How to become a great manager
How to become a great manager
How to become a Great Product Manager
What are the key qualities of a great Product Leader? What makes a great Product Manager?
Building great products is a difficult and complex job, but also fascinating. To become a successful Product Manager, you need to be both visionary and pragmatic. Great ‘product guys’ are passionate about their initiatives; they are ready to spend all their energy in forming and driving great ideas to market; they are strategic thinkers and have the ability to see product opportunities when others are lost in noise and ambiguity.
In fact, I prefer using ‘leadership’ over ‘management’ in the title: Product Leaders don’t just manage a product; they envision great products out of the blue; they spot those critical differences between a great product and an average one; they know how to build a product from scratch — how to shape the scope, where to focus and how to prioritize features; they can make epic things happen — by timely releasing the right instances of their product, in the right order.
Great Product Leaders connect the technology and commercial worlds to create value — for the users and the business. They act as the CEO for the product — they have a bold vision, a strategy, the resources, and the ambition to make the whole initiative successful — in the best possible way!
But, what are the qualities of a great Product Leader? What is it that makes a product manager standout?
In a digital context, great Product Leaders need to combine a wide range of skills and competencies. Whatever the actual title is — Product Manager, Architect, Chief Product Officer, etc. — this role has an extra source of difficulty: the rapid change of technology and the unprecedented pace of technology innovation. Thus, Product Leaders need to have a deep understanding of the technology landscape and relevant experience — ideally through various technical roles.
The following discusses the core qualities and abilities of a successful Product Leader.
Entrepreneurial Thinking
This is essential — product leaders demonstrate a special mindset which is the basis for success; they are enthusiastic about designing and building products people love; they are driven by innovation, but at the same time they stay connected with reality via clear objectives and systematic measurement of performance and success.
To have a successful career in product management, you need to have big thinking but also be aware of constraints and priorities. You have to best leverage the available resources towards the right instance of your product.
Product & User Sense
Thinking of products is not as easy as it may sound. After 20 years in the technology innovation and product development space, I’ve witnessed promising ideas being forgotten or misunderstood — in all cases with significant opportunity cost. I’ve met teams struggling to really understand the notion of a product and the underlying product development process.
As a great Product Leader, you need to have a holistic, strategic view of what the product is, how it can be built, and how it will become successful. You need to quickly spot the real product opportunities and identify the commercial ‘landscape’ — that is, competition and key-players in the market, the potential partnerships, the technology, the differentiators, and candidate monetization models.
You need to be able to start with an idea, derive a concept and define a product with clarity
Thinking of products also implies thinking as a user: you need to have a ‘user mentality’ and empathy to relate to user problems, frequent needs, and expectations.
As you think of a product, you must be able to define and measure success with clarity. Success is a multidimensional construct that will help you align with your overall strategy, priorities, and goals.
How to build an agile, innovation-led organization
Cross-domain Knowledge
Modern digital products are complicated: success is based on a mix of technology, usability, business models, marketing, and operational excellence — must all work together in harmony to drive user engagement, value creation, and monetization. Product Leaders ‘make things happen’ by applying the vision, defining the roadmap, and wisely steering the efforts of talented multidisciplinary teams.
In a typical scenario, Product Managers interact with designers, software engineers, data scientists, marketing, and commercial people. Being able to understand the language, the perspective as well as the capabilities of each domain in the context of your product is crucial.
For example, think of a consumer-facing product: a good product manager understands the principles of User Experience, the user engagement measurement frameworks, and the underlying enabling technologies. At the same time, the Product Manager interprets insights and makes informed decisions — as part of a continuous improvement process and knows when and how to incorporate methods and techniques such as experimentation and user-testing.
A good Product Manager in this context is able to spot opportunities to define and deliver superior UX powered by advanced back-end technologies or analytical models.
Strong Technical Background
In a digital context, a strong technical background is a must for a great Product Leader. Defining outstanding products heavily depends on the understanding of both the capabilities and the constraints of technology.
While you can always delegate certain technical workstreams and decisions to your technical advisors, it is always a major plus to have a solid technical background and deep understanding of the ‘state of the art’, the global technology trends, and the competition.
