A new employee starts work at entry-level, expected to know what to do automatically. At best, she goes through an on-boarding process that usually does not address her needs to understand how to manage herself in the workplace—no time management, personal mastery or communication skills training. The young lady plods her way through her work life, and when management thinks she has done five years and not killed anybody, she can now be a manager. Again, without much training.
Managers have the power to make or break their organizations. While great leaders encourage their employees to reach their full potential and help their organizations surpass their goals, bad leaders discourage workers to the point they want to leave. Nearly half of the employees who leave jobs do so to get away from their bosses. I guess I have said this often enough. Therefore, it is critical to do everything in your power to ensure that managerial positions are filled with the right people the first time around.
A good manager can lead teams, help them grow, be creative, be dynamic and maintain complete control over their business and team performance at the same time. Managers manage to constantly adapt to new situations, encourage others to reach their full potential, and deliver their best work.
Leading by example is good but not enough. Managers keep their top goals in mind at all times, making sure they and their team never go astray from these targets. They also execute and are self-serving, putting their best effort into conducting their tasks. Above all else, they are focused on developing their leadership skills.
“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them as leaders and continually develops them.” —John Maxwell
A series of shared skills and traits can define whether a manager will succeed and become a true leader instead or just another manager. The following are some of the skills required.
Integrity is fundamental. The moment a team stops believing senior management is telling the truth, things start to fall apart. No worker will follow a boss with any confidence if they’ve come to find out the individual has been dishonest. This behaviour begins to breed a terrible culture.
In an American study, as many as 61% of workers believe that trusting their managers is of supreme importance for employee job satisfaction. Unfortunately, only a much smaller percentage are happy with the level of trust within their company.
In the business world, honesty is critically important. When hiring a manager, look for candidates who understand the importance of openness and transparency. Leading by example, honest managers inspire the rest of their teams to be similarly truthful.
Communication skills are also critical. Poor communication from management is one of the biggest nuisances when it comes to decreasing productivity. A manager who knows what to do but lacks the skills to communicate clearly and succinctly to all parties concerned will not succeed very much. Communication is yet another one of the characteristics of great leaders. The best managers can get their team on the same page so that everyone works toward the same objective—not millions of different interpretations of that objective.
Managers need to be able to communicate verbally. But the best ones are also able to communicate via the written word just as effectively.
Whether they work for themselves or manage enormous departments, in addition to routine decisions, all managers have to make tough choices regularly. Decisiveness is, therefore, another essential trait.
To make your business more efficient, look for candidates who understand that the final decision lies at their desk and are not afraid to act swiftly when the need arises. Strong leaders can make difficult decisions quickly after doing their due diligence and assessing all of their options.
The average person makes as many different decisions every day. Managers probably make at least a few more since a large part of the decision-making process at work falls on their shoulders. Select an indecisive manager, and your company moves more slowly regardless of the company brand.
Decisiveness is one of the best leadership skills everyone should have. According to Brian Tracy, “Decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performing men and women. Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.”
Have a great weekend and spend time evaluating your managers or yourself if you are a manager. This post is the first part of this article. Be sure you and your managers align with these points. enjoy
