Differentiating Characteristics of Great Managers
Nothing beats having a terrific boss. Employees who believe their bosses manage them well and equitably are more engaged, productive, and overall happy workers. Employees who believe their boss isn’t doing a good job managing them don’t perform as well and are more likely to leave their present employer. So, what distinguishes a decent manager from a great manager, and can a superior manager be simply built?
The behaviors and characteristics that distinguish outstanding managers from the rest: –
- Hiring wisely: –
The secret to commercial success is surrounding oneself with the right people. Great managers recognize how important it is to be able to trust and have confidence in their workers’ skills to do their tasks successfully, therefore they go above and beyond to guarantee that every new member of the team is the greatest possible candidate.
- Getting to know their neighbors: –
Great managers understand that to effectively manage people, they must first get to know their workers as individuals, study their strengths and limitations, determine what each person requires in terms of management style, and so on. Understanding what makes their team members “click” enables outstanding managers to prepare ahead of time and assign jobs and projects to those they believe will do the greatest job. This is especially crucial for organizations or departments that commonly operate in pairs or groups.
- Creating a good atmosphere: –
Attitudes are contagious, and a manager’s attitude or manner frequently has a considerable impact on the entire workforce. Great managers take additional care not to express any negative feelings they may have about a certain project or assignment to their employees.
- Maintaining open channels of communication: –
Communication is essential for every group’s success. Employees want to feel like they have a say in their jobs or work environments, and it’s critical that every employee feels comfortable talking openly and honestly with management. Great managers go out of their way to ensure that their team members feel comfortable expressing their thoughts or concerns.
- When necessary, get down in the trenches: –
It is an unavoidable fact of business that things will go wrong from time to time, despite everyone’s best efforts. A crucial piece of production-automation gear will fail; a key employee will call in sick on your biggest day; a major client will be furious about something – there is no shortage of potential issues. These crisis situations genuinely differentiate the exceptional from the ordinary. In these instances, smart managers will step in and work right alongside their staff to help keep things moving smoothly, quickly winning their employees’ respect.
- Giving appropriate credit where it is due: –
Employees want to feel appreciated by their company almost as much as they want to have a voice. After all, if no one notices when you go above and above and it doesn’t appear to make a difference, there’s no real need to continue. Great managers make it a point to acknowledge and demonstrate their gratitude for their staff, both individually and as a group.
- They are supporting their team: –
Nobody enjoys being thrown under the bus, and it can seem especially betrayal when it is done by a boss to their staff. Employees who do not believe their management would support them have little motive to speak out or be innovative and will instead passively maintain the status quo. Great managers have the trust of their employees and will finally accept responsibility for their own faults as well as errors caused by bad management and direction.
