Management is an art a business or organization uses to achieve its pre-determined goals by getting things done by directing employees’ efforts. The essential function of management is planning, controlling, staffing, organizing, and handling. A manager does all these. Manager reduces turnover and increases job satisfaction by providing stability to their employees. It makes good management inevitable in the pursuit of success hence making it essential for a company that craves success to have a manager, not just a manager but one with good qualities. The following are crucial qualities of a good manager.
Good leadership skills
A good manager should have good leadership skills to lead to good decision-making. Great leaders ensure their team keeps their goal in mind by providing they don’t go astray through coaching, inspiring, motivating, and not micromanaging them. According to (Nakonechnaya, & Kuzmina, 2020), it will be possible if the manager is not stern and unapproachable and provides constructive feedback, support, and resources to the employees, helping them reach their full potential and deliver their best work. Managers can also create a door policy encouraging employees to go to them about anything. A door policy can be easily practiced if the manager removes formalities such as emails and appointments.
Empathetic
For one to manage employees, they must be coupled with the ability to sense, understand and share the feelings of another. A good manager should be able to exhibit emotional intelligence to ensure that they are not emotionally distant and indifferent to the feelings of their employees (Quirk,2019). They should not neglect the feelings of their employees but strive to relate to them and help them cope with their challenges by providing flexibility. An empathetic manager will ensure they positively impact the employees and increase retention. An empathic manager will also understand the pain points that prevent their employees from performing their best. Doing this will helps them figure out a way of cultivating a culture and work environment that allows the employees to work efficiently, openly, and comfortably y (Quirk, 2019).
Knowledgeable
To manage a company well, one should know their line of work. As a manager, you should strive to become the most knowledgeable person in the company because a whole team looks up to you, not just for the sake of your position but because you will have to be the role model to many (Gioia, 2022). They should also be open to new ideas and learning skills and allow their team members to share new ideas. It will help them consume knowledge that will help them notice when an operation can be improved by adapting recent trends to better their company and become better in what they do.
Transparent
A manager’s transparency helps make employees feel like true partners of the company. Managers can show how authentic they are to employees by engaging them in decision-making processes. The best managers give credit where needed and do not hide the truth behind a shield of politeness (Dallas, Perego & Van Rinsum,2019). A fair evaluation of performance is another way a manager shows respect and transparency to employees (Dallas, Perego & Van Rinsum,2019).
It helps managers reward employees according to their accomplishments. By doing that, they motivate employees as they will become more productive because management recognizes their efforts. The manager should ensure the reward is fair by having a performance review process. To make it more transparent and practical, the manager can share the glory and success of the rewarded employee with the entire team.
Significance of important qualities of a good manager
In case of any hiccup or outright failure in the company, a good manager should not find ways to blame employees. The manager should instead be able to take accountability for their actions. For instance, Jason Nazar, the CEO of CNBC, always handles their emotions and work-related pressure. According to (Van Rinsum, 2019), they will help them merge on the other side in a stronger position by identifying weak areas and finding solutions to their problems. To do this strategically and more realistically, the manager can organize board and project meetings.
Through the sessions, they will be able to briefly discuss the shortcomings and provide ideas and constructive feedback on how to improve (Van Rinsum, 2019). By being accountable, managers can maintain respect from employees even when they disagree with decisions. It will make the company adaptable and agile, leading to better business growth and outcomes (Van Rinsum, 2019).
Sets clear expectations
A good manager like the manager of Aflac should know the intelligent methodology to figure out what goals to set. They should understand the importance of developing a realistic and attainable goal hence avoiding ambiguity. To provide a clear target, the manager should establish a time-based deadline, know what to expect from each employee, and communicate those expectations to every employee. It is possible by capitalizing on the strengths of their team members. According to (Croft, B. (2022), it will help employees play their strengths by creating responsibilities focused on their skills through identifying their weaknesses and strengths. They can also try having one-on-one conversations and discussions about their work areas with their employees and get to know the work they enjoy, the skills they would like to explore, and, most importantly, their areas of expertise. It can also work as a good and effective way of delegating tasks, helping employees achieve maximum productivity.
Recognizes and rewards good work
Good managers let their employees know their efforts significantly benefit the company and are appreciated. It is done by rewarding their employees for their accomplishments from time to time, even if it will be as little as a pat on the back. Employee recognition boosts individual engagement and increases productivity and loyalty. According to (Santos et al .,2018), when a manager rewards an employee, especially before the rest of the team, it changes the entire climate of the company as it will act as a challenge to the rest.
Good communicator
A good manager has good communication skills. Impactful communication efforts enable a manager to make decisions that support the culture of the people and value employee feedback ( Félix, M. J., & Murmura, F. (2018). It will help them communicate effectively with their employees since they take time to listen to them and understand what is happening in the company hence building employee loyalty and performance as they will feel their concerns are genuinely cared about, creating a great workplace.
Trustworthy
A significant contributor to job satisfaction is between the manager and employees. A good manager should foster a positive work environment and build and maintain employee trust. A trustworthy manager enables employees to dedicate themselves to the goals and visions of the organization since they trust the decisions management makes. Managers that prioritize trust cannot lose the respect of employees. It will positively impact the company as there will be an increase in productivity, employee turnover, and loyalty.
Conclusion
As a leader, a manager should act as an example and express the enthusiasm, diligence, and other skills they expect from the people they manage. They should also put their best effort into conducting their tasks, making them execute and be self-servicing.
References
Dalla Via, N., Perego, P., & Van Rinsum, M. (2019). How accountability type influences information search processes and decision quality. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 75, 79-91. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036136821830521X
Gioia, D. (2022). On the road to hell: Why academia is viewed as irrelevant to practicing managers. Academy of Management Discoveries, 8(2), 174-179. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amd.2021.0200
Morgan, H. J., & Croft, B. (2022). The Five Most Important Qualities in Coaching Your Employees: Anywhere in the World. Coach Me! Your Personal Board of Directors: Leadership advice from the world’s greatest coaches, 96-98. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119823803.ch28https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119823803.ch28
Nakonechnaya, A. E., & Kuzmina, V. V. (2020). Leadership qualities. In Инновационное развитие региона: интеграция управленческой науки и практики (pp. 264-266). https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=42914648
Quirk, B. (2019). Empathy, Ethics, and Efficiency: Twenty-First Century Capabilities for Public Managers. In Reimagining the Future Public Service Workforce (pp. 93-108). Springer, Singapore. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-1480-3_7
Santos, G., Afonseca, J., Lopes, N., Félix, M. J., & Murmura, F. (2018). Critical success factors in the management of ideas as an essential component of innovation and business excellence. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJQSS-05-2017-0051/full/html
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