Being a good manager: 8 key points
"He/She has it in his blood!", "He/she is a born manager". Yes and no! You are not born a manager. While some people naturally possess certain leadership qualities, being a good manager requires constant learning and questioning . So, if you want to lead a team, here are 8 fundamental points that you absolutely should not miss.
Make yourself available to your team
The name "manager" comes from the English word "to manage". This translation shows how important it is for a manager to be available to his team and to support them in order to achieve, together, a common goal. When an employee needs help, can't find the solution to a problem, or is hesitant about a subject, it is important that the manager makes himself available to help and support him/her. Availability also involves setting up regular interviews, in order to take stock of the work of the teams, or ask them if everything is okay. However, it is important not to overcommit yourself and to know how to dedicate time to your personal work.
Showing appreciation
Being a manager is not just about helping your employees achieve their goals. There is also (and especially ) recognition when these goals/objectives are accomplished. An email/thank you note? A financial reward? An extra half-day off? There are many ways to reward son.sa employee for a goal achieved, a good performance, or simply for the way they work at work! Thanking an employee doesn't require a lot of effort but will, on the contrary, have many benefits. Showing gratitude will encourage employees in their missions and therefore, in the long term, increase motivation and performance. It will also help build trust and strengthen relationships within your team.
Don't micro-manage
Micro-management is a management style where the manager monitors and controls the work of his employees. He/she masters a project down to the last detail. As a result, employees feel policed, under pressure and don't feel recognized in their work. Authority is good, of course, but it should not be abused. Imposing a way of doing things is in no way productive, since the person who will carry out this task will not necessarily be comfortable with the dictated method. Instead, give your employees free will. What is relevant is to explain the objective you want to achieve, and if the person needs help, be available to advise them.
Be transparent
Being transparent means providing all the necessary and strategic information about the company to its employees. Transparency would be one of the pillars that guarantees the success of the company and its teams. It facilitates exchanges between members and builds a climate of trust. Employees will feel valued and involved in the company's projects. In the end, transparency has a direct impact on well-being at work and on employee performance.
Foster team cohesion
Alone we go faster, together we go further! By strengthening your team's sense of belonging, you create a high-performance and healthy work environment. Organized regularly, team building allows you to create more links between colleagues. Brighten up your employees' daily lives with fun activities that allow you to relieve the daily pressure! By the way, in Brussels, we offer you a list of team building activities not to be missed. Your employees will thank you.
Knowing how to motivate your teams
We now understand that being a good manager is not easy. This role is made all the more difficult by the fact that it is up to the manager to motivate his or her team. Indeed, the success of a project depends largely on the people who carry it out. If they don't believe in it, the project is doomed to failure. Motivating and creating a positive dynamic in your team is therefore essential, even crucial. Through positive reinforcement, public praise, and the promotion of results, a manager strengthens group cohesion as well as the desire to always do better. Methods have been created for this purpose, such as the OKR method. All in all, no matter how you go about it, motivating your teams will prove beneficial.
Learn how to delegate
Easier said than done! A manager has many responsibilities but that doesn't mean they have to control everything! To be a good manager, you have to learn to trust employees and give them responsibilities. The manager must position himself as a support, who helps his team to be autonomous and to bring out new ideas. It's not enough to give orders and have your employees apply your words like good soldiers; Instead, promote collective intelligence ! Of course, this should not prevent you from checking that the tasks are being completed.
Knowing how to manage conflicts
As a unifier, a good manager must know how to manage conflicts ! Tensions between two members of a team? Conflicts of ideas or interests? There is a variety of conflicts that can take place in a company, and unfortunately, these can have a very negative collective impact. This is why the manager must manage these tensions as soon as possible. To manage a conflict, 3 fundamental steps ! The first is to organize a one-on-one meeting with the committed parties. After this, bring them together for a collective exchange in order to take stock of the differences. You need to work to find a common agreement or common ground and verify that commitments are kept. These steps are essential to ensure that this type of tension does not recur.
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