On the other hand, too much focus on the technology side might impact your ability to focus — especially if you come from a pure engineering background: technology excellence is only one part of your product’s success — you need to balance it with commercial, operational and other aspects.
Commercial Acumen
The commercial element is key. Product Leaders need to identify the right monetization strategies and business models to ensure viability for the product; to introduce innovation, not only at the core product but also at the commercial level — novel ways to drive monetization and growth.
Ability to Execute
Defining great products is only a part of the story. As a product leader, you need to set the roadmap, drive execution, and ‘make it happen’. During this journey, it is critical to measure all key aspects of the engineering/ product development process and also incorporate customer feedback loops as early as possible.
Successful Product Managers use these data streams to steer, adapt, and make those hard decisions separating success from failure. To successfully execute, you also need a deep understanding of practices and frameworks such as agile engineering.
A Strong Innovation Mindset
Successful Product Leaders realize the value of innovation for product development and establish the right processes to empower a special culture — fostering ideas sharing, collaboration, creativeness, and experimentation. Mastering innovation practices and tools (such as design thinking, design sprints, etc.) is key here. At the same time, judgment is required on when to apply such practices and to what extend to allow outcomes to impact your product.
Ability to Set up the Right Framework
Product development is a complex process. In terms of methodologies and tools, there are multiple options available and this is where things can become tricky — as you need to know what to apply, when, and how to use the results in making product decisions. For example, is findings from user-research strong enough to kill a feature? When to use A/B testing to decide on feature variants? How to model, analyze, and interpret user feedback? How to weight qualitative vs quantitative feedback? How to incorporate new feature ideas in the product backlog?
There are several schools of thought for product development and innovation. Tools and techniques range from innovation workshops and design sprints to real agile engineering, rapid prototyping, and experimentation — for testing ideas and understanding users.
In all cases, you need to understand the frameworks and achieve clarity on what to use when and how to interpret your findings in the right context.
A Unique Leadership Style
There’s a lot written about different leadership styles and the ‘effective business leader’. But in my opinion, leading people is different than leading a product: yes, as a product leader you need to inspire and energize your team and all involved stakeholders; you need to show your passion for your product and demonstrate a clear vision and your strategy to get there; to show your commitment and belief in your overall goal.
In the case of a real Product Leader, all the above should happen naturally, without special effort or even awareness: product leaders are obsessed with product success, they are enthusiastic about making an impact; they share, explain, and advocate their ideas; they support an open culture of innovation, information sharing, and collaboration.
These, naturally inspire people to follow and support the efforts: when people believe in your product vision, they engage, they become part of it and ultimately part of the success; this way product members grow, succeed, they get recognized and they evolve as leaders.
As you develop your leadership style, you should focus on inspiring and influencing over managing and controlling people. Leading great products to success also leads to great product engineering teams.
Great products are built by great teams which are inspired by passionate, skillful visionaries. To become one, you need a natural propensity to build great stuff and a wide combination of skills — from software engineering, and visualization to monetization and growth.
How to Be a Good Manager
This article was co-authored by Chloe Carmichael, PhD. Chloe Carmichael, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who runs a private practice in New York City. With over a decade of psychological consulting experience, Dr. Chloe specializes in relationship issues, stress management, self esteem, and career coaching. She has also instructed undergraduate courses at Long Island University and has served as adjunct faculty at the City University of New York. Dr. Chloe completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York and her clinical training at Lenox Hill Hospital and Kings County Hospital. She is accredited by the American Psychological Association and is the author of “Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety” and “Dr. Chloe’s 10 Commandments of Dating.”
There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 26 testimonials and 82% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status.
This article has been viewed 1,675,949 times.
In every large organization, there’s a hierarchy of management that keeps the whole operation running smoothly. A good manager is able to blend into the background, changing small things here and there to great effect. Being a good manager is about leading by example. It’s one of the toughest jobs out there — in part because you have to manage other people’s expectations — and also because it’s one of the least acknowledged tasks. Despite this, there are several tricks of the trade that will help you successfully manage all your responsibility, in style and with verve.
What It Takes to Become a Great Product Manager
For an aspiring product manager (PM), there are three primary considerations when evaluating the role: core competencies, emotional intelligence (EQ), and company fit. The best PMs have mastered the core competencies, have a high EQ, and work for the right company for them. The last requires thinking about the level of technical skill the company requires, its philosophy of the PM role, the stage of the company, and the relationship you’ll have with senior management.
