While many managers clearly set goals to become managers, many more individuals became managers simply because they had been at their jobs a long time, and, as the company grew, those who were succeeding in their current jobs were assigned management jobs. Unfortunately, many of those who simply “grow” into their jobs have little to no experience in management. This is not to say this group of managers can’t be effective at their jobs – with some training – but it’s not an issue that should be ignored.
The Importance of Communication with Managers
Trained or not, it appears that one of the primary skills many mangers are lacking is communication. OFFICEVIBE.COM reported that 69 percent of managers are uncomfortable communicating with their employees.1 Since communicating is crucial, this statistic is dismaying, to say the least. Managers need to be communicating consistently and constantly with their employees. Further, employees both want and need feedback to get better at what they do.When you consider that 50 percent of employees say they are quitting their boss, rather than their job2 , the importance of management becomes even clearer. While good managers may have some innate skills that help them be good managers, virtually every manager could benefit from training and skill-building.
You might wonder just how often is often enough for employees when it comes to meeting with a manger. According to PREDICTIVEINDEX.COM, practices vary widely:3
- Nearly 14 percent of employees meet on a daily basis with their manager
- Almost 38 percent meet weekly with their manager
- 20 percent meet monthly with their manager
- Almost 5 percent meet once a year with their manager
- The remainder either never meet with their manager or meet so infrequently then find it difficult to remember the last time they spoke one-on-one with their manager.
Employees who reported they communicated often with their managers were also the happiest in their job – most employees crave communication with their manager. So, whether you’re a manager who trained for the position, or a manager who possibly fell into the position, you can be the manager who truly manages, rather than simply keeping track of your employees.
What Skill Set Does Managing Require?
Management skills are abilities and attributes an executive should possess in order to fulfill specific tasks in an organization. Management skills can be developed through practical experience as well as through education. Managers must be able to deal well with subordinates, creating an easier flow of an organization’s activities. Managers who have good management skills can propel the vision and business goals of an organization in a forward direction with fewer hurdles to navigate.
As a manager, the skills you think you need might be very different from the skills your employees wish you had, or even the management skills recognized as important by those who train managers.
When you consider that 50 percent of employees say they are quitting their boss, rather than their job , the importance of management becomes even clearer.
The highest-ranking sills necessary for good managers include the following:
RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING – Good managers develop the ability to build good working relationships with everyone – no matter their level – in the organization. Building these good working relationships takes time, skill and respectful management.
SETTING PRIORITIES – In a busy, growing organization, it can sometimes seem like an overwhelming task to get everything that needs to be done completed in a timely manner. Being able to prioritize is a critical management skill – think about how emergency rooms “triage” those who come in , assigning degrees of urgency to wounds or illnesses to determine the order or treatment. You will not only be prioritizing for the more urgent tasks, but as well as for the longer-term tasks.
EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS – The ability to consider many factors when making a decision is important. When financial concerns are the only criteria used, or when a manager is feeling rushed, bad decisions can occur. Because of this, it is extremely important that effective managers have a structured process to think through a problem. This process may include an analysis of the risk, or even ethical considerations, depending on the type of organization.
COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY – Communication skills are essential for managers – you may know exactly what you want to occur in your organization, but if you are unable to communicate those thoughts to your team and to higher-ups, then those goals will never be met. There are “Seven Cs” of communication that every manager should make a part of their everyday management sills: Communication should be clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous.
COLLABORATION – This includes the ability to include employees in the problem-solving process. Yes, you are the manager, which may make you think you are responsible for solving every problem in your organization. If, however, you have hired a team of experienced people with the necessary skills, then this team can help you solve specific problems.
Building trust requires actually getting to know your team or your employees and the ability to effectively communicate your wishes.
CUSTOMER FOCUS – The ability to cultivate customer relationships and solve customer’s problems (if your organization involves customers).
BUILDING TEAM TRUST – When members of your team do not trust one another – or you—time is wasted, and the results can be disappointing. On the other side, when your team members do trust their teammates – and you – the results can be truly amazing. Building trust requires actually getting to know your team or your employees and the ability to effectively communicate your wishes. When you lead by example, discouraging behaviors that breach trust, you may be surprised by the results.
USING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE – “Emotional Intelligence” includes such things as self-awareness, empathy, social sills, motivation, and self control. Emotional intelligence allows managers to behave in a smart, empathetic manner with employees and team members.
Are You Actively Engaged in Mentoring, Educating and Overseeing the Management Process?
One of the biggest mistakes made by managers is hiring great people, then providing little to no follow-up. To ensure great employees stay great employees, a good manager must always be engaged in mentoring, educating, and overseeing the management process as a whole. Think about this: disengaged employees contribute little to the goals of your organization while draining valuable resources.Improve Training
It is the manager’s responsibility to improve and maintain employee engagement at all levels. Doing so requires employee training – one of the most effective tools for maintaining employee engagement. So, how can you improve employee training? Consider the following:1. MAKE TRAINING A PRIORITY – Your role in training and development is an essential one and can involve daily interactions with your employees to let them know you believe training is a priority. You set the tone in your organization, and by fostering a learning culture within your organization you will improve employee satisfaction, decrease turnover, increase productivity, and foster a culture of knowledge sharing.
