A good manager can be the difference between a positive and negative workplace. Though you aren’t expected to be your employee’s best friend, you are expected to be a strong leader who guides and mentors their colleagues.
So how do you be a manager that employees will admire and look up to while they work with you? This begins with recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and developing a workplace culture that reflects the kind of structure and productivity your business needs to be successful.
Here are some helpful tips you can follow to improve your management style and in turn create a workplace where your employees respect and admire your leadership.
Mistakes To Avoid
Management is not an easy role no matter how many years you have been with a company. Coming in as a new manager can require years of building up trust and respect from employees. Being a manager for many years can often mean you spend a lot of your time trying to demonstrate to your employees that you still understand the business and have new and relevant ideas worth exploring. Maintaining your authority and respect with your employees comes down to avoiding these mistakes.
Being A Micromanager
No one likes someone looking over their shoulder and this includes management. Your role is to monitor your team’s progress and provide them with feedback, but that doesn’t mean you need to constantly be ‘checking in’. Give your employees the freedom to work on their projects using their creative thoughts and ideas. Instead of watching over them, arrange weekly meetings where you can review a project’s status and provide feedback. This will create a more relaxed environment for employees and allow for creativity to thrive.
Not Planning or Outlining Projects
We noted that micromanagement can deter a team’s success, but so too can not planning and outlining your project’s goals. Before you assign a task for your team, spend time reviewing the project goals and objectives. This will help ensure your team remains on task and avoids the need for you to ‘micromanage’ them.
Not Checking Your Ego At The Door
The role of the manager is one to be respected, but that does not mean you need to use your role to intimate your employees. Use your role to help guide and educate your team. Use your experience to help build a strong and knowledgeable team, while encouraging creativity and team input.
Stifling Creativity
Some projects are very cut and dry, while others require a little more creativity. Encourage your team to share their thoughts and ideas. Workplaces today have more experience than ever with people having greater access to learning and education that can improve how you do business. Listen to ideas and have frequent brainstorming sessions. This can help avoid following patterns that may not have worked in the past while encouraging new ideas that could improve and expedite how you do things in the future.
Not Sharing Credit
You may be in charge of your team, but you are not the only one putting in the effort. Recognizing your team’s success in front of your management will make your employees feel appreciated and encourage positive workplace culture going forward. You will also open up opportunities for leadership roles for those around you as their contributions are recognized. This is called business continuity and is one of the best ways to ensure you always have talent ready to take on roles within your company.
Things You Can Do To Improve Your Management Style
Review Your Company’s Goals With Other Managers
Make sure your business is on the same page in all departments. What happens in one area of your business will affect other areas. Talk to other managers about how they are working with their teams and discover ways to create synergies. This will ensure that your current team is moving in the same direction as your company’s business strategy and make managing your employees easier.
Delegate Tasks According to Skill
Get to know how your team operates. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses so make sure you understand how you can best utilize these skills to make projects go smoother.
Be A Communicator
Check-in with your team regularly. This doesn’t have to be micromanaging, but simply sending an email or arranging a brief catch-up meeting. It also means taking the time to explain your expectations to ensure your team is aligned with your project goals.
Never Stop Learning
Management is about sharing your expertise. But learning doesn’t stop once you are handed a diploma. Continuing your education will make sure you are always up-to-date on the latest management styles so that you can better connect with your team. Check-in with online courses offered by Coursera, EDX, LinkedIn Learning, or universities. Many of them have very low fees and often come with a certificate of completion which you can use on your resume.
Reward Success
Your employees work hard for your company. So when they complete a project, bring in a new client or achieve a sales goal, it is important to recognize their achievements. This can be as simple as a congratulatory email. You may also consider other ways of showing your appreciation such as:
- Bonuses
- Shares in your company
- Company lunch
- Promotion
Taking the time to recognize your employee’s achievements will help build a positive workplace and hopefully help retain employees for longer.
Encourage Change
They say the definition of insanity is doing something the same way over and over again. This applies to workplaces too. To grow your business you have to be prepared to change and adapt to new technology, industry changes, and management styles. This is called change management and is a cornerstone of doing business. Create a workplace that welcomes positive change and allows employees to share their ideas for ways you can improve on how you do business. You will find that your business becomes more nimble, handles change better, and creates an atmosphere where change doesn’t create chaos.
Takeaway
Managing a company is never easy. It requires strong leadership, flexibility, and adaptivity. Use these helpful hints to improve your management style and in turn create a more positive and creative workspace.
Good managers are leaders, mentors, and partners in growing a business. By taking this approach to your management style you will quickly see an improvement in how your team responds to your business needs and goals.
Saudi Technologies can help you put your management on a successful path and be the greatest manager you can be. Contact us today to have a free consultation!
