The Good Manager

This week I would like to talk about good management, and what it means to be one in the 21st century. I think a lot of young people, especially those new to management think it is all about control of people. The truth is the only person you need to control is self, so pulling on my experience of management, here are the things I wish I knew about management when I started out.

Good managers do what they are told. You might be in charge of the team, but you still must be able to follow business objectives and what your line manager has entrusted onto you. This means you need to know and understand your role within the business, also the role of each person in your team.

Discover problems, don't look for them. The misconception is that you go into a new a job and you have to change something, in fact its more impressive to discover a problem then tell your line manager about it and how you plan to resolve it, by not physically taking action before conversation in the early stages demonstrates self control and a willingness to listen. Don’t forget there’s a high chance your line manager will already know the problems within the team and will be able to guide you. Remember, just because someone on the team points the finger at another individual as the issue it doesn't mean its true.

This leads me to my next point, know when to ask for help and who can help with what. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it shows you understand your limitations and that you are willing to learn. So, you need to identify the times to be asking for help and when you need to think for yourself. Help should never be about giving someone part of your role or job, unless you are going to put the time in to monitor and check what is happening. Even if the person is familiar with the team, it doesn't always mean they are setting out to help. Remember as a manager you have soul responsibility for that team, including their mistakes. To this, help and learning should always come from above and not below.

A good manager will stay under the radar to keep the team focused. You are the only person on the team that doesn’t need to justify to anyone below you where you are or what you are doing. As long as the staff know the best times to come and talk to you, the rest of the time I doesn’t matter. However, over the course of the time you are at work you should be going to see every person you are responsible for and checking they are ok and if there is anything they need from you.

Get to know your workers. This follows on from the last point, if you know your workers you will understand why they are in the places they are within the team. They are also your best asset to protecting your job. Understand that if staff have issues they may not always come to you, especially if you are new to the team, for no other reason then not being sure if you are able to deal with it. it’s not always about getting someone into trouble, and if you change something they are going want clarification. Finally appreciate people talk, so if your line manager has got wind that you have upset someone, it may not have come direct from that person. People do talk so it may have done a journey round the team before it got to your line manager.

Don’t demand respect or trust from your team, earn it. When trust and respect is given freely your authority will be of the highest and your team will do anything to make you look good. So its important that when something does go wrong take the responsibility and don't blame others, especially team members. Remember the loyalty of the team is first and foremost for each other. So by the same token you need to ensure the team gets the credit when things go right, even if it was you that had the idea or orchestrated the outcome. Don't just praise them as a team or individuals, but also when you are speaking about them to other managers. You will be surprised at what it does to workers to hear from another manager how well they have done, especially when they feel it was really nothing at all or that they were just doing their job.

To achieve all this, you need to be honest in your approach. A team will always know if you are being honest. Remember they talk to each other and others in the company including managers. So think carefully if you are considering playing the loyalty test game, ensure you find out people’s background and experiences. And for goodness sake if you lose, be wise enough not to have a rematch. Remember if you are honest you have nothing to remember, and your manager will always back you up and the team will be open to you.

Finally, know when to quit. Management isn’t for everyone, for some its a natural skill, for others it takes effort. But if a month or two into the job you find you are not achieving the best results then maybe you need to reconsider if you are in the best place. Don't make things worse for yourself by allowing it to drag on more then it needs too.