How to Become the Best Manager
The reality: being a manager is a bit difficult. A manager is responsible for managing and working from head to toe. How to become the best manager is not difficult, but it takes courage and persistence.
Managers have the following tasks: achieve goals or objectives by managing staff; plan and evaluate activities within his department. Maintain staff and recruit, select, direct, and train employees. Ensuring a safe, secure and legal work environment as well as developing personal growth opportunities. Overall, it is a great feeling to reach for a job that is satisfying. Let’s start with a quick guide on how to become the best manager:
1. Be a good coach
A manager must always be behind his team. He/she must help the team move forward and overcome the trials that arise, but also congratulate her in moments of success. Employees appreciate having a manager present, taking time for them. He must always be there to give feedback on the work accomplished, not only to new employees but also to those who have been with the company for a longer time. Each person needs to be encouraged, to receive advice and keys to face future tasks. Employees also like managers who “challenge” them, who give them (achievable) objectives to achieve and who analyze their progression curve with them.
2. Do not micro-manage
Micro-management is one of the most common mistakes made by managers (read also other managers’ mistakes). Instead of trusting his employees, the micro-manager oversees and oversees every small task excessively. He also has a hard time delegating or drowning his associates under a ton of details and instructions. The micro-manager also has difficulty listening and employees rarely have the right to speak. The problem is that most micro-managers are totally in denial and often cite a framework or the need to control everything because their employees are not up to the task. Unfortunately, this discourages and frustrates employees who feel controlled and must constantly justify their actions. You have to find a good balance between watching and supporting your team and leaving enough room for them to thrive and take initiatives on their own.
Read also: 3 Styles of Managements | The essential qualities of a good manager
3. Caring about the well-being of employees
This is a fundamental concern today. Managers must be concerned with the quality of life at work but also with happiness at work. This is a major issue. When a team is not feeling well or the working conditions are not favorable, it is difficult to create a positive synergy and to obtain good performance from the employees. Many studies now point to the link between pleasure at work and performance. An employee who feels good will be less sick, less absent or even much more loyal.
New function has appeared: happiness manager. It creates pleasant working conditions in which workers will be able to evolve while feeling good. It must also implement a positive corporate culture and create a bond to include employees in the life of the company. The happiness manager also takes care of all the decisions to be made in terms of schedule arrangements, teleworking, team cohesion etc.
4. Be productive and results oriented
The manager must of course be there to set goals and give his team the means to achieve them. But he must also lead by example. Indeed, as a manager, you are a model for your team. If you ask them to give the best of themselves but don’t do it yourself, it won’t work. The same logic applies to productivity. You must embody all the values of the company and apply to yourself the things that you demand of your employees.
5. Communicate well
Communication is the key, we will probably never repeat it enough. And above all, this is the basis for being a good manager. You need to make sure that all decisions are communicated and in the right way. But also conversely, you need to escalate any issues your team has encountered to the business leader. Communication really needs to be a two-way street so that employees are aware of all changes and their reasons, but the boss is also aware of the state of mind and challenges of their teams.
6. Give clear goals
Only half of the employees would have a clear and precise idea of their functions and the expectations of their boss. In order for workers to take initiatives and perform well, clear guidelines must be defined. Indeed, if they know where they are going and what the specific goals are, they can empower themselves to achieve them. There is an enormous amount of energy lost when the instructions given are not clear or well defined. (And here is Steve Jobs’ advice for good management)
7. Have a clear vision and strategy
This is a point that may seem obvious but it is not always. A good leader’s plan should always be able to answer three questions: where to go (this is the vision), how to get there (this is the strategy) and how to implement it (this is the implementation). These three elements should be crystal clear and presented to your team. She needs to know what the short and long term goal of the business is and the strategy chosen to get there.
So she/he can implement it and implement it on a day-to-day basis. If goals aren’t clear or constantly change, your people will feel like they’re in constant limbo, preventing them from focusing full-time on those goals. You also have to show how these changes will allow the business to prosper and “convince” your team of their merits. A team convinced by strategy will always move faster than a team that questions its effectiveness.
8. Knowing how to make decisions and execute
A good manager must know how to make decisions and not procrastinate. Be careful, however: deciding in a hurry is not always the ideal solution. You have to know how to take a step back and not do it on impulse because a decision made under the influence of anger or stress is not always the best. In difficult situations, it is better to allow yourself time to regain control of your emotions and take the necessary distance. Sometimes getting out of your position and looking at the situation from the outside can help. For example, imagine if a friend came to ask you for advice in such a case, what would you say? Moreover, binary solutions are rarely good, nothing is ever all white or all black. Considering a less drastic solution is often preferable. And one thing you shouldn’t forget: anticipate the potential repercussions.
These are some of the questions you should actually consider when you are in a managerial role and want to know how to be the best manager
Are you part of the hiring decision?
Are you considered to be providing performance reviews?
Do you delegate tasks?
Are you responsible for making decisions by letting them know. other people what should they do? If the answer is yes to all of this then you are entirely in a managerial position. But are you a good manager or a bad manager?
Sources: PinterPandai, Harvard Business Review, The HR Director, Celarity, ProofHub
Photo credit: Pixabay
