It’s often said that people don’t leave jobs, they leave bad managers. Poor management can impact badly on employee retention, and it can also reduce engagement and damage productivity levels. Learning to be a good leader is a very important skill. Here are the top tips to become, and stay, a great manager.
- Be caring. Caring is the most unexpected but the most powerful trait for a manager to have. People want to know that their bosses care about them. Exploiting labor to the greatest possible level might have once been the goal in the workplace, but now you have a better chance of succeeding if you embrace a healthier office culture. A MEWA insurance plan can help you to more effectively care for employee wellbeing.
- Be self-aware. If a boss can develop their self-awareness, they will also be able to develop their social awareness. With better social awareness, a boss will be better able to pick up on the more subtle nuances of disengagement.
- Don’t micromanage. In many cases, bosses feel that if they can control every part of the process, then they are being a good boss. This is not the case, as staff feel micromanaged. A better solution is to communicate clearly with your staff and coach them towards communal goals. Managers can really improve their effectiveness if they work from the outcome and coach towards that, rather than managing the process.
- Talk to your employees. Communicate all the time. Be transparent with your team. It’s essential that your team trust you, as trust is the foundation of a strong relationship. Give feedback to your team often, and not just through formal evaluation processes. Be personal. Find out what your employee’s career goals are and help them towards them.
- Mend relationships by talking. If you have a poor working relationship with someone on your team, then clear communication is the best way to fix it. Have a conversation with the person. Be personal and bring in emotion. Ask how they’re feeling, and directly address the tension you have between you. Tell them you are working to be a better leader and would appreciate any feedback that they have for you. Take their feedback, and try not to take it personally, and use what they tell you to develop your management skills and style.
- Be strategic and kind. The best leaders are a blend of kind and strategic. If a leader is purposeful and has a strong vision and a capacity for systems thinking, this is best accompanied by humility and selflessness to make you the best leader you can be.
- Be yourself and encourage your staff to be themselves too. Many people wear a mask to work, and act a though we are the people we think we need to be in order to succeed. This is not very healthy and adds pressure that isn’t needed. Be yourself, and allow your team to bring their true personalities to work as well. Get to know each other as people.
