How To Be A Good Manager

If you’ve been in a manager position at all in the last few years, you probably know the pain that comes with saying goodbye to a valuable team member who holds a lot of institutional knowledge and going through the lengthy hiring process of reviewing applications, giving multiple rounds of interviews, and finally getting your new hire up to speed on their role and your company. The Great Resignation reminded us all of the importance of retaining great employees. Not only does employee retention prevent the disruption of projects and goals, it also saves companies time and thousands of dollars. Besides toxic company culture and low salary, many employees cite poor management as one of the main reasons they’ll leave a job. Read these tips on how to be a good manager and foster a work environment employees want to stick around for.

How To Be A Good Manager

Communication

Much like personal relationships, good professional relationships are built on a foundation of healthy communication practices. This includes communicating goals, deadlines, and feedback to team members clearly as well as actively listening to their questions, concerns, and suggestions for improvement. Providing constructive feedback is an important aspect of your job as a manager, giving your team the opportunity to improve on any of their shortcomings as well helping them understand what they need to do to propel their career forward. If you’re managing a large team, it may be worthwhile to make a point to accommodate different communication formats. This will enable your individual employees to communicate with you in the way that’s most comfortable for them, whether that’s via face-to-face, email, phone call, video conferencing, or instant messaging. Some employees are simply better at written communication than verbal communication and vice versa, so accommodating these differences ensures everyone has the same opportunity to have their voice heard.

Delegate Effectively

Delegating tasks to ensure the accurate and on-time completion of projects is one of your main functions as a manager. Delegate effectively by adhering not only to the specific duties each employee was hired for but also by considering each individual’s skills, talents, interests, and bandwidth. This includes giving your employees opportunities to develop professionally in the direction they are hoping to take their careers. Effective task delegation also means serving as a liaison between your team and other departments, protecting your employees’ time and ensuring they can understand how to prioritize their tasks.

Practice Transparency and Build Trust

Quickly earn your employee’s trust by keeping them informed on major developments and decisions within the company. Doing so will keep them engaged and invested in the company’s future and goals. Grow your team’s trust in you by representing their interests in dealings with other departments and stakeholders. You’ll have an easier time achieving favorable results with your team the more they trust that you have their best interests at heart.

Hold Yourself and Others Accountable

Nothing will kill your team’s productivity quicker than a lack of accountability. Accountability starts with you leading by example. Practice accountability by admitting to your own mistakes and poor decisions without blaming others, understand when and how to apologize, and instead of dwelling on your employee’s mistakes, focus on solutions. This creates an environment in which your team feels safe to make and take ownership of their mistakes. Accountability will also foster a sense of purpose while preventing resentment between coworkers.

Show Empathy

Practice empathy when working with your team by listening to and validating their challenges and offering support and guidance. When delegating a new task, share any experience you have with that task and how you would go about completing it. This will increase efficiency by minimizing time spent on counter-productive strategies and create a more collaborative and positive work environment.

Launching Your Own Professional Development Program

Learn how to be a good manager is something you must constantly work towards. One of the best ways to retain great employees is to provide them a clear path forward and invest in their skills and efficiency, that’s why we created this guide.

Download our Comprehensive Guide on Launching a Professional Development Program. >>