January, 2021
This is what we all aspires to be… what it takes to be one... in today’s environment where it is difficult to apply command and control approach to every situation when everyone is craving for more autonomy and freedom. As said by Steve Jobs “it’s not about money. It about the people you have, and how you have led. Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things, they never thought they could.” A good manager will get noticed by what he manages in the enterprise. If the enterprise is successful then the management manged by manager is good as manger is the person who is accountable for managing company. Some push orders, some command and some lead by example making them great leader. “Great manager fights for their people”
The new role of managers is to be with the team facilitating & clearing the roadblocks, inspiring them to achieve more with minimum resources. According to Eric Schmidt – Executive Chairman, Google “managers should serve the team”, they should not be controlling them. In that scenario some important traits that every manager should acquire are:
- Being coach to your team
It is essential for the manager to be a coach to their team. Managers should be with the team. They should be a part of the team and solve problems with them, should be able to show them the path to lead and progress further and inculcate the behaviour which will foster team building & trust. Manger should have the knowledge about the teammates to ensure that they are counselled and given the feedback personally to improve at workforce.
- Empowering the team and not manging them or controlling them
“If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings—and put compensation as a carrier behind it—you almost don’t have to manage them.” – Jack Welch. Empowering is the process to ensure that the team or individual is able to behave or control their activities independently. This fosters creativity and shortens the time taken by individuals to finish their work. They feel the sense of freedom and independence which is highly valued at the workplace. Managers give them opportunities to grow by empowering them. Micromanaging employees and telling them what to do dampens their morale leading to frustration
- Empathising with team members for their career success and personal well being
Understanding employees career aspirations and aligning them with the correct skillsets & goals at workplace is of paramount importance from the organisation’s perspective. This helps employees planning long time career with the organisation investing their time.
- Focusing on being productive & efficient with available time & resources
Being productive and efficient leads to profitable organisations. Maximum utilisation of the available resources and time leads employees to progress faster and an effective way saving unnecessary cost. This also create the culture of an organisation which is beneficial in the long term. Using various productivity tools and technological benefits can help them do this much better.
- Develop listening capabilities to be an effective communicator
Good managers are good listeners and they communicate with their employees with appreciation as it is the fundamental need of the humans at workplace. Organisation can see immense positive results, having fruitful conversations leading towards happy employees. Some of the ways of effective communicator can be to accolade them with “good job”, “thank you” verbs. Award them with small achievement for completing the work on time, before time which motivates them to do more.
- Share & use information wisely
In today’s world information is the key to every action. Managers can facilitate lot of work through efficient use and sharing of information between employees. It boosts employee productivity as everyone is having access to information.
- Being innovative & creative in the approach to handle both situations and people
Fostering innovation at workplace bring in new aspects of doing work. It increases creativity and bring novelty & newness to mundane work. It also increases entrepreneurial aspects of employees for them to take more initiatives and do more work eventually. Many a times doing work differently also enhances the work culture and employee productivity.
- Help team stay focussed on results with having clear strategy or vision along with goal setting
Goal setting and clear vision minimises friction in thinking and avoids conflict on multiple objectives simultaneously. It helps employees stay focus on their activities to achieve their common goal aligning each and every one to contribute their share. It helps to execute & unfolds the strategy effectively. These can also be categorised as good core behaviours of successful managers in successful organisations.
Along with the above there are three more important traits that is required in today’s VUCA world in every manager.
- Ability to steer the team through “change”. It is the manager who will navigate the team through every possible change in the organisation so as to deliver results and maintain stability over the period of time. It builds resilient team to face any new challenge.
- Ensuring overall efficiency of the team. Overall effectiveness of the team is more important than only the short-term results. Many a times a long-term goal is achieved as a careful planning and focus on overall progress of the entire team and all aspects of work. Delegating work, breaking them into smaller blocks and tying them with time guidelines is essential task of good managers.
- Managing diversity & fairness in the team. This ensures good balance in the team along with flexibility to accept wide variety of work with different skills sets. They focus & discover what is unique in every individual and capitalise on their skillset. Effectiveness of the team is enhanced to handle critical roadblocks without any prejudice.
“The Four Keys of Great Managers as told by Marcus Buckingham are
(1) when selecting someone, managers select for talent … not simply experience, intelligence or determination.
(2) When setting expectations, managers define the right outcomes … not the right steps.
(3) When motivating someone, managers focus on strengths … not on weaknesses. and
(4) When developing someone, managers help him find the right fit … not simply the next rung on the ladder.” -
With this battery of skillsets and an approach of coaching, giving feedback and guiding the team for competence and performance enhancement will ensure a successful organisation. Good managers turn their employee’s talent and skills into effective performance giving them freedom to excel in their own way. Eventually good manager become great leaders to lead successful teams and organisation.
Prof. Kshitija Pandey
Assistant Professor,
DR V N BRIMS, Thane
Also read : A REVIEW ARTICLE ON STOCK MARKET CRASHES
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