Manage Yourself: Your Time x Effort
“Politics is more difficult than physics.” – Albert Einstein
While Einstein was referring to politics, the same quote could be applied to management, as well. A manager is defined as someone who is responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company or organisation.
The definition makes the job seem relatively straightforward like it is a job anyone could do.
It’s true that managing others is not always the most complicated task, but it is also not an easy task.
What makes it even more challenging is the fact that managing others, and managing yourself, is full of variables that are always changing. Even though the process isn’t static, you can still implement a strategy to manage yourself and others in the best way possible.
What Makes a Good Manager?
Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to be a good manager? Do you think you are a good manager? There is not one simple answer to this question, but rather a number of things to consider when it comes to determining the value of a manager.
There are individual skills and tendencies that good managers display, regardless of the industry. Fortunately, learning to be a good manager only takes some effort.
– A Good Manager Supports The Team
You may tell your team members that you are on their side, but do you keep that same message around your boss or manager? Good managers will defend and support their team’s efforts and ideas when it is deserved.
On the other side of the coin, good managers will also be honest with their team if their efforts and ideas are in need of improvement.
– A Good Managers Is Trusted
Do your subordinates trust you? Do you tell your team one thing, but then do another?
If so, those actions can be viewed as manipulation and lead to mistrust of your team. If you make a promise to your team, be sure to keep it. If you can’t, give an honest reason, not an excuse, why.
Additionally, you can earn the trust of your team by keeping them informed of important decisions, updates, and changes within the company or organisation. If questions or concerns arise, be open and honest when answering them.
This type of honesty and transparency demonstrates trust and good leadership.
Earning the confidence of your team is a form of their respect, which is necessary to be a good leader.
– A Good Manager Dives In
Do you know how to perform the tasks of the people you are managing?
Poor managers often feel like the work of their employees or team is beneath them, and they are reluctant to get their hands dirty by doing the same work as their team.
When your team has an important project, jumping in and getting involved is what will set you apart as an excellent manager, and make you more than just a boss. If your team fails, it reflects on you as well, so helping when it is necessary to ensure the success of your team is a sign of a good manager.
Another way to look at this is by being a “servant leader.” Make it your responsibility to serve not only your clients or customers but also your employees. It’ll change your outlook as manager, and it’ll do wonders for team morale.
– A Good Manager Says “No”
Sometimes what is best for your team will end up making some of them unhappy. Good managers need not be afraid to say “no” when it is the right decision to do so.
– A Good Manager Encourages Teamwork
A good manager can facilitate collaboration among employees. When projects and tasks are worked on together, they can get done faster, and communication is improved. Assign tasks based on your employee’s strengths and weaknesses.
Use team building activities and team meetings to help boost morale and encourage collaboration.
– A Good Manager Recognises Good Work
As the leader of the team, it would be easy to take the credit for the success of your team. However, a good manager knows that it is important to recognise the hard work and dedication of the team.
Share the accolades, and recognise success with rewards and public acknowledgement to help boost morale.
– A Good Manager Gives Clear Orders
A big part of being a good manager is providing clear direction to your employees. Make sure everyone is aware of the objectives and goals and is on the same page in achieving the goals. Responsibilities should be delegated, and everyone should understand his or her role.
Develop a system of checks and controls that help follow up to ensure that the team is on the right path to achieve the goals.
Make the objectives for your team well-conceived and measurable, and job performance moves from being subjective into an objective thing.
– A Good Manager Communicates Well
Being a good manager is more than just giving orders. Good managers need to know how to listen, and they should leave their doors open to two-way communication with their employees.
Additionally, good managers will give constructive feedback to their team, and if an employee makes an excellent suggestion, a good manager will be willing to act on the idea.
Immediate Feedback to your team should be given in real-time. This means that you need to give both positive and negative feedback and be readily available to provide that feedback.
Even if you are working remotely, be reachable by phone or email. Always be accessible to your team for communication.
– A Good Manager Develops The Team
Get to know the strengths and weaknesses of your team members to ensure that work is delegated properly, and tasks are completed efficiently.
If you see potential in a team member for an area, he or she is currently underutilised in, work to develop those skills.
Additionally, never assume that someone knows how to do the task assigned. Don’t cross over into the territory of micromanagement, but ensure that your team is properly equipped and trained to handle the tasks assigned.
Share education, resources, and responsibilities that help with your team’s professional development, and provide support when it is needed. Help your team members become winners by facilitating growth and accomplishment rather than motivating with fear and punishment.
– A Good Manager Practices Fair Judgement
When a mistake comes from your team, do you instantly blame it on one of the members? A good manager will gather the facts before pointing fingers.
Could the mistake have been prevented with better delegation, facilitation, or another type of management?
A good manager will recognise when to take the blame.
If a team member is at fault, rather than jumping to punishment, a good manager will use it as a learning opportunity and implement a proper course of action, and ensure that the implementation is completed.
– A Good Manager Allows for the Ideas of Others
When it comes time to make decisions for your team, do you facilitate decisions or always make them yourself?
A good manager ensures that the intelligence and capability are not drained from the team.
Don’t allow your ego to tell you that you need to always come off as the smartest and most capable, as your attitude will quickly put a stop to the flow of ideas that come from your team.
Expect exceptional performances from your team, and achieve success by fostering a culture of shared intelligence, ideas, and skills, and you and your team are likely to learn more in the process.
Many of the best ideas for the improvement of processes and procedures will come from employees who are closest to the actual work, in the trenches.
– A Good Manager Keeps an Open Mind
It’s easy to think that your way is the best way when you are in charge.
