How to Be a Good Manager

Good managers:

• motivate, encourage, and manage their employees to success.
• build positive and productive relationships
• combine teaching and coaching to bring out the best in employees

Good managers don't have all the answers, but they build a team that might.

While the ultimate decisions may rest with you, the ability to draw knowledge and input from your team leads everyone to success. No football coach ever scored a winning touchdown while his team stood by and clapped. In business and sport, the coach motivates the team.

It's tempting to become friends with your employees, but this can destabilize the team and removes the professional distance you need to manage effectively. Instead, strive for friendly, warm, and professional relationships with your employees.

An efficient manager hires, trains and schedules employees to maximize profit and minimize cost. As a foundation for this, ensure that your employees:

• have clear job descriptions
• understand work expectations
• use channels of communication and systems of recognition
• receive motivation and praise
• are informed and therefore empowered to work toward their own success and that of your department or company.

Above all, be fair. Recognize that some employees consistently achieve in small steps while others move forward by leaps and bounds. Both types are valuable.

It takes all kinds of people to run a successful organization. (See our Employer Workshops page for Myers-Briggs  workshops) And it's up to you to manage the different personalities that make up your team, and move them toward a common and achievable goal.