Being a manager comes with tremendous responsibility. The responsibility to manage people. It’s more than just ordering them around and expecting results. It requires an understanding of strengths, weaknesses, wants, and annoyances of your employees. When employers don’t possess the skills required to manage their workforce, the organization suffers from the lack of productivity and morale. In the clutter of problems like multiple bosses, workplace harassment, and high turnover that organizations find themselves nowadays, managers are forgetting the basic principles of leadership.
So what really separates good leaders from the bad ones?
Following are the must-have qualities and skills that one must have in order to be a good leader:
1. Project Management
Good managers are experts at managing the workflow. They know everything about the project in hand, and how to execute it in the best way possible.
In order to do that, one needs to familiar with the strengths, weaknesses, and skillfulness of his/her employees. If the manager doesn’t know which employee is the best choice to conduct a task, a lot of time and efforts will be wasted.
There are tons of office and project management softwares that will help you manage the tasks in hand, but you still need to know whom to assign them to.
2. Delegation
Good managers know for a fact that they cannot do everything themselves. There’s a reason you have a staff in place, and it’s not just to obey your commands and follow you blindly. You need to utilize their talents and use their expertise.
Delegate proper authority at critical times. Observe how your employees handle it. This will prepare them for future situations and also share your perspective. Your employees will better understand you now that they have been in your shoes.
3. Communication
Without proper communication channels and a clear chain of command, misunderstandings and conflicts are inevitable. There must be proper channels of communication for everyone to talk. Verbal communication often gets mixed up with gossip and creates clutter.
Moreover, employees are prone to a great deal of stress, every now and then they need guidance going forward. There are tons of hidden issues in a workplace that employees go through. Many of which will severely hinder your efforts if go unnoticed. Workplace bullying and harassment cases are popping up all over the world and taking down organizations. You need to find these issues and resolve them before they become lawsuits.
Since these issues are sensitive in nature, employees might not be very forthcoming in reporting them. Implement YourSafeHub in your organization. It’s a secure communication channel that lets employees report such problems anonymously.
4. Motivation
Work comes with stress. Sometimes, a lot of stress. Every now and then your employees require some morale. Motivation is a big part of your managerial responsibilities. Good managers have excellent motivational skills and are able to get their employees through the toughest times.
Timely remind your employees about their purpose and value to the organization. They need to be reminded every and then what role they play and how critical it is.
This is a key skill that every manager all over the world needs to have, no matter what field they’re in. From basketball courts to army camps, an energizing shout out can provide impeccable results.
Summary:
- Properly manage tasks by assigning them to the right people at the right times. Know everything about your staff's strengths and weaknesses and use that knowledge. Take help of a task management software to help you manage the workflow.
- Delegate proper authority at relevant times. Employees need to practice your powers and responsibilities in order to develop and understand your perspective on different matters.
- There are tons of hidden issues in a workplace like harassment and bullying that employees go through. Since these issues are sensitive in nature, employees might not be very forthcoming in reporting them. Implement YourSafeHub in your organization. It’s a secure communication channel that lets employees report such problems anonymously.
- Good managers have excellent communication skills and are able to motivate their employees through toughest times. Timely remind your employees about their purpose and value to the organization. They need to be reminded every now and then what role they play and how critical it is.