WANT TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MANAGER?

After being a manager for more than thirty years, I have listed some thoughts they might benefit you in your position.  This is not an exhaustive list and I could have embellished each thought much more, but I wanted to keep it as brief as possible.

1.  Remember where you came from.  Reflect on ALL the things that your manager could have done to
make your job better,  then incorporate them into your management style.  Becoming a manager
means the management team above you has confidence that you can be an effective manager who
your staff will respect and enjoying working for…don’t let them down by allowing egotism or
narcissism to define who you are.  I often told my staff that the only difference between them and
me was that I had a different set of responsibilities and tasks, but we all had jobs we were being
paid to do.

2.  Never patronize your staff.  You don’t like it when your manager does that to you, so don’t do it to
your staff either.  If humility is not a part of your persona, then start working to make it one of your
strongest characteristics.  Humility isn’t a sign of weakness, it is a sign of gentle strength.  Humble
managers are respected by their staff, especially when their strength is shown by their support and
defense of their staff.  Your staff needs to know that they can depend on you to be “in their
corner”.  During conflicts with other groups (or within your own group) the passion of some folks
can give rise to some very volatile emotions.  It is during these times that they expect to see their
manager become the calming factor.  Yes, it means that you have to keep a level head and control
your emotions, but that’s when you have the opportunity to shine as a manager.  Being a manager
is much like being a coach in athletics.  You explain what needs to be done, you encourage them all
along the way, you assure them that you will support them in their efforts, you serve as their guide
to ensure there is no task ‘creep’ (making the task much greater than the original intent), you
evaluate the completed tasks (including lessons learned), and you reward them appropriately.

3.  Realize that mistakes sometimes happen – use these as opportunities for teaching instead of
discipline.  The easiest way for a staff member to avoid mistakes is to avoid trying anything new.
Give them the opportunities to stretch themselves, but be prepared for any failures.  If there are
zero mistakes, then chances are your staff is afraid of how they will be treated if they make a
mistake so they become stagnant with their creativeness.

4.  Never show partiality.  It is a trap that is easy to fall into when you have a very good staff member.
All jobs are important and should be rewarded appropriately.  This may mean that when you are
given an amount to share across your staff, some may be rewarded more than others.  However it
should be directly attributable to their work and not how well you relate to them as a person.  Too
often introverted employees, who are really doing more work than others, are not rewarded as
they should be because the manager just likes an extraverted employee more.

5.  Listen, listen, listen.  No matter what your thoughts are about what a staff member is saying, it is
important to them so ‘hear them out’.  You may feel that it is too insignificant to discuss, but if it is
important to them, then it should be important to you too as their manager.  I have seen excellent
ideas “die on the vine” because the manager was not receptive to new ideas from their staff.  A
great question to ask when presented with new ideas is, “What are the advantages and risks
involved?”  Too many managers squelch ideas without giving the employee an opportunity to
provide supporting rationale.  Take the time to listen even if it is preventing you from things you
need to do.  Always show interest in what they have to say – if it starts running long, you can always
suggest that you want to hear more from them later, but you have some things you need to get
done.  Also, avoid being rude by talking over staff members before they have finished their
sentence.  Too often managers make assumptions based on a portion of information because they
cut off the employee before they finished their explanation.  Remember, becoming a manager
doesn’t make us any smarter, or give us a free pass to be rude or arrogant – we are to be listeners,
coaches, and encouragers.  Never tell a stff member that you “don’t have time right now”.  Instead,
ask them if you can meet and discuss it at a specific time.

6.  Don’t stress yourself out by feeling that you have to have all the answers.  When a problem arises,
try asking your staff member what their thoughts are regarding a solution.  It is not a show of
weakness in you as a manager; it is a show of respect and confidence in your staff member.  In
order to receive respect, you need to give respect.

7.  Compliment your staff members individually for the job they are doing, even though it is part of
their job description.  Don’t do it so frequently that it loses its effectiveness, but don’t forget to do
it either.

8.  Be prepared to ask them individually if everything is going okay for them outside of the work
environment.  This communicates to your staff that you sincerely care about them and their
personal concerns.  It can also help you to find out early if there is anything that might affect their
work performance going forward.  I have even prayed with staff members who were having
personal struggles.  I know that sounds taboo in a work environment, but I simply asked if they
would like me to pray for them at that moment – they had the option of saying no.  I also kept a box
of tissues in my office because I never knew if one of my staff members was carrying a heavy
burden and would get emotional just because their manager asked them if everything was okay.
Sometimes a person just needs to know that ‘someone’ cares.

9.  When upper management gives you information to pass down to your staff members, explain the
company’s position on it, but also share what you think it means to them and/or the company.  This
sends a message to your staff that you do not have a hidden agenda and you can be trusted as an
honest person.  When you are honest with them, they are more likely to be honest with you.  This
can be very beneficial to you as their manager because they feel comfortable letting you know
early if there is a possibility that a task will not be completed on schedule – it gives you an
opportunity to provide them with help.  Never use upper management as an excuse for something
you want to do.  I have heard managers tell their staff that they could or could not do something
because their management gave them the orders.  The manager lost all credibility because most of
the staff knew it wasn’t true – it was something the manager decided on their own.

10. Do something special – it will pay dividends later.  For instance, I would give each staff member a
bonus day to do whatever they wanted to do.  They didn’t have to charge it to vacation or anything
else.  Did this extra day cost the company money?  Not really, because whenever there were
pressing needs, the staff was more than willing to stay on task until the situation was resolved.  My
only restriction was that no more than one could use it on the same day.  I was told by the
company that as a manager I was ’empowered’ to do the right thing.  I felt this was the ‘right thing’
and was never confronted about if from my upper management.  Did that mean that my
manager gave me the same perk?  No, but that was not a factor in my rationale for how I treated
my staff.  Also if possible, give them opportunities to work from home from time to time.  I have
found that most people actually work longer hours when they work from home so it is a win-win
situation.  The company gets more productivity and the employees feel they are valued by their
manager.  There were times when I would ask a staff member if they had any meetings the next
day.  If they said they did not, then I would tell them to plan on working from home the next day.  I
didn’t wait for them to ask me – quite often some of the best employees will never ask.

11. Ask them what they need to make their job easier.  I remember when a manager had one
employee who was working long hours in order to keep everything on schedule.  Instead of asking
the employee what could help reduce their work day, he would simply smile and say, “Don’t stay
too late”.  You can imagine how this conscientious employee felt.  A manager has the responsibility
of being aware of each staff member’s work habits and loads.  An employee should never have to
tell their manager that they need help – the manager should know it already and react accordingly.
That’s what managers are paid to do.

12. Speak in such a way that your staff enjoys listening to you,
and listen in such a way that your staff enjoys speaking to you.

13. Never discuss problems you are having with one employee with any other staff member.  If you
are looking for advice or suggestions, then discuss it with one of your trusted peer managers or
your manager.  Also, never mention any discipline action that you may be having with a staff
member (such as an employee improvement program, etc.).

14. Some managers allow discussions with peer managers to take precedence over discussions with
their staff members.  Of course there are times when an issue arises that needs to be discussed
with a peer manager, but as a general rule, your staff should be your top priority.

15. Be prepared to absorb the blame for a failed project.  If you resort to blaming a staff member, then
word will get back to your staff and you will lose your credibility as an effective manager.  The truth
is, your upward management team will have more respect and confidence in you when they know
that you are “taking one for the team” (chances are they know the real cause for failure anyway).