I think only 50% of managers today are any good. Of these only about 20% are truly great. There are many benefits to being a great manager.
- Talented people want to work for you
- You can build a high performing team who loves to learn and thrive together
- You receive high job satisfaction from helping others develop in their career.
- You also get to learn from your team and achieve amazing results together
Do you want to achieve all these things and become a great manager? If so, here are five tips to help you.
Tip 1: Know your work. You cannot become a great manager if you are not good at the work you own. You must be the example for your team. This doesn’t mean you need to know more than all of your team. What it means, however is that you need to continue to hone your craft and lead from the front. For example,
- Draft the vision for where the team should go
- Identity and manage the blind spots your team may not see
- Address escalated issue
- Delegate ownership and not tasks
By continuing to work on your own skills, you can better solve the larger problems your team face and lead your team to high performance
Tip #2: Invest in coaching each of your team members individually. Everyone has unique strength and development areas. Get to know each of your team members
- What motivates them
- What they want to learn
- Where they want their career to go
- What they are good at and where they still need to develop. You can get this feedback from the key people they work with.
Your goal as a great manager is to guide them to their own greatness. Each is likely to have a different starting point. It is your job to use your 1 on 1s to teach each of them new skills as well as find opportunities to provide real time feedback. Feedback should include both what they are doing well and where they can improve. In addition it’s important to take time to provide formal feedback perhaps twice a year.
Tip #3: ask for input on the work and on your management style. As a great manager, you don’t have to have all the answers. On the contrary, it’s always empowering to your team to ask for their input. If there is a tough problem facing the team, ask your team for help with your draft solution. You will be surprised at the level of creativity and you can uncover blind spots you as a leader may not see.
Additionally ask for feedback from your team on your management style. Your team member will value the chance to give you feedback. It will also open up a deeper communication channel between you and each of your directs.
I have found out some valuable tips from my team on where I excel and where I can improve. For example, I discovered how I was communicating with one team member made him feel less heard. By listening to his side, I realized how to adjust my style and also better detect when he and I are not on the same page.
Tip#4: Ask more questions than provide answers. The Wall Street journal wrote a great article on this – The Secret to Asking Better Questions. It’s better as a leader to ask questions than to give answers to the team. I agree wholeheartedly and need to practice to do this better. It’s always tempting as the leader to give the final answer on questions your team asks you since you have more experience. Refrain! You don’t need to always provide answers. By asking better questions, your team can come up with more creative perspectives than you.
Tip 5: Instill fun at work. A team that plays together will stay together. Fun will foster camaraderie and a stronger team culture. Make sure you encourage and participate in regular team building and fun with your team. You don’t have to lead this yourself. You can ask for different team members to help lead different activities. Most people would love to help. With my team, we have regular happy hours and quarterly team building outings like miniature golf, bubble soccer, and VR games. These gathering allows everyone to let out some steam and build fond memories. Everyone want to have fun at work. It promotes the team to bond with each other and also give your team to get to know as a person in additional to being the team lead.
Becoming a great manager is a journey that takes practice. It starts with the intent to build a great team. You must have faith in your team. It also requires work and humbleness on your part. However the work is worth it as the most rewarding thing you can do at work is help others succeed in their career. When you help others excel, they will naturally help you excel!
Your Comments: What steps are you taking to becoming a great managers? Do these tips help? I look forward to your comments
Your comments: Do you have an inner voice that tells you that you are not enough? Do you where it comes from and how to ignore it? I look forward to hearing from you.
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I am always in your corner.
Lei
Best wishes to your career success – work smart and live more. I am always in your corner.
Lei