BEST. MANAGER. EVER.

How To Be Someone’s Best Manager Ever

What makes a great manager? Why is that even important? Managers play a huge role in your organization’s employee experience. Not only does this prove out through many research studies and surveys, but the idea also ‘feels right’. It’s intuitive. So, while we may agree that managers are critical in retaining your most important resource – your employees, how does an organization go about creating a team of managers who are ‘great’? What does that even mean? And, how do you capture ‘greatness’ when it means different things to different people?  

Not Everyone Can Be a Great Manager

Often, a company’s best technicians, analysts, and salespeople are rewarded for their accomplishments at an individual contributor level with a promotion to management. The change in role brings more money, recognition, and creates a nice narrative around promoting from within and providing career progression. When the memo goes out to the workforce, it’s often meant to be inspirational in the ‘do your job well and you’ll be rewarded’ sense.  

But, it sets us up for failure because …

Good Managers Matter

Gallup found that just one in every ten US managers has the talent needed to be a great manager. Companies that build their reward systems by promoting high-performing individual contributors into management roles quickly find that the skill sets that worked in making these individuals stand out amongst their peers do not translate into management talent. Often, it’s just the opposite. Gallup went on to find that bad managers cost the US economy up to $400 billion each year. That’s about the equivalent of the annual GDP of Norway or the United Arab Emirates. There is lots of attention, appropriately, on being and creating visionary and strategic leaders but lets not lose sight of the fact that #managersmatter. Managers live in the day to day - they make the business work one minute, one hour, one day and one employee interaction at at time; they bring the strategic vision to life.

What Makes a Good Manager Anyway?

Sure, managers should have some element of ‘street cred’. They should understand what it takes to do the jobs of their direct reports and maybe even step into performing these functions themselves, in a pinch. But, their command of this tactical knowledge shouldn’t overshadow their managerial talent. Being a great technician alone doesn’t make someone a great manager.

Great managers are great motivators and leaders. They inspire those around them to work not just harder, but at their peak levels – and to continually push those peak levels forward, through effort and learning. They accept responsibility for their own actions and for the actions of those they are managing. They hold themselves and their team members accountable for what they’ve said they would do. They foster environments of mutual trust among team members and between individual contributors and managers by being transparent, unbiased, and fair. 

Sound like a tall order? It is, but this is why we reward our managers by placing them in prestigious positions and at the higher tiers of compensation – not because they’ve completed some work anniversary or that they’ve built some impressive amount of widgets without getting into trouble. 

The Eight Characteristics of Great Managers

1.    They listen. And then they do something. In that order.

Great managers listen – before they act. They practice active listening. That means that they concentrate on what’s being said and only that. They’re not multitasking when they should be listening – trying to manage their calendar, sell more widgets, or finalize next year’s budget. They’re listening to understand and to form a response from that understanding. Sometimes, that response may be to do nothing, but to get it right, they listen, make a choice, and act.

2.    They understand their people, what motivates them, and what they’re good at.         

Great managers know their people’s strengths … and weaknesses. When they delegate work, they assign tasks so that they not just align with the strengths of their direct reports, but also develop the areas where their direct reports need experience and expertise. They build their people up for tomorrow, while strategically accomplishing what needs to get done today.   

3.    They empower their people.

One of the scariest things a new manager can do is let go and let their people sail alone at sea, guided by their own skill sets and motivations. It’s much easier, mentally at least, to micromanage a team, ensuring that everything gets done, but costing their people morale, and development. Great managers set parameters that frame each person’s decision-making rights, their authority. These managers then empower them to work within those guidelines so that they accomplish their short-term objectives while achieving long-term development.

 4.    They help their people reach their goals.

Great managers establish clear goals and metrics that define success. Their communication and transparency engage team members and help them reach their goals – because they know what’s expected of them, and what they need to do to get there. Great managers also aggressively attack obstacles to their team’s success on behalf of their team and the broader organization.

5.    They care.

Great managers care. They get to know their employees both personally and professionally. They also know how much each employee is comfortable sharing, and respect boundaries. 

6.    They connect people across teams, not just within their own team.

Us vs. Them mentalities are destructive and never foster long-term morale and growth within an organization. Great managers break down the silos they find and encourage their teams to find innovative and mutually beneficial ways to work with other groups. They have their team’s back, and their best interests at heart.

7.    They freely give recognition when and where it’s due.

Great managers recognize great work and great accomplishments. They celebrate successes, both on an individual basis and on a team-wide basis. Recognizing great work fosters more great work and employee morale.

8.    They don’t BS.

I've said it before and I'll say it one thousand time over...don't try to manipulate or BS people; they'll see right through it. Manipulation, 'sugar coating' tough messages, untruthfulness, etc all costs managers their credibility; employee engagement suffers, and everyone loses. Great managers know how to be honest, know when radical candor is warranted, and know how to create a no-BS zone for their employees.

Each job everywhere requires a delicate mix of soft and technical skills, which help us accomplish our tasks while managing the personalities we encounter each day. Business isn’t just about getting things done; it’s about working together so we can achieve more in getting those things done. To work as a team, we need skilled leaders who not only know how to be leaders, but also know how to motivate, engage, counsel, and comfort. Managers represent a critical role in our organizations. It’s time to look for true talent when we fill these roles instead of merely using them as the basis for antiquated reward systems.