As a business owner, a big part of keeping everything running smoothly is ensuring the teams within your company work well together. You want your staff to get along, to work as a team and know that if they have any concerns they will be listened to. One of the biggest and most important parts of this is to have managers you know you and your staff members can rely on. By putting together teams with a manager that ticks all the boxes, you can rest assured the rest of it should work well. But what do you look for in a manager? And how do you make sure they’re achieving their full potential? In this article we explore how to be a better manager.
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Establish good communication
Communication is the most important thing when it comes to being a good manager. Without good communication, your colleagues will feel they’re not listened to and that any grievances they have aren’t taken seriously. You want to have an open door policy so they know whatever their problem is, they can come and speak to you and there won’t be any judgement or anything that will go against them. If they work remotely, ensure they know how they can get in touch, whether this is through Skype, phone, email or another method of communication. When speaking with staff members through something like a CMS system, it’s important to use secure internal communication where all messages and calls are protected with end-to-end encryption. Not only does this ensure easier collaboration and sharing but also less chance of your messages being intercepted.
Ensure you’re friendly but there are boundaries
When you’re a manager it can be tricky trying to establish the right balance between being friendly and being respected. You want your team members to feel comfortable enough to come to you with any issues, ideas or other things they might want to talk about, but you also don’t want them to treat you as a friend and not have any boundaries. While you might get on really well, it needs to be clear that if you set something that needs to be done such as a deadline hitting for a report, they adhere to it. If they see you more as a friend than a manager they might not bother doing it on time as they think you’ll let them off and it just won’t matter. By setting a clear precedent and boundaries right from the off you shouldn’t have this issue and can get on with them but also don’t need to worry about work not being finished.
Organize team building events
Team building is integral for a company as a well-oiled team will keep everything ticking over and operations running a lot more efficiently. When you want to be a good manager, you need to have a team that gets on, so organizing a team building day is a fantastic idea. There are so many things you can do for a team building exercise, from going out for a meal with them all, to doing an event. There are a myriad of these, including escape rooms, treasure hunts, obstacle courses and so much more. See what sort of budget you have to work with and think about the size of your team. Once your team knows each other better, they’ll help pick up the slack of each other’s work more and can collaborate more effectively on their work.
Be decisive
People want a manager that gives clear direction and they know they can rely on and follow. If you constantly dither and change your mind when asking them to do things, they won’t see you as a strong leader and will be less likely to trust what you say. If you make a decision about something, stick to this but also be prepared to give your reasoning why in case any of them ask. This can help those under you trust what you’re doing and know you have their best interests at heart.
Go on a training course
If you’re struggling with knowing how to be a better manager, it can be worth going on a training course to find out more about different techniques and strategies. This could be one you do remotely or that you go to a venue to partake in. There are a myriad of managerial courses ranging from half a day to a few days – it’s down to you or your boss to take a look at what you think will be best for what you want to achieve.
Ask your boss if there’s anything you can do to improve
As well as being a good manager in your mind and for those under you, it’s worth speaking to your boss and finding out if there are any other things you can do to get better at your role. Your boss might have heard things from your team members or they might just have a few pointers they can offer which can help you to improve. It’s always good to find things you can do better at to ensure you’re doing the best possible job you can.
These are just a few things that you can do to help you be a better manager at work, or things you can pass down to your managers in your business to help them succeed. A business is more successful when it has happy and motivated people within it and by having staff members that know they have someone they can rely on to listen to any issues they might have as well as help them be their best, it can be a real morale booster. Managers are an integral part of any company and you want to check they’re doing all they can to bring their team together and keep them motivated. What are some top tips you have for being a better manager in the workplace? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you and help our readers to get inspired to achieve their full potential.