What makes a good manager?
Managers play an integral role in the success of any business, but what makes a good manager and what sets them apart from the rest?
Being a manager can be rewarding as well as stressful, and daunting. There is a quote that sums up the role perfectly: “A good manager is not a person who can do the work better than their team, they are a person who can get his team to do the work better than they can.” - Frederick W. Smith. A good manager is someone who can lead, delegate, and inspire their workforce.
Management can be seen as a thankless job due to the manager needing to keep the balance of the employee’s requirements and needs, the business’ goals and aspirations. But of course, this is easier said than done and this role can be stressful and in some cases not very rewarding.
Responsibility and respect
Most employees aspire to become a manager but many new to the role of manager do not carry out enough research to find out what is needed to be a good manager. You can’t just acquire the title and expect to be good at the role, work needs to be put in and the foundation must be laid in order to become a great manager. It’s understandable why so many want to move into management for career progression but with that comes added responsibility. If you want to become a good manager then you should also understand that you need to earn respect from your team and that takes time.
A combination of attributes
There isn’t a single attribute that turns an average manager into a good one. No, it is a combination of skills and ability that are needed. Good managers are seen to offer clarity and vision to a team and that is why you must define every goal that is set. Don’t be a vague manager and feel frustrated when your workers have potentially misinterpreted something you have set. As a manager you need to be great at communicating your point across but simultaneously not over explaining yourself and making your workforce feel inadequate.
A good manager will be able to line up organisational purpose with the goals of the team. When a business goes through a period of change they inform and guide their team accordingly. Companies these days need to be able to change quickly and smoothly, they need to be dynamic for the longevity of their business and the managers need to be able to see this through and make sure everything is going to plan.
Effective delegation is key
Another quality a manager needs is to be able to delegate the tasks evenly and effectively. Handing out tasks shouldn’t just be random, careful thought needs to be put in. Which employee is going to be able to handle it best? How will this employee fair with this task? There’s no point giving out a task that suits a certain employee’s skill set to someone who potentially doesn’t know where to start on the task. A good manager will know their employee’s strengths and weaknesses so then they can delegate effectively.
Clarity in setting goals
Setting clear goals of your business and expectations of your workers is needed if you are going to be a good manager. A recent survey showed that 42% of employees said that unclear goals from management is their biggest source of stress when it comes to work. Nobody wants to put time into a project that they aren’t too sure what to do with. Having a clear view of what you need to do and how you are going to achieve it eliminates this stress and it’s not that hard to do. A good manager won’t give vague instructions, a good manager will explain exactly what needs to be done leaving no room for any form of ambiguity. Many managers use the SMART method of goal setting.
This acronym stands for:
Specific – Well defined, clear and unambiguous
Measurable – Must be able to measure progress towards accomplishment
Achievable – Must be doable and not unattainable
Realistic – Within reach and relevant
Timely – A defined start date and target date.
What to avoid
Sometimes it is equally important to focus on what good managers don’t do. Never micromanage your workers, employees want a level of freedom with their job and want their managers to feel confident enough in their skills to let them crack on with their work. By micromanaging you can end up accidentally making your employees feel uneasy and in turn this won’t do much good for your popularity but more importantly it can have a detrimental effect on productivity.
Furthermore, don’t spoon-feed solutions to problems for your employees. Let them work it out, allow them to fine-tune their skills and attributes and that way they will be able to resolve the trickiest of problems without you having to help out and waste valuable time.
Managers are held responsible for the business’ successes and also failures. Project failures are pretty much solely placed on the manager even though when successes occur the credit is usually given and spread throughout the whole team. Being a manager can be rewarding but it can also be the opposite. So, if you’ve been offered a management role then make sure you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses to see if you have the qualities needed to succeed – and remember to strengthen where you need to.
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