And how to pick between jobs.
Because I teach a course on product management at Harvard Business School, I am routinely asked, “What is the role of a product manager?” The role of product manager (PM) is often referred to as the “CEO of the product.” I disagree because, as Martin Eriksson points out, “Product managers simply don’t have any direct authority over most of the things needed to make their products successful — from user and data research through design and development to marketing, sales, and support.” PMs are not the CEO of product, and their roles vary widely depending on a number of factors. So, what should you consider if you’re thinking of pursuing a PM role?
Aspiring PMs should consider three primary factors when evaluating a role: core competencies, emotional intelligence (EQ), and company fit. The best PMs I have worked with have mastered the core competencies, have a high EQ, and work for the right company for them. Beyond shipping new features on a regular cadence and keeping the peace between engineering and the design team, the best PMs create products with strong user adoption that have exponential revenue growth and perhaps even disrupt an industry.
Core Competencies
There are core competencies that every PM must have — many of which can start in the classroom — but most are developed with experience, good role models, and mentoring. Some examples of these competencies include:
These core competencies are the baseline for any PM, and the best PMs hone these skills over years of defining, shipping, and iterating on products. These PMs excel at reflecting on where each of these competencies have contributed to the success or failure of their products and continuously adjusting their approach based on customer feedback.
Emotional Intelligence
A good PM may know the dos and don’ts of a customer interview, but the best PMs have the ability to empathize with customers in that interview, are tuned in to their body language and emotions, and can astutely suss out the pain points that the product or feature will address. A PM with a high EQ has strong relationships within their organization and a keen sense of how to navigate both internal and external hurdles to ship a great product. Here’s a deeper look at how the four key traits of EQ, as defined by Daniel Goleman, relate to the PM role:
Relationship management.
Probably one of the most important characteristics of a great PM is their relationship management skills. By forming authentic and trustworthy connections with both internal and external stakeholders, the best PMs inspire people and help them reach their full potential. Relationship management is also vital in successful negotiation, resolving conflicts, and working with others toward a shared goal, which is especially challenging when a PM is tasked with balancing the needs of customers, resource-constrained engineering teams, and the company’s revenue goals. Authentic and trusting relationships within an organization can lead to more support when additional funding is needed for a product or when an engineer must be swayed to include a quick bug fix in the next sprint. Outside an organization, these skills could encourage existing customers to beta test a new feature for early feedback or to convince a target customer to try the MVP of a product still in stealth mode. These relationship skills can also be what makes the difference between having irate customers because of a bug introduced into the product and those who say, “No worries, we know you’ll fix this!”
Read more about
Self-awareness.
PMs must be self-aware so as to remain objective and avoid projecting their own preferences onto users of their products. If a PM is in love with a feature because it addresses their own pain points — PMs are often super-users of the products for which they are responsible — they may cause a user to say they love it too, just to please the PM (“false-positive feature validation”). If not self-aware, a PM may push to prioritize a feature they conceived even when all the customer interviews and evidence are stacked against it. This lack of self-awareness could derail more-important priorities or damage the PM’s relationship with engineers, who may lose confidence in their PM when the feature isn’t readily adopted by users.
Self-management.
Being a PM can be incredibly stressful. The CEO wants one thing, the engineering team another, and customers have their own opinions about feature priorities. Managing tight deadlines, revenue targets, market demands, prioritization conflicts, and resource constraints all at once is not for the faint of heart. If a PM cannot maintain their emotions and keep it cool under pressure, they can quickly lose the confidence of all their constituents. The best PMs know how to push hard on the right priorities, with urgency but without conveying a sense of panic or stress. These PMs also know when to take a breath and step away to regroup.
Social awareness.
According to Goleman, the competencies associated with being socially aware are empathy, organizational awareness, and service. PMs must understand customers’ emotions and concerns about their product as much as they understand the concerns of the sales team on how to sell that product, or the support team on how to support it, or the engineering team on how to build it. PMs have to have a deep understanding of how the organization operates and must build social capital to influence the success of their product, from obtaining budget and staffing to securing a top engineer to work on their product. Finally, social awareness ensures the best PMs service their customers with a product that addresses their jobs to be done, which is ultimately what drives product-market fit.