However, good managers show flexibility and adaptability in response to their environment. Progress cannot happen with rigidity, so do not be afraid of moving away from the thought of, “This is how it has always been done.”
– A Good Manager Sets High Standards
Keep your standards for your team high, yet still attainable. You don’t have to be the toughest or the nicest to be a good manager. You need to get the best results from the people you are in charge of.
Clearly, communicate your standards to your team, and lead by showing that you demand excellence from yourself as well.
– A Good Manager Tackles Conflict Head-On
Rather than avoiding conflict, deal with it in a direct and fair fashion.
Workplace conflict is a common occurrence, and everything from interpersonal issues to compensation to management-employee relations are all emotionally-charged issues that can cause friction. It would be easy to look the other way, but good managers will address problems as they arise.
Your employees will respect you more when you take action when it is necessary.
Manage Yourself To Be A Better Manager
Managing yourself is essential if you are going to be an effective manager of others. If you can manage yourself well, you can create a work environment that is meaningful and successful for both you and your employees.
Often, however, managers are barely getting through the day without feeling like they are drowning. This type of habitual disorientation can lead to people mistrusting your management abilities.
Managing yourself means focusing on learning how to work with others in the most productive way, making sure your work is excellent, and self-monitoring your habits and tendencies to ensure you are working efficiently and successfully.
Here are some ways to self-manage.
– Maintain A Sense of Self-Awareness
You may have initially adopted the leadership style of your superior, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
By being self-aware, you can determine what type of leadership style works for you, and you can work on adjusting how you manage to fit that style.
Self-awareness helps you discover your strengths and weaknesses, what motivates you, what you enjoy, and what you are passionate about.
With this information, you can develop an authentic and effective leadership style, and the first person you’ll lead is yourself.
– Hold Yourself Accountable
Just as you’d hold your team responsible for completing tasks and reaching goals, hold yourself accountable as well.
Utilise your superiors to help you make the right strategic decisions and give you feedback on your performance.
If you make a decision that something is important to do, then be sure to follow through and do it. If you are the highest level in your company or organisation, put together an advisory board that will give you the feedback you need.
– Give Yourself Time To Get Your Work Done
It’s easy to get so caught up in managing your team that you neglect your tasks and responsibilities. Set aside an hour a day that you take to yourself to get your work done promptly without interruptions.
Before taking this time, give a quick run-down to your team on how to handle any questions or concerns that could arise, and make sure they are clear on the tasks they should be completing in this time.
– Practice Priority Management (Time Management)
Time is an asset for managers, and it is essential for making thoughtful decisions. As a manager, you probably feel like you are just getting your work done and always feeling rushed, rather than getting to optimise your work due to being pulled in many directions.
Good managers protect their time and their schedules by prioritising well, delegating effectively, and leaving enough time to complete their tasks carefully.
A big part of mastering priority management is being organised.
Keep your thoughts organised and your physical space to help you stay on track. Take a look at your office, your briefcase, and your overall organisational system. Clean up any chaos.
– Recognise When You Are Out of Your Depth
If you lack the skills, time, or resources to manage certain aspects of your job, don’t let yourself drown. Instead, delegate some of the tasks, or hire support staff who can help you keep your head above water.
– Open Yourself Up To New Ways of Managing
Do you use fear to motivate your employees? Do morale and productivity seem low?
Maybe it is time to let go of your old ways of managing.
Keep yourself open to the concerns and ideas of your employees, and be open to adjusting your management style to best suit your team.
– Get A Life Outside Of Your Job
Do you have any hobbies or interests that have nothing to do with your management position that you gave up to focus on work?
Continue to pursue these things, and make it a point to make time for them.
Not only will these activities provide you with relaxation and enjoyment, but they can also inspire creative ideas that you can utilise in your business.
– Give Yourself a Break
If you’ve been managing your team effectively, they can handle the work while you take a break. Relax and know that your team has everything under control.
Take advantage of your vacation time, and use it for a likely much-needed mental break. Much like pursuing your hobbies, you might find that inspiration comes to you during your down time.
– Demand Quality From Yourself
Quality should permeate everything you do. When you demand excellence from your team, you need to show excellence in what you do, as well.
Make quality one of your top values, and show your team the type of expectations you command.
A lot of your responsibilities as a manager are related to the work other people are doing. However, you will still have work of your own to produce.
Make that work precise, first-rate, accurate, and presentable.
If your work were to be presented to your boss or posted on the bulletin board for everyone to see, would you be proud to claim it? Set a high standard for yourself, and use your work as an opportunity to set yourself apart.
– Find a Mentor to help you manage yourself
A mentor can help you continue to develop your management style, give an outside perspective on what works for you and where your strengths lie, and a coach can help you take your leadership skills to the next level.
Learning from a mentor on how to manage yourself better will reduce your time it will take to become a great manager.
There are many aspects that make up a good manager.
Many of them revolve around communication and a willingness to adapt. Additionally, as manager, you should emulate the type of work ethic, quality, and other attributes and values you want to see in your employees.
Utilise self-management as a way to determine which values are most important to you, and be an example and a mentor to your employees.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Instead, a good manager is one who can motivate a team to be productive, profitable, and high-quality.” quote=”A good manager isn’t always the nicest manager or the toughest manager. Instead, a good manager is one who can motivate a team to be productive, profitable, and high-quality.”]
Manage Yourself steps you can take!
- Understand what it takes to be a good manager.
- Measure and Identify where you excel and where you lack in skill compared to a good manager and determine a baseline.
- Start by working on how you can manage yourself better.
- Tick off the 10 ideas on how to manage yourself!