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If you ask someone what he or she loves or hates about work, you're likely to hear about a great working relationship with a subordinate or about some sneaky little weasel in the next office. You’re also likely to hear about his or her relationship with the boss.
It's no surprise that bosses are often the primary cause of people either loving or leaving their jobs. In your own career, you've probably been deeply influenced by certain bosses.
Learning to be a good boss isn't as clear cut as learning technical skills. There is no degree to earn or tests to pass. Most of us learn how by watching our own managers and by making our own mistakes.
The other day someone asked me if I've seen any patterns emerge from the letters I receive about good and bad bosses. Over the years, I have begun to see that there are four main themes that seem to separate the good bosses from the bad.
They are: setting expectations, coaching, feedback, and recognition. These big four can make all the difference.
Setting clear expectations:Every time I interview a new employee I ask him or her, "what kind of manager do you like to work for?" I'll bet you know what they say: "Someone who tells me what they expect and how I'm doing."
Managers need to sit down with new employees and point out priorities. It's a good idea to pull out the performance review form and discuss how you define "excellent performance." Paint a picture. Don't assume.
For experienced employees it's critical to discuss your expectations at least once a year when you're forming plans for the coming year. It's even better to discuss the results you expect when you are delegating each assignment. Too often, we simply tell our employees what we want done --not the results we expect. We deserve to be disappointed.
Coaching: Too many managers lead through mental telepathy. They assume their employees know what to do and how to do it.
Managers must learn how to be good sideline coaches. Too often a well-meaning boss will run in and play the game for the subordinate rather than calling in the plays from the sidelines. The boss may be having fun but her subordinate isn’t learning a thing.
Overcontrolling bosses make their employees feel inadequate and undermined. Because they don't force them to take the responsibility for solving their own problems their employees either give up andbecome passive or the good ones quit.
Undercontrolling bosses cause different problems. Their hands-off style contributes to confusion about priorities. They don’t like to make unpopular decisions because they want everyone to be happy. Their team ends up running around the field in circles bumping into each other. Fights break out. They usually end up being ignored or despised.
Feedback: Why wait until the formal performance review to surprise your employee? Then it's too late to do anything about it. Managers get into trouble by not confronting employees early enough.
They often tell me they don't want to hurt employee’s feelings or are afraid the employee will lose their motivation.
The next time you struggle with whether or not to share negative feedback with your employee, ask yourself, "if I had this problem, would I want my boss to tell me?"
A good way to give negative feedback in a constructive way is to use the employee’s personal goal as a lead-in. For Example: " I know you're trying to bring in bigger retail clients, so I'm sure you'd want to know if there was something getting in the way of that..." It helps them hear what you have to say because you have their best interests at heart.
Feedback given along the way sounds more like coaching; not like punishment.
Recognition: Employees demand recognition for their efforts. They are actively managing their own careers and won't tolerate neglect.
We can't afford what happens when good employees begin to wither from lack of positive reinforcement. In spite of themselves, some of them begin to say, "why should I kill myself? He or she doesn’t appreciate it anyway!"
There has been a lot of research on motivational theory. One of the things inherent in all of the findings is that humans thrive on recognition. Nothing improves our hearing like praise. We never get too old for it.
Giving positive reinforcement is the most powerful coaching tool you have as a manager. Mention the thing you like and you'll get more of it.
Remember to be specific, don't mix negative and positive. Give feedback and compliment as soon after the event as possible. If you wait until their performance review, the effect is lost.
Your job has a tremendous impact on the people you manage. Your success or failure to pay attention to the "big four" will not only affect your employees but your future as well.
Ms Gada has nicely covered the topic and I have voted for her.
My 2 cents as follow:
“So what’s your management style?”
I get asked this question in almost every interview I conduct. It’s a critical question for many candidates, especially given that it’s been well documented that employees tend not to leave bad companies — rather, they leave bad managers.
But I’ve found that more often than not, most managers will answer this the same way (often regardless of how they actually manage, but that’s a separate issue). They’ll say: “I don’t like to micromanage.” That’s a safe answer in the sense that I’ve never met an employee who enjoys being micromanaged, but it doesn’t address the core question that’s often in the candidate’s head — how are you going to set me up for success?
What you actually do as a manager to set your employees up to succeed is so much more than just not micromanaging. After years of both good managers and bad managers, plus countless interviews where I’ve been asked this question, I’ve boiled my management approach down to four key tenets. Here’s what you should pay attention to if you aspire to be a better manager:
The first is border patrol. In an organization of any size, there are always more things to be done than can realistically be done. Many of these things are important, many are urgent, some are both, and quite a few are neither. As a manager, it’s my job to ensure that when non-essential inbound requests come flying in, they don’t turn into distractions for the team. I need to keep the team paying attention to the things that really matter. This often involves setting boundaries, finding creative alternatives, and negotiating with other team leads — all things that take time and finesse. But the time I spend playing ambassador pales in comparison to the effect those distractions would have created for the team.
The second element is related to the first: prioritization. In growing companies, even once you’ve eliminated the “non-essential” projects from an employee’s to do list, there are still likely to be too many things on the list. That’s where prioritization comes in. It never feels good to have to put an important project at the bottom of someone’s to do list, but if you don’t strategically choose which things are most important to get done, then you may end up with everything done halfway. Or worse — the most important stuff won’t get done at all.
The third is clearing roadblocks. No matter how great the employee, there are some things that just need a little more muscle to get over the finish line. Sometimes it’s getting reluctant stakeholders on board, sometimes it’s smoothing over ruffled feathers, and sometimes it’s just pushing things through for approval… but clearing the obstacles that stand in your employees’ way is a critical part of a manager’s role.
And the final, but often forgotten, element is professional development. Everyone wants to feel like they have a path forward and clear direction for how to take the next step forward, but it’s hard to remember this amongst the day-to-day craziness. To make sure it doesn’t get lost, I set aside time dedicated to professional development with each employee every month. Although it never feels urgent, it’s incredibly important — and ultimately leads to better employee performance, motivation, and retention. Plus, it’s in those meetings that I’ve gotten the greatest productivity gains from my team. Conversations about professional development are invaluable when it comes to finding out what motivates, frustrates, and helps my direct reports. It’s amazing what you can learn when you zoom out from the to do list. Look out for more thoughts on how important professional development is in an upcoming post.
That’s my management philosophy. Yours may be similar or different, but regardless of what items are on your list — make sure there is a list. Being someone’s manager is too important a role to leave up to fate.
Agree with Ghada Eweda Medical sales hospital representative
mashalla mr. khalid has a brief and good answer
Well answered by the experts here
The ability to achieve group results.
The acumen to coach and develop people.
Foresight, and the expertise to lead diverse groups of people.
i fully agree with the answers been added by experts..........thanks.
Thanks for invitation
I think it will be:
good at managing people
good at managing activities
good at developing works
good at future look
4 top qualities a good manager should posses are as follows:
1. Should have the ability to understand the business objectives and manage its pros and cons
2. Should be a Goal setter and achievement oriented person.
3. Should work as a team with its colleagues and appreciate the support of its employees time to time.
4.Should have the patience to listen to problems from all the ends and solve them
