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.
HCC
