In this life, whether you are in a job or are hunting for one, we all strive to be a truly great manager: a manager who earns the respect of many, someone who is inspiring, in short, a pleasure to work for. But it’s not easy, and as many of us know, great managers are few and far between. If you are working look around and see a manager that you really want to work for, is there any?
In most of our corporate institutions, what we have as managers are those people that have stayed in a company for long, those that are mean, those that are anti-social and other negative aspects of a corporate employee. I am not at any point implying that all managers are that bad but there are those that have earned their place as managers because they are meant to be there. Most, however, do not get there in the right way and that is why they under-perform (not on targets but on people issues)
So who is an effective manager? Here are 10 top qualities that you need:
1. Integrity: Integrity fosters trust, which in turn builds loyalty. A manager with loyal staff has the capability to be very effective. They have staff that they know they can rely on and, in turn, their staff is confident in their abilities to deliver knowing they have the support of their manager.
2. Empower: An effective manager empowers his or her staff to perform at their best. This means creating an environment for success: setting boundaries so that people can take responsibility, creating opportunities that allow people to challenge their abilities, motivating people to find new and innovative ways, all while also ensuring support structures are in place.
3. Motivation: People perform at their best when they are happy and motivated. But there is much more to motivation than salary or bonuses. A manager that understands his or her employees can set challenging yet achievable goals and rewards in a variety of ways. People can be motivated by interesting work, by being part of an effective team, by the prospect of learning new skills, or by the knowledge that their hard work will be recognized and appreciated.
4. Delegate: An effective manager understands the skills and abilities of his or her staff, and knows how to delegate. Effective delegation is selecting the right person to do the work, given the constraints of skill requirements and time. Delegation is entrusting the person with the responsibility to complete the work. It includes setting clear guidelines and expectations as well as boundaries for decision-making responsibilities.
5. Adaptable: The business environment is an ever-changing one. All managers must be able to quickly adjust, understanding the implications of the changes and adjusting goals and strategies accordingly. An adaptable manager sets an example to his/her employees and leads the way in demonstrating new ways of working and/or behaving.
6. Takes action: An effective manager takes action. If they see a problem they address it. This may seem obvious, but often there are decisions that many managers find difficult to take, so they put it off until a later date. Or perhaps they move the problem for someone else to solve, such as the poor performing employee that gets moved around the organization.
7. Networker: Anyone can obtain the organization chart, but what is more useful for any manager is to understand the real network within the business. Who are the key people that can make things happen? It’s about understanding who affect the decisions you make today and in the future, and ensuring you have a good relationship with them.
8. Understands the business culture: For any manager to be successful in a business they need to understand it’s culture. This means they understand the goals and strategic drivers, they appreciate the future vision for the business, and they know how things happen. Understanding how the ‘wheels turn’ within a business helps a manager work more effectively and equally helps them contribute to the overall strategy and goals.
9. Role model: An effective manager sets an example, to all staff, of appropriate behavior and performance standards. It may seem obvious, but it is extremely difficult to expect others to behave in a particular way, if you yourself do not set such an example.
10. Value people above all else: A job well done is not about systems or processes or figures; it’s about people. An effective manager recognizes the importance of people in business, and shows everyone respect regardless of the role that they play. An effective manager listens to people; is fair and understanding. This doesn’t mean they can always keep everyone happy; because as a manager this simply isn’t the case, however if a decision is reached though a fair process people understand how the outcome was reached even if they don’t necessarily agree with result.
Of course, if you are a manager by now or those aspiring to be, you may have seen these characteristics in your role model. These 10 are the top qualities, although there are many more which I know you may have in mind. This is not to say that the list above is exhaustive but we gave preference to the top-most desired qualities.
All in all, if you are an aspiring manager or you are already one, all the best in taking up these characteristics.
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