I was approached today by someone that had just been promoted into a new role as a Manager. This person wanted some tips and advice on how to be a good manager and this was the reason for this post.

Good Managers have a combination of operational, communication and leadership skills along with a dash of empathy. Managers should not be bullies, they should be enablers and facilitators. As a Manager you need to appreciate that you have to be flexible and will always be learning. Here are some points we covered.

Effective Communication: Always communicate clearly, be an active listener and invite constructive feedback. Encourage one-one meetings and always have an open door. This is a two way street, I take it as a bad sign when team members are not able to speak freely.

Set Clear Expectations: Ensure that expectations are set up front, a bad manager makes it up as they go along. There should be no surprises or feelings of ambush for the team. Now this doesn’t mean expectations cannot be adjusted but it should be obvious to all why tweaks are required.

Don’t make Assumptions: Ask questions, invite feedback so you understand fully before moving forward.

Teamwork: Work to foster collaboration and build trust, as this helps to keep team members motivated which will drive up productivity.

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: It is important to really get to know your team, as each person would function differently and have their own drivers and motivators. You need to know when to give advise, when to let them find the solution themselves and when to just listen.

Highlight Achievements: Celebrating successes helps build moral, boosts confidence and is a great motivational team. However this should be positive and Manager’s should try to ensure that this does not drive a wedge between the team as this will have a negative effect.

Network Building: It helps to interact with other new managers. HR may be able to create a program so they can share knowledge and experiences, remembering to maintain privacy where required when discussing their team members.

Continuous Learning: Managers will be learning continuously and need to adapt to new work and people challenges. They should always be looking for new tools to add to their toolbox.

These are some of the items we covered, I hope you find them helpful…