What do great managers do differently

The last thing any manager wants their team members to do is dread coming to work each day.

A dictatorial manager who lacks empathy or insight may produce but high turnover will cause them to ultimately fail. Excellent managers do their best to make 80 percent of the job rewarding, with a 20 percent balance of healthy stress. While this may not always be the possible, it is nonetheless their goal.

1. Knowledgeable

To create a happy and successful team, exceptional managers make sure to be knowledgeable in every area of their field, and to have the resources necessary to gather the information they are lacking. They are responsible and thorough in their direction of others, they follow their insights and stay well-connected in their industry.

2. Practical

Success comes with more ease when direction and expectations are clearly communicated to team members. These practical skills are essential to creating a happy and productive working environment.

3. Optimistic

Great managers are optimistic and positive. A manager who is cold and mechanical will, more often than not, get their team off on the wrong foot each day. Success is harder to come by working under oppressive and negative conditions.

4. Stress management

Stress is the one place we all have the potential to short circuit, lose patience and treat others poorly. Top managers know how to manage their own stress, they are more masterful in managing the stress of their team members when it is most needed. To reduce stress, top managers ensure team members have the necessary time to nurture and take of themselves personally and professionally.

5. Love of job.

Well-liked managers love what they do. They invest their time and resources into self-development, education and training. When a manager has this interest and passion, it is undeniably contagious to those who work for them.

6. Leadership

Great managers develop their leadership skills by engaging in teamwork exercises and practices that unleash the full potential of the team they manage. They keep their team cohesive by valuing camaraderie over competition.

7. Ability to motivate.

Stand-out managers are self-motivated and able to motivate others. They continually ask themselves how they can improve team morale with new tactics to keep passions peaked.

The more supportive the environment between individual team members, and between team members and their manager, the more cohesive and successful they all become together.

8. Dedication to excellence.

Great managers expect the best from themselves and their team. They refuse to settle for poor results, knowing it reflects upon their ability to manage well, just as much as it reflects upon the team’s ability to excel. The best managers encourage the sharing of ideas and offer incentives, such as bonuses or commissions, to get their team thinking more outside of the box. They don’t tolerate team members badmouthing each other, their customers or vendors.

9. Focused on quality.

Top managers focus on the quality of what their team produces. Successful managers encourage the productive use of time, skill and knowledge. These managers understand that the most successful and fulfilled teams are those who experience meaningful results.

10. Success is shared.

Great managers desire to have a meaningful and significant impact on their team. Successful managers are driven to make a difference, an emotional difference, in their team members. For this reason, they celebrate the accomplishments of everyone, believing that everyone is capable to doing well.