief engineers have successfully made the leap, so if you want the job badly enough you can, too.

One way to get started is to tell your GM about your ambition and ask for his or her help. No one is more important to your future career than your current GM. Understand that the better you perform the job you have now, the more likely your GM will help advance your career. Ask for advice and follow it, then ask for a short, regular meeting each week to get the GM’s thoughts on various aspects of running a station. The more the GM talks, the more you will learn.

Next, dig into sales. Find an ambitious sales manager and ask for help, offering to return the favor in your area. Make this person your best friend because you want all the nitty-gritty detail. This will also be of value in your current job, especially if you are a news director or CSD.

Don’t stop with the general manager and sales manager. You must understand something about accounting, engineering and every other function in your station, in some cases even more than your GM knows. GMs who say technology is a mystery are copping out, so understand that area, too, because it’s getting more important every day.

A note of caution: Don’t announce your ambition to the other department heads because they might see you as arrogant. Much better to say you can do your job better if you understand theirs, which is absolutely true as well as a good way to advance working relationships.

By the way, sales managers who hope to become general managers are well advised to take these same steps. Demonstrating an understanding of how a station works always makes a candidate look good.

After you’ve done all this, it’s time to distinguish yourself. You need to create something that moves forward the mission of the station. It could be a fresh idea or a change in practice. Once you’ve figured that out and successfully done it, write a report to your GM. The GM will submit the report to corporate, which will make both of you look good.

At some point, based on your GM’s guidance, you need to let the corporate decision-makers know how you have prepared yourself and why. Hopefully, your GM will have already filled in the appropriate people, but one thing is for sure. You won’t get a general management job unless you ask for it.

These ideas are just a start and not the only ways to get the top job, but I’ve seen them work for many people over the years. However you decide to go about it, create a plan and give yourself a hard timetable. Otherwise, the press of daily functions will cause life to march on.

Finally, only pursue a GM’s position if you really want to take on that level of responsibility. I was on call 24 hours a day for 30 years. Do you want to deal with that? How about corporate pressure when things are not going well? Handling tough HR issues including terminating people? Sometimes putting your career on the line for things you believe in and many more difficult situations?

The job is not for everyone, so make sure you do gut checks along the way because to achieve success you must love coming to work every day. Without that, not much else matters.

Hank Price is a media consultant. His second book, Leading Local Television, has become a standard text for television general managers. In a 30-year general management career, Price led TV stations for Hearst, CBS and Gannett, including WBBM Chicago, KARE Minneapolis, WVTM Birmingham, Ala., and both WXII and WFMY in Greensboro/Winston Salem, N.C. Earlier, he was a consultant with Frank N. Magid Associates. Price also spent 15 years as senior director of Northwestern University’s Media Management Center. He is currently director of leadership development for the School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss.