4 Ways to Be an Effective Manager
4 Ways to Be an Effective Manager
Your main job as a manager of a team is to ensure the employees working for you are coming to work every day excited for what lies ahead. Then do the best work that they can before clocking out and going home with the feeling like they’ve made a contribution or a difference. Your employees should come to work inspired, and leave feeling accomplished. If you’re doing your managerial duty, this should be no problem.
However, it can be difficult to manage a team and get them to that stage. Where they feel comfortable and productive at work every day. While still finding time and energy to complete your own daily task list. Maybe you were put into a managerial role with no prior experience and aren’t sure where to begin. Perhaps you have some experience but are looking for new angles on how to lead a team effectively. Here are four simple ways you can be a more effective manager to your team. Read on the 4 ways to be an effective manager.
1. Be authentic
Authenticity is one of the most important personality traits for managers and one of the 4 ways to be an effective manager. It enables a level of trust between them and their employees. So, what does it mean to be authentic at work? Essentially, it means you have to be yourself. Nobody wants to be around someone they think is acting fake or two-faced, because it makes them feel like they can’t trust that person. Your team should feel like they can trust you and come to you with their work-related problems looking for help to find a solution.
If you find yourself coming to work with a “work persona”, or are trying to manage your team using someone else’s leadership style that doesn’t really resonate with you, change it up. Be your genuine self at work and lead in a way that’s comfortable, however that may be. Your employees will certainly notice your genuine personality shining through, and not only will they appreciate it but they’ll feel more comfortable being their genuine selves at work too.
2. Appreciate good work
Your employees can quickly feel unappreciated or undervalued if they put in a good effort or manage a huge win for the company and don’t get the recognition they deserve. In fact, they could start to look for work elsewhere. Take the initiative to congratulate your team or individual employees on a job well done, and encourage others to do the same.
3. Be consistent
If you want your managerial approach to be effective, it needs to be consistent across the board. Treat everyone the same, reward the same behaviours and accomplishments, and discourage bad habits when they pop up from time to time. If your team sees you being consistent, it will help them understand your motivations and where you’re coming from, thus allowing them to trust and respect you more.
4. Ask questions and listen to answers
A good manager is always willing to listen to their team’s concerns and feedback and take it to heart. Ask questions to facilitate a dialogue, and open it up to the team to see what everyone else feels. Together, you can proactively identify and solve problems, which will help your employees feel acknowledged and respected.
