Six Steps To Becoming A Good Manager
Typically, no one is trained to be a manager. We have to learn how to manage people on the fly after being promoted into the position. Here are six steps to follow to make sure that you become a leader that others will remember.
Six steps to becoming a good manager:
- Tame yourself
You have to begin by understanding your personality and taming it. If you are too quiet, you will need to work on becoming more outgoing and decisive. If you are too decisive, to the point where you scare people, you will need to work on toning yourself down. You want to become a thoughtful, considerate leader who knows where they are going.
- Have a goal
If you don't know where you are going, you will never arrive, and no one will be able to follow you. Your goal can be as simple as "providing every customer with the best service" or "no injuries, no deaths on the job" or "make a profit".
- Have a "clear, simple message"
You must be able to convey your goal in a sound bite. People can understand and retain clear, simple messages. You have to be able to repeat the message at meetings, in newsletters and in general conversations. If your people know the message, they will be able to follow.
- Look and act like a leader
People have a much easier time following someone who looks as they should. Your clothes should be clean and pressed. Your shoes should be polished. You should walk with confidence.
- Be trustworthy
People won't follow you if they don't trust you. You must be ethical and honest at all times. People trust people who are clear about what they are doing. People don't trust people who say one thing at a meeting, and then say or do something different outside of the meeting.
- Care about your people
You can't supervise people if you don't like them. You shouldn't become best friends with your staff, but you should know them and know what their problems are. Because you care, you should attend their weddings and funerals of their close family members.
Because you are their leader, you should not attend more personal functions, such as their birthday parties. You need to keep yourself concerned with your staff, but not intimately involved with them.
If you are not really a "people person", consider another, non-managerial position in your organisation.
It is helpful, when learning to be a good manager, to keep in mind the things that past managers have done that you liked and those that you have not liked. You can use these experiences to guide your decisions.
Author Credits
Ruth Haag is the President and CEO of Haag Environmental Company, a hazardous waste consulting firm. Ruth is also a business management consultant. She and her partner Bob Haag host the weekly radio show "Manage Living," which can also be heard on-demand at http://www.manageliving.com/. Ruth has authored a four-book series for supervisors. She offers business management courses through Ohio colleges, and she also provides private contract training. She is the publisher of Ohio's monthly newspaper for thinking people, A Sandusky Bay Journal.