(Read more about what Paul Jackson has to say about EQ and PMs here. And here’s an interview with Sam Lessin, former VP of product management at Facebook, who says he has “never successfully trained empathy.”)
Company Fit
If the best PMs have well-developed core competencies and a high EQ, does that mean they are destined for success no matter where they work? Not necessarily. In fact, taking these skills and personality traits and applying them to the right company is what will ultimately guarantee success.
I have yet to see a standard job description for a product manager, because each role is ultimately defined by the size, type of product, stage, industry, and even culture of the company. If you possess the core competencies and high EQ needed to be a successful PM, the next step is to unpack who’s hiring and what they are truly looking for.
Here are a few of the key areas in which companies differ in what they want from a PM:
Technical skill.
The type of product, who uses it, and the type of company will determine how technical a PM needs to be. For example, Google requires PMs to pass a technical skills test regardless of what product they’ll work on. If the company is building a SaaS CRM, there may be more requirements around experience with go-to-market and customer life cycles than around how the product is built. By contrast, if it’s a data science product with machine-learning algorithms and APIs, the role may require a lot more technical depth to not only understand how to build the product but also how to talk credibly with the customers who will use it. That said, having a basic technical understanding of what is under the hood and mastery of the tools that PMs use is definitely important for the role, anywhere it is. Colin Lernell has more to say about these necessary skills here. If you are an aspiring PM and are concerned that you lack the basic tech skills for the role, you might consider taking online courses such as the renowned Introduction to Computer Science (CS50) course offered by Harvard University or one of the many intro and advanced technology courses offered by The Flatiron School.
Company philosophy about PM.
Every company has a different philosophy about the product development process and where PMs fit into that process. Below are the three most common types, with pros and cons:
I’m clearly biased in favor of the third type of philosophy about PM (as is venture capitalist Fred Wilson), as I’ve experienced all three and found the yin-yang to be most effective. But that’s not to say the others are notably bad — it really depends on what type of product you’re building, the company stage, and more. Regardless, when considering a PM role, the philosophy of PM at the company could be the deciding factor on fit for the role.
Stage of company.
The role of the PM at a startup is far more likely to be responsible for “all the things,” whereas at a mature company their role will be more distinctly defined. (Banfield, Eriksson, and Walkingshaw’s book Product Leadership has a section that has a lot more detail on this topic.)
Founder/CTO/CEO relationship with PM.
Especially in earlier-stage companies, it’s important to know how involved the founder/CEO/CTO is in the product process. If they are deeply involved, the PM role may play more of a support role, to flesh out their ideas or validate concepts with customers, versus conceiving and driving ideas of their own. This can be great fun for some PMs who enjoy partnering with founders and C-level executives and collaborating on the product evolution. But for other PMs, it can be very frustrating if they prefer to take more ownership of the product direction. It can also be challenging if the more technical founders or C-levels prefer working directly with engineers. This can leave PMs out of the loop or undermined (sometimes unintentionally), causing not just personal frustrations but delays. When considering a PM role that may work closely with the founding leadership team, be sure to find out their expectations of the PM function and decide whether this is the right fit with your interests.
How to become a great manager
Table of Contents
Who Else Wants To Be A Good Manager In 2022?
“ A good manager is not a person who can do the work better than his men; he is a person who can get his men to do the work better than he can. ” – Frederick W. Smith
Most employees would do anything to earn the opportunity to become a manager. But why? What makes them yearn to earn this tag?
It’s like not preparing well enough for the exam but expecting to take the top spot. They just want to bag the coveted title of a manager without doing the groundwork.
But what makes them yearn to earn this tag? Is it just the respect that comes with the title? Or is it the added responsibility that comes with it? Or, is it simply the feeling of satisfaction in achieving a career milestone?
Well, the answer is all of it. It’s the combination of all of these feelings that pushes us hard to rise above our peers and take charge of one of the most crucial positions in an organization. That said, while the managerial position does have its benefits in terms of career development, it can also be a thankless role.
The reason why I say that is because one of the qualities of a good manager is to keep a fine balance between employees’ needs and requirements, business goals, and their well-being and aspirations. And, that’s easier said than done.
More often than not, managers have to manage so many things at the same time that they experience constant stress. They are held solely responsible for both the success and failure of projects as well as the performance of the teams they are leading. While the entire blame for project failure is placed on the manager, the credit for its success is often given to the whole team. So, if you have just earned this opportunity, you better pull your socks up and do comprehensive research on the qualities of a successful manager. Doing so will help you prepare for challenging (as well as rewarding) times ahead.
5 Mistakes a Good Manager Should Never Make
“ What are the qualities of a good manager that separate him/her from the rest of the pack?” I know what you’re thinking about right now, but have you also spent time figuring out what mistakes to avoid at all costs to be a successful manager?
No? Ok, we will sort this out. Let’s travel back to the time when we started our professional careers. Over the years, we have worked for various organizations and under different people. From all those times, we can easily pick the ones who were not that good with managing people and influencing others. And, we certainly remember those managers who were exceptionally good in their role and inspired us to be a better version of ourselves.
I’m sure most of us also remember our past managers for their good and bad managerial qualities. What was it that we didn’t like or admire about them? Were they poor or good motivators? Were they easy or difficult to access?
We might have varied opinions on our past managers, but the fact is they have all played part in shaping our careers. Make no mistake about it, the managerial role is a demanding job with additional responsibilities. You cannot act or perform the same way in a managerial role as you did as a regular employee.
1. Micromanagement
A survey of Trinity Solutions and published in My Way or the Highway reports that almost 79% of respondents had experienced micromanagement.
Remember how annoyed you used to get when your manager always used to peek over your shoulders at work? Now, remember all the nice things (pun intended) that you uttered in your mouth as you were constantly watched over by your managers many times in a day. The point here is that no employee likes to be micromanaged and a good manager must bear this in mind.
Employees want a certain degree of freedom. They want managers to feel confident in their skills and abilities to perform a given job. Intrusive observations, manipulation, and exhaustive communication send a clear message to employees that managers do not back their capabilities, which can make them feel defeated, paranoid, and unappreciated. No employee can develop his/her skills when managers do not show complete faith in their teams and individuals.
2. Spoon-feeding Solutions
Another essential quality of good managers is that they don’t serve everything to their employees on plates. Rather, they develop and fine-tune their skills in a way that they can resolve the trickiest of situations on their own. That said, some managers have this tendency of over-providing solutions for their teams. They are quick when it comes to offering solutions that their employees can find themselves with more effort than usual.
This negative habit of spoon-feeding solutions prevents employees from doing all the hard work of seeking the best solution themselves. By always helping employees with “the solutions”, managers are not allowing their team members to put their thinking caps on and take ownership of the problem at hand. Managers need not act like a school teacher who is always accessible whenever the team encounters problems.
3. Failing To Define Goals
Poor planning and the inability to define goals do not do your team any good. Some managers fail to define goals for their employees who struggle with their work throughout the day. They have no idea why they’re doing work, or what their work means for themselves and the organization they’re working for. They can’t be productive when they do not have a direction or vision for work.
They also fail to prioritize work, which means they complete projects and tasks in the wrong order. When employees don’t see career growth in their jobs, they tend to switch jobs. On the other hand, goal-setting too can backfire if objectives are overly ambitious and unattainable. Good managers always set attainable goals for employees and reward them for achieving them.
4. Leading With Egoistic Mindset
As the American proverb puts it, “ Arrogance is a kingdom without a crown. ” Hubris has always been one of the main causes of conflict and grief. Arrogant managers think that since they are in charge of their teams, it’s because they are more skilled and competent than others. Such managers tend to show their supremacy to their subordinates from time to time.
They think they have the best ideas and information, and use their position to manipulate others. Many employees express anguish over arrogant, egoistic managers who are unfit to lead. In other words, the inflated ego narrows our vision. We lose perspective and we only hear and see what we want to. As a result, managers lose touch with their team members, which further widens the gap between both sides.
5. Displaying Blatant Favoritism
Being seasoned professionals, we are well aware of office politics and favoritism. It’s disheartening and demoralizing for employees when they already know who’ll be the next person to be promoted to higher positions just because he/she enjoys a close relationship with a manager. Poor managers are quite good at showing who they favor over others, irrespective of an individual’s abilities or lack of them. Certainly, this behavior is not what makes a good manager by any stretch of the imagination.
Managers displaying signs of favoritism at work can disrupt the workplace. This unhealthy practice in the workplace sends the wrong signal to employees, except for those who enjoy the manager’s special attention. People are likely to believe that hard, honest work doesn’t bear fruits because to grow within the organization, a worker would have to earn a place in the manager’s good books.
Now that you’ve read about some dreadful mistakes that should be avoided by managers (both experienced and new), we will now discuss some eminent qualities that good managers have, and aspiring managers must have.
There are countless organizations in history that have fared exceptionally well under good managers. Without an experienced and competent captain to steer the ship, the crew is constantly at the risk of losing direction and encountering several problems.
As John C. Maxwell has put it, “ Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
Given below are five key qualities that separate good managers from mediocre and poor managers. The latter can take a leaf out of the book of the former to improve his/her management skills significantly.
9 Must-Have Qualities Of A Good Manager
1. They Align Organizational Purpose With Team Goals
These are times when businesses are undergoing a massive transformation as regulatory changes, competition, and technological innovations are regularly updated. Organizations today need to be dynamic in order to adjust and adapt to the latest developments. Good managers don’t just tell their employees to do tasks; they also tell them why they need to do what they are assigned to do.
Employees who connect their work with the mission of their organization feel their job is more important and their work holds much significance. However, the majority of employees are still unsure about how their work contributes to the “big picture”. Good managers help them understand the value of their work and how it’s vital to achieve organizational goals.
2. They Demonstrate Empathy With Their Team
A study by research firm DDI shows that empathy is one of the main drivers of overall performance amongst managers. Another study by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCI) shows that managers with empathetic behavior toward their team are viewed as good performers by their bosses.
Empathetic managers understand the emotions of their team members. They understand how team members are feeling and this quality enables them to communicate effectively and solve problems right in the bud. As a result, their employees trust them more and managers can build rapport, which fuels team success. Being empathic towards employees equips good managers to form personal bonds with employees and foster long-term relationships with them.
3. They Delegate Tasks Effectively
Good managers delegate tasks and split responsibilities according to the potential and talent within teams. This helps to significantly improve overall organizational efficiency as well as time management. Assigning important tasks also helps team members develop confidence in their abilities, which motivates them further to put in their best efforts.
4. They Set Clear Goals And Expectations
Many good managers use the SMART goal method to define expectations. They also validate their expectations with specific reasons as to how these will positively affect you, your organization, and the employees themselves. When employees understand the reasoning behind the task, they’ll be more compliant and eager to take the required steps to meet expectations.
5. They Make Communication A Priority
Effective communication is the key to not only maintaining amicable relationships in the workplace but also delivering work successfully. Good managers are the first ones to recognize this, and therefore, invest their time and energy in ensuring a smooth flow of communication throughout the project. This is one of the most intrinsic qualities of a successful manager that you’ll not find hard to spot.
From navigating team meetings with poise to providing people with the right direction in the project – a great project manager ensures that things never slip through the cracks. They are not afraid to take the help of the available resources like online communication tools for the same.
6. They Bring Out The Best In Their People
Only 45 percent of employees are completely satisfied with the amount of recognition they receive. Poor managers are biased, but good managers identify and understand the differences that every individual brings, evaluate performance fairly, without prejudice. Best managers always recognize good performance and give credit where it’s due. Even when they identify weaknesses or faults, they criticize constructively so as to make employees realize their mistakes and work hard to correct them.
Good managers make sure they have an effective review process in place to evaluate performance fairly. Thanking your employees for their contributions and rewarding them for the job well done goes a long way in improving their morale. Good managers respect their employees and show them that they are valuable assets to the organization. Even the smallest of achievements need to be celebrated at first. Believe in your team even if no one else does, and you will certainly bring out the best in them.
7. They Leverage The Latest Technology
Smart managers know that technology, like project management software or online collaboration tool, is there to simplify the way they handle their teams, and their teams manage their work. They know that technology has a solution for everything – right from efficient task management and simplified collaboration to effortless reporting and time tracking.
This is the reason they never hesitate to invest in the latest tools. In fact, they are the first ones to look for tech solutions to make life easy for their teams and make them productive. By doing so they are able to not only bring the distractions to a minimum, but also bring the best out of every team member, and that’s the reason why they are loved by everyone.
8. They Set Up The Team For Success
Good managers don’t just inspire their teams to collaborate and work efficiently, they don’t settle until the team reaches the pinnacle of success. To ensure this, they focus on individual performances, while aligning their efforts with the overall team goal.
By bringing together all the aspects of successful team building like communication, collaboration, clarity and trust, they make sure that the team knows the purpose of their efforts. They know that success comes only with collaborative efforts, and that’s exactly what they inspire the team to perform.
9. They Inspire At Every Level
Most importantly, a good manager never fails to inspire others. This inspiration comes at many levels; from boosting the morale of the team when things are not going right to talking it out with individuals when they are facing problems in their personal lives.
The Final Thought
In a nutshell, being a manager is all about handling not just your work but your team with great responsibility. You are expected to deliver the goods as well as command the respect of your team. And a good manager knows how to achieve this. They cultivate happiness at work and encourage every employee to be a better version of themselves.
Good managers positively influence the lives of their team members and help them develop their skills. They groom them for senior roles in the organization in the future. That said, you can’t become a great manager overnight. You need to actively make efforts to improve and be consistent.
So, are you ready to take the steps necessary to become a good manager?
Vartika Kashyap is the Chief Marketing Officer at ProofHub and has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2018. Her articles are inspired by office situations and work-related events. She likes to write about productivity, team building, work culture, leadership, entrepreneurship among others and contributing to a better workplace is what makes her click.
Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox.
Top 7 qualities of an effective manager
Some companies have many managers and team leaders in their staff, because they need people with management skills. What characteristics should an ordinary employee have in order to become a good manager? Much depends on the purpose of the company, its scope and market characteristics.
Effective leadership will require a number of qualities: organizational, administrative, analytical. Are the skills to set goals sufficient? Of course not.
Every manager working in a company has duties and functions, and corresponding requirements are made to him.
7 characteristics of a successful manager
Effective communication
It is important to be open so that colleagues know that, if problems arise, the leader is ready to listen. Willing to discuss will help to quickly solve problems and get answers to questions.
Focus and commitment
There are circumstances in which it is necessary to «go ahead» to achieve the goals. An effective manager must be confident, always ready to support the team. It is very important to competently express thoughts, express opinions, influence the people around them.
These leaders know how to negotiate successfully, negotiate deals, reach a compromise.
Leadership
Leadership is considered one of the most important characteristics for a manager working in any direction. It is assumed that they have the ability to organize, establish a vision, direction, skills to lead a team to success and achieve the desired results. An experienced leader chooses the right methods of motivating colleagues.
The ability to win the trust of the team
A good manager periodically must ask himself the question: do team members trust him?
Any employee wants the leader to keep his promises and devote himself to the nuances of the events that are taking place, to notify him in time when plans and direction change.
After earned trust comes respect, which is the main point in the relationship.
Transparency
It can be difficult to make a decision, especially when there are serious updates, changes within a company or products. Therefore, managers should inform the team in time, not hide the nature of the difficulties or the situation.
Openness and honesty inspires confidence, raises the status of a leader in the eyes of subordinates. Of course, there are confidential questions in business, but there is information that should be communicated to all team members in a timely manner.
Strategic thinking and focus on results
The leader, focused on specific results, will have a constant motivation, he will tell the team the direction and path of development. This person must have strong character, ability to compete, healthy ambitions.
Delegation
Being a leader does not mean at all, to do everything on your own, even when it comes to important issues. You need to be able to delegate, distribute work among colleagues, if necessary, replace the manager. It is necessary to competently expand the capabilities of workers, first trusting simple tasks, then gradually move on to difficult ones.
To gain the status of an ideal manager takes time. Even the most talented individuals can not become great leaders, just starting to work in the company. Many fail at the very beginning, someone has a lack of excitement, interest, even after several years of vigorous activity. In management, development plays a significant role, and every young leader must constantly return to the qualities mentioned above, try to shape them in himself.