8 expectations from modern managers

Piali wrote this and remarkable thing is that it is her first

As the saying goes by Mark Graban : “Bad managers tell employees what to do, Good managers explain why they need to do but great managers involve teams in decision making and value their suggestions.”

So it depends upon your luck what type of manager you will get to work with, however whatever type you get, it’s important to expect minimum common expectations from them. We have asked ourselves several questions putting us in place of our team member’s so that we can empathise with those who report to us and consciously practise what we want from our manager

1. Don’t do things you don’t want them to do – If you look up social media on WhatsApp every ten minutes – you lose the right to lecture them on distractions at work. They will stop listening to you or pretend listening to you but never listen to you. You don’t have to be a God but just don’t get preachy all the timeJ.
2. What is expected of me? – Be clear of what you expect of the individuals. If they are clear, it will make your life much easier. After all every employee has the right to set their goals and they need to be smart goals. You communicating to them is one thing and they understanding is another. Make sure the latter happens as well.
3. Am I on the right track? – Once in a while have a discussion and give an honest feedback if the employee is going in the right direction. This is a two way process and the tracks have already been defined. The point is don’t wait for a definite date to correct someone – do it when you feel the need to.
4. How much freedom do I exactly have- Does your team really have the freedom to do “What is expected of them?” and most importantly “Can they do it in their way?” If the answer to both these questions is “Yes” then they are lucky. Don’t keep saying freedom when you actually don’t give it.
5. Am I learning enough to grow – This has become fashionable. Just check your relevance and ultimately every task you do should value add to your career. So at the end of every day, ask yourself “what did you learn today?”. If you repeatedly get a not so good enough answer, then you need to know that you are not in the right place and need to find another job.
6. Are you controlling me or adding value to my work? –This practice may be of the past but if they really want a productive output, they need to stop controlling. We cannot even control a two year old why are we talking of controlling teams having mature people. Sometimes they are required to handhold wherever necessary so that they feel that its not just my work alone. We are in it together.
7. Are you adding sufficient challenge/meat to my work - It is necessary to ensure that the team members are sufficiently engaged. If you don’t challenge them, they will never stay. An ultimate mixture of challenge and support is very healthy. This will lead to better engagement and when an organisation raises employee engagement levels consistently across every business unit, everything gets better.
8. Do you acknowledge me in a way that I would like? Everyone cannot be acknowledged and appreciated in a cookie cutter way. Everyone is unique and deserves a unique treatment.

Assuming that you are a good boss, you need to know what keeps your team members ticking to deliver more and more and ………………better and better. This is the final litmus test!

There are a bunch of them but all may not like the way they are acknowledged. Some like to be rewarded, some prefer simple recognition, some like a blast and some just a verbal “thank you”. You need to know what works for whom.

If this is too much of an expectation, then you shouldn’t feel too low as research states that large companies have approximately one great manager for every 10 employees, and statistics show that one in 10 people possess the inherent talent to manage.

A small suggestion: Remember that each member is unique and we as good managers need to know the likes,dislikes, pluses and minuses of each one to get the best out of them. After all it is up to we “the bosses” or rather “Good managers” to make things happen and get work done together ……….since we are all sailing in the same boat.