5 ways to become a better manager (Guest blog)

Being a great manager means having the experience, knowledge and confidence in order to personally succeed and help others around you to achieve their goals. There are a lot of ineffective managers who do not take pride in their attitude and actions, which leads to a dramatic decrease in employee productivity and dissatisfaction in their jobs. One of the most important things to remember is that your actions and attitude will be the benchmark for your employees because you are in a position of authority and influence. Establishing an open relationship with your employees is key to promoting growth and success, after all, fellow employees are not slaves. This relationship is a two way street which means both parties are responsible for creating a healthy environment. Here are 5 ways that will help you become a better manager:

1. Open minded to an extent

A respected leader has the ability to be flexible in what is done because it shows the willingness to listen to what others have to say and take it in. On the flip side, a manager that is always just listening to what others have to say and not actually making important decisions using their own brain isn’t healthy for the company either, a great manager should both be open minded and closed minded at times.

2. Promote integration

A successful company has a welcoming atmosphere where the workers feel comfortable with each other no matter what position they are in the company. As a manger, you should always do as much as you can to integrate people into the company culture, this may be through small events, company traditions or just by encouraging the social aspect of work with everyone. The work rate and happiness levels of employees are much higher when they feel at ease at work as they maintain a positive attitude.

3. Communication

A leader will be the pivot of an operation, there will be a lot of opinions, voices and arguments surrounding them, it is essential that communication is clearly maintained throughout all levels to ensure that there is no conflict between any departments or individuals. Employees value a manager that is transparent in the sense that there is no secrets or mystery surrounding them, having your teams trust in you is a massive benefit and will promote clarity in the communications.

Better communication can be achieved by many means, one would be to directly ask for feedback to ensure they understood clearly what is being said to them, to always back up your ideas with knowledge or evidence, not interrupting others and by having a calm attitude.

4. Confident in your decisions

There is nothing more reassuring to a team than a leader who is stern with their decisions and is not afraid to take lead with confidence, even if the solution posed is quite risky. It is hard to win your teams confidence if your decision making is wishy-washy and as mentioned previously, a manager is at a position of influence and half hearted decisions do not go down well in the eyes of employees.

If you are at a position where you cannot make a decision by yourself, there is no shame in asking for help from other employees, their opinions also count and it does not make you look weak as a manager if you require opinions of others; it is however, worse to make a decision by yourself and be half hearted about it.

5. Inspire to transform others into leaders (no suppression, always aim to make your employees better people, not just a better employee)

One of the main differences that separates the great managers from the worse ones is their aims. As a leader you must simply inspire others to develop their own leadership and managerial skills, it isn’t healthy to just simply tell others what to do in a black and white manner. This is done by provoking thought and innovation in your employees, ask them to try think of solutions themselves, lead them onto a path where they are curious for their own learning. Employees should always be as ambitious as the manager, whether it in completing their own goals or the companies goals.

Many people may find a managerial position difficult because it dies not feel natural to them, some may excel in this position as they have grown to possess a good set of leadership skills. If you are passionate about providing your employees the best possible guidance, it may be wise to seek professional leadership training for them so they are pushed that extra mile.
 

About the author:

This article was written by Bhav Seera, digital marketer working for London Management Centre.  London Management Centre (www.lmcuk.com) are a corporate training company based in London and offer corporate training courses at their London and Dubai offices on the topics of Leadership, management, human resources, interpersonal skills, media, PR, finance and many more subjects.