Top 6 Management Tips for Becoming a Great Leader

Are you becoming a manager for the first time? If so, congratulations on this major achievement! A management role can provide significant benefits and eventually open the door to additional career opportunities.

At the same time, I understand that it's intimidating to begin working as a supervisor. You have new responsibilities and need to perform a number of unfamiliar tasks. Fortunately, these management tips can help you become a great leader who contributes to the long-term success of your organization:

Six Management Tips

1. Listen to staff members, and don't hesitate to ask questions about their jobs. You don't have to pretend that you know more than everyone else. Likewise, you needn't respond to every question immediately; it's more important to make sure you have the right answer.

2. When you communicate with employees, try to take their ideas and opinions into consideration. Methods that work well for you may not be efficient or effective for your staff. It's often wise to let people decide how to accomplish tasks on their own.

• Acknowledge your own mistakes
• Remember not to overemphasize blame
• Try to be positive and enthusiastic
• Thank employees for working hard
• Praise them for excellent work

3. When you tell employees to do something, briefly explain why (unless it's obvious). This will make the work feel more meaningful and worthwhile. Avoid micromanagement; it needlessly causes stress and wastes everyone's time.

4. You can often prevent arguments and other disharmony by setting specific goals that everyone understands. If you want people to collaborate more, establish a single target for the entire staff (rather than individual goals). Be sure to offer guidance regarding the responsibilities of each person.

5. Give feedback in a fair, straightforward way that doesn't embarrass or upset employees. When people take on new responsibilities, evaluate their performance more frequently. This will help them correct any mistakes and feel confident when completing new tasks.

6. As a supervisor, it's vital to behave professionally and avoid favoritism. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't learn about individual staff members or engage in small talk. You can become a more successful leader when you understand the personal strengths, weaknesses and goals of each employee.

I wish you luck and hope these tips will help you serve as an effective, respected manager. Remember that encouragement and collaboration usually accomplish more than negativity. As always, feel free to connect with me by reserving some time on my calendar.