2. PARTICIPATING IN EMPLOYEE TRAINING – When you train side-by-side with your employees, you will gather insights into each employee you might not otherwise have seen. While most employees require – and welcome – frequent upskilling, far too few are provided with opportunities to develop both their technical skills and their “soft” skills.
3. VALUING DEVELOPMENT – Let your employees know you value education and development. Employees who believe they are going nowhere in their job – that they are stuck in a rut, with no clear path for moving forward—are the very employees who will soon start looking elsewhere for a new job. It is vitally important that you communicate through words and actions that you value the growth of employees. You can do this by seeking out training opportunities, then ensuring your employees are given sufficient time for training.
4. PROVIDING OPPORTUNITY – Give your employees opportunities to practice their new skills and knowledge on the job. Why invest time and money in employee training if your employees will not be given plenty of opportunities to practice what they learn at work? As a manager, you can collaborate with trainers to provide practice opportunities in the form of eLearning scenarios, “safe to fail” spaces, role-playing with colleagues, and much more. When more complex skills need to be practices in the workplace, managers can provide support and encouragement.
As a manager, you can collaborate with trainers to provide practice opportunities in the form of eLearning scenarios, “safe to fail” spaces, role-playing with colleagues, and much more.
5. SETTING GOALS – Provide goals for your employees, but make sure you also provide a specific plan for achieving those goals. Remember – those things that can be measured can be achieved; work with employees to establish new areas for development, then find ways to quantify those goals.
Are You Keeping Up with Management Trends?
Like anything else in our fast-paced world, management trends change from year to year. As a manager, you have an obligation to your employees to keep up with these trends, as well as the discernment to determine which trends are applicable to your organization, and the knowledge of how to implement those trends.
As an example, the year 2020 has highlighted (like no other year ever has), the importance of remote work. Many organizations across the nation were blindsided by the pandemic and the necessity of allowing employees to work from home.
Managers who were following this trend prior to the pandemic had much easier transitions in the remote-working arena. Even in a “normal” environment, telecommuting can be beneficial for businesses as well as employees and their families. Productivity is boosted, employees are closer to their families, and commuting costs are reduced when technologies such as Zoom, Cloud, Skype, and other data mobility solutions are implemented.
Other current management trends include the following:
Recruiting influencers from within the organization to share and promote company products/services. Ensuring employees’ wages are increasing to meet inflation by revising company compensation plans Understanding the significance of artificial intelligence to enhance customer experience and satisfaction Bringing in outside consultants to infuse an organization with new ideas, information and knowledge Providing continuing education for employees Helping employees to have a good work-life balance Ensuring your millennial employees are fully trained to take on new responsibilities and participate in tasks.
As the manager your organization or department, it is essential to continue your own education in management trends to ensure that your employees and your organization don’t grow “stale.”
Are Your Employees Moving Up and Moving On?
Are your employees simply moving laterally, out of your department, or moving up and moving on as a result of your advocating on their behalf? As the manager, you need to be fully invested in the success of every one of your employees. Bored employees who are stuck in a rut, may move out of your department but not move UP. When you invest in the future of your employees, you are simultaneously improving company culture and developing a positive, productive workplace.Make sure your employees know when you consider them a valuable asset to the company – and that they can always turn to you for direction and support. Employees who feel supported have much higher levels of job satisfaction and are much more likely to consistently perform at the top of their game. In other words, it’s a win-win for you and your employees. Even if you believe an employee’s goal is to move forward outside of your organization, you have a responsibility to be supportive of the career goals of each and every employee.
Are Your Employee Metrics Consistently Improving?
Tracking team member performance is important. Not only do talented employees want and need feedback to help them grow and improve, it simply makes good managerial sense to keep track of what goes on in your business.
That being said, quantifying and measuring employee performance metrics is easier said than done. While there are a number of metrics that can be successfully used to track the progress of team members, the ones you choose will depend on your business and the roles of different team members. Some businesses use productivity tests, others use 360-degree feedback, while still others use management by objectives. Some metrics to consider for use in your organization include:
Attendance Metrics -- While this may sound like a no-brainer, it is important to track which employees regularly show up -- and those that do not. While remembering that simply showing up doesn't necessarily mean your employee is contributing to your organization, team attendance can be a useful metric. Automated time and attendance can help you keep a close eye on who consistently shows up late, leaves early, or takes an inordinate amount of days off.
When one team member is missing much of the time, the job burden of the others increases.
Poor attendance can be attributed to many different things, including employee burnout, lack of motivation, boredom with the job, or, of course, health issues. When one team member is missing much of the time, the job burden of the others increases.
"Helpfulness" Metrics -- These are especially important in organizations that are customer-based. Ask department heads which employees have been the most helpful to customers over the past six months. This can be both a motivator for all employees, while identifying the real "doers" in your corporation. While helpfulness can be a difficult metric to quantify, it can be worthwhile to try.
Efficiency Metrics -- These are the most commonly used metrics. Team members who consistently complete their work on time are those who are able to prioritize and accomplish tasks efficiently. Those who consistently miss deadlines may not be working at top efficiency.
Initiative Metrics -- Employees who consistently ask where they can help are employees who are generally satisfied and engaged in their work. As with helpfulness metrics, initiative metrics can be difficult to measure and might need to be done by paying attention and using a pen and paper to make notes of those employees who consistently take the initiative in their work.
Quality of Work Metrics-- This might be the most important metric, but, depending on your specