So you’ve been given a leadership role, do you really know what you should be doing? If you are in any doubt, have a read through the points below to see if there’s anything you could do to make yourself a super manager.
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- Make Time for Your Team – Listening to your team is essential. It helps you find out the strengths and weaknesses of your team members, it allows you to find out what gripes and issues they may have and they could just give you the solution to a difficult problem you’ve been dealing with.
- Be Hands On – Be prepared to get stuck in. Don’t expect your team to do anything that you would not do yourself. One of the best managers I ever had managed a small sandwich shop – he was the first to start a job and was always super enthusiastic about the work. Once we were stuck in, he would then move off and do something else, leaving us to complete the job. Of course, I am not suggesting that as a manager you should micromanage your team and be at the heart of everything – you’ll have more important things to attend to. But, the example shows the attitude you should have towards the work you ask your staff to do.
- Keep Some Distance – It’s great to be best friends with your staff, until there comes a time when you have to discipline them – that’s when issues may arise. They may not take you seriously, especially if you are usually larking about with them. It’ll be hard to get them to listen to what you have to say. So, it’s best to keep a little distance between you and the people you have to manage.
- Give Plenty of Feedback and Praise – If one of your staff does something really well – tell them. It keeps moral high and lets them know that they are doing a good job. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just simply saying ‘good job’ is all it takes. Likewise, if a member of staff is doing something wrong, it is your job to tell them and put them back on the right track.
- Don’t Hurry Recruitment – This is important. Why? Because rushing recruitment can lead to a disaster. You may end up with someone who is not suited to the work, your other staff or the environment. Hiring someone quickly may seem like the best thing to do when you are short-handed, but, in the long run, it’s best to take your time and make sure the person you choose to fill the role is the best one for the job.
- Learn to Delegate – You cannot do everything yourself – learning and understanding this is one of the fundamentals of being a manager. You need to trust your staff to do things right and let them get on with it. After all, you’ll never have the time to do everything yourself.
- Understand Motivation – Learning what motivates your staff is a real bonus and you’ll often find it’s is more than money for most people. Working in a happy, positive environment is important – your staff do spend a lot of time at work, so being happy is vital for productivity. As is feeling appreciated for the work you ask them to do.
- Define Goals – Make sure you know how to set goals for your staff. If they don’t have clear goals to aim for, they will be directionless and productivity will drop. Goals also make great motivators – there’s no better feeling than reaching a goal that’s been set.
- Walk the Talk – This means setting an example. If you expect your staff to refrain from making personal calls in work time, then you should do the same. You should be a role model for them, staying late if they need to stay late, not eating at your desk if company policy states that’s how it should be. It is a mistake to think that being a manager means you can break the rules – if your staff see you doing this they will see no reason why they should not break them too.
As always, if you have any other tips or hints for managers, do let me know so I can pass them on.
