Being an effective manager is by no means an easy task. Managers in the workplace have a distinctive role to play with numerous and endlessly changing responsibilities. They must inculcate a high-performance mind set in the employees while fashioning a culture whose foundation encourages teamwork and healthy competitiveness for the betterment of the entire organization. Effective managers know that management is about relationships, performance feedback, asking folks to constantly get better and building organizational competence through delegation among other things. While countless ways exist to help the manager become more efficient and effective at what he or she does, certain skills are basic, without which the journey to effectiveness would remain a far-fetched idea. These basic steps include:
Work on your communication skills: A manager with great communication skills is able to instruct as well as he listens. Managers who can communicate effectively can sort out information and then relate it back to their teams precisely. Effective managers should be able to understand, translate, and communicate the organization’s vision back to their employees in order to maintain productivity.
Build good relationships and rapport: Effective managers should work towards creating personal relationships with their teams. Employees are more likely to surpass expectations when they trust their managers. When managers create a rapport with their employees, it builds trust and makes the employees feel treasured. Building rapport is no easy task. It requires the manager to go beyond being a good listener to being a great one. Managers who listen are quick to comprehend and are responsible enough to proactively tackle urgent needs and requirements to help employees thrive. They are also good at battling difficult employees and situations.
Coach and Delegate: Knowing how to do this ensures that work continues even in your absence. It involves teaching first, and then taking the time to watch and listen. As being a manager involves taking responsibility for the work that those under you produce, it is important to develop a talent for the art of delegating. This requires identifying the qualities that each team member brings to the table and delegating duties appropriately. Effective managers are confident enough to delegate responsibilities among team members, and trust them to deliver.
Inspect what you expect: While trusting your team to deliver on responsibilities, still inspect the job you have delegated as mistakes can occur even among the best employees. Also try to implement a feedback system as this will send a signal to the team that they are being monitored, listened to and taken seriously. Beyond monitoring and receiving feedback, see to it that observations and reports are appropriately attended to.
Be responsive and decisive: Effective managers are not only responsive to what’s going on around them, but also to the needs of their staff. You may not be able to attend to every complaint, mail or observation. However, the least you can do is be attentive. Besides that, being able to take decisions quickly is another skill every manager needs to be effective.
Develop your employees: The best managers know when their employees need more development and training as well as how to ensure those trainings are successful. They invest time to understand the goals of those they manage so they can offer appropriate developmental opportunities. Developing others involves cultivating each individual’s talents, and motivating them to channel those talents toward productivity.
Keep improving yourself: A famous adage states that when you stop learning, you start dying. In order to effectively develop and direct others, managers must seek improvement in themselves. Constantly search for ways to expand and actively gain experience. In addition to experience, make use of worthwhile courses, recognized books and other relevant information that will augment your managerial skills over time. A manager who is willing to learn more and use his natural talents to the best of his ability will be able to encourage the same behaviour in his employees.
To be a manager takes more than being able to deliver on the job. It takes unique leadership skills and several other abilities, some of which have being discussed above. Employees who effortlessly display the listed qualities are sure to be effective and successful managers.
