The question “What makes a good manager?” is an easy one to answer, a good manager should possess the following skills.
- Communication
- Inspiration
- Motivation
- Organization
- Work well in a high pressure environment
- Understanding
The skills listed above are essential to be able to function in your role as a manager, for without them you will not be able to manage your team and put them in a position to carry out their roles effectively.
A team can only work if it is managed well, without that management the team will breakdown and revert back to individual tasking.
A manager must be able to introduce processes, discipline, and a team ethos on a daily basis to ensure the smooth and successful operation of the business.
A manager will select a team based on a number of key points.
- Knowledge
- Experience
- Motivation
- Ambition
- Accountability
- Able to follow instruction
- Willingness to learn.
- Team player
These are key qualities that a manager will look for in his/her team, for without them it is no longer a team, or a poor team at the very best, a good manager will not accept this, so it is important that the business has a training programme in place from the very start, and this should include team building, the manager should be all over this and put in place regular reviews of his/her staff and implement changes to their training as necessary, this can only benefit the manager, the employee, and the business. Remember the keyword in any business is TEAM.
Below are three qualities that are really important to have in your arsenal as a manager, and a very brief breakdown of them, please remember, this is what’s important to me, and is just my opinion, others will have a different view.
COMMUNICATION
The most important skill a manager will possess is communication, because if you can not communicate effectively all other qualities you have will become redundant.Effective communication is the cornerstone of daily operations on the shop floor and with your fellow managers. You must target the best way to communicate with your employees and managers, this can be verbal, email,daily meetings, and you must also encourage internal communication from your team, encourage them to ask you questions,, let you know their ideas, and concerns, and also create an environment of asking each other questions within the team.If you establish good lines of communication, that is half the battle.
INSPIRE
As leader/manager it is your job to inspire your team, you must lead by example and be inspired yourself, the team will look to you for inspiration, but you must also encourage the team to look at each other. When a team is inspired, work rate, efficiency, and outcome are increased dramatically.
MOTIVATION
Motivation is another key quality, as a manager you and your team must be motivated to succeed and be the best that you can be. You must encourage and motivate your team , and you can do this in several ways. You can offer incentives and rewards, promotion can be another key factor, or you can give praise and let the employee know how important what they are doing is, you give the employee a feeling of self worth in their role within the team. This is proven to be a very successful method.
Being a leader/manager isn’t always an easy role, but when you get it right it can be the most satisfying role in business, possessing the qualities I have outlined can go a long way to achieving that, I know that running a business isn’t as black and white as this, and it takes a lot of expertise and the will power to succeed, but if things do go wrong, keep talking, good communication will overcome most things in time.
