10 Pieces of Advice on Becoming a Better Manager

Being a manager is very challenging. Your main job is to get the best possible results out of everyone in your organization. This means you need to master aligning people and resources to achieve goals, making tough and complex decisions, while being “as cool as a cucumber”, open for communication and always with a genius solution up your sleeves.

However, very often busy professionals do not invest enough time in building their leadership skills.

A recent Gallup survey found that 70 percent of a team’s engagement depends on the manager, highlighting why professionals should know how to guide and coordinate the actions of their colleagues to achieve results.

Tough spot to be in.

No wonder how much stress this position produces, having in mind that the manager is responsible for so many things. From the well-being of the employees to the production and success of a team. He is the one everyone will point fingers if anything goes wrong.

So, let’s see what are the skills required for every manager to get, have and nurture.

First, he has to be collaborative. Every person within the team must feel respected, heard and valued. For this to become reality, a manager must demonstrate passion and positivity, along with some compassion and understanding. Remember, a manager embodies a company culture.

He simply has to be growth-oriented. Every good manager must focus on helping his employees’ progress. Both individually and collectively. You can get there by supporting the development of a person on your team if it isn’t strictly connected to a business outcome. This will create a bond between you and it will be easier to work on identifying and removing obstacles so your employees can perform at their best. And that means growth.

Of course, an excellent manager must be an excellent communicator, as well. Communication is the key to everything, no need to repeat that. It is only natural that it is vital for good managing. A team leader must set clear expectations, be transparent, and establish guidelines.

Also, he must be impact-driven. Everyone wants to be valued. It’s the one thing we can rely on in this ever-changing world. That is the only way to keep employees motivated. A good manager will get to know each team member’s strengths and where they need extra support. That is why we are starting our tips for better management with people, and what can you do in that department. As someone wise said: company, that’s people.

1. HIRE WISELY

Since the plan is wrong, people have to be right.

Eric Schmidt, Google Exclusive Chairman

Who you hire, matters more than the plans you make. Make sure you hire the right people who can face any challenge that arises along the way. If you gather a team made of people who can quickly make a sound decision from day to day activities to crisis situations, with just a little of your couching, guiding and empowering, all of you will be a killing machine. And that is more important than any degree or appealing business aspect of a candidate. Make the right step in this part of the process, and all the others will be easier – recruit the most adaptable problem solvers you can.

Once you do it, get to know your employees, what they want and what do they strive for. You will achieve to know them on both personal and professional level by nurturing the culture of excellent communication – collectively and one-on-one style. Make sure to be forthcoming with your team, at any point.

2. DELEGATE EVEN MORE WISELY

The best thing you can do on your way of becoming the best manager you can is to effectively delegate two things:

• responsibility of completing assignments
• authority required to get things done

If you do these two properly, you will never have to be the kind of boss who needs to control every little thing. If you delegate works wisely – you can do so much more of really important things and at the same time, you will be developing your employees’ confidence, leadership and work skills.

3. DEFINE A CAREER PATH FOR EACH EMPLOYEE

Talk to each worker and check their progress out. Check-in with every single employee how they are satisfied with their individual professional plan. Ask them about their near-term and long-term career opportunities and commit yourself to help them achieve their full potential. If you don’t, some other manager, from some other organization will, for sure. And you will find yourself recruiting all over again.

4. OUTLINE YOUR GOALS

Set your intentions and document your goals for becoming a better manager.  Write it down because it is proven that those who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them. Goals give you direction and purpose and through outlining yours, you can double-check if you are really working towards the overall organizational goals. Make them specific and measurable, make sure you are familiar with your team member’s goals as well, and then regularly monitor progress.

5. BE UP-TO-DATE

If something happens, you must be the first to know it. This is how you make yourself irreplaceable. Be the person people go to with questions, freely and automatically. If people see you as someone who shares their knowledge readily, you’ll be respected and appreciated.

6. RECOGNIZE ACHIEVEMENTS

Everybody wants to be that person who does the job properly and as close to immaculate as it can get. And when they achieve that goal, they surely want recognition from their bosses. Unfortunately, a business world is full of those leaders who fail to recognize and reward employees for a job well done. Try not to fit into that cliché. It doesn’t take much to earn your team’s respect. Tap on the shoulder, promotion, raise, and bonuses are just a few things one can do to show the organization’s satisfaction with someone’s work.

7. ADAPT

Things always change. Meet those changes, not with resistance, but acceptance and new ideas. Don’t be stuck in old ways of thinking – develop the skill of quick adapting and thinking outside of the box. If you manage to do so, people will come to you for suggestions, making you someone that can be counted on for big ideas.

8. KEEP LEARNING

Never stop being curious and open. Always seek knowledge, even outside of your work skills. Stretch your horizons and leave room for your mind to expand. It will benefit your professional status, your career path and most definitely, it will make you a better person.

9. DON’T TAKE IT ALL TO SERIOUSLY

We are not saying you should bail on all your responsibilities, running a company is a serious business. But, in the end, it’s only a job. Try to spread some positive energy around and make your organization a fun place to work at, where people come in with a smile. Work hard but play hard, as well and you will end up with a more loyal and energized workforce. Plus, you’ll have some fun, too.

10. THE LAST PIECE OF ADVICE

Take a deep breath and trust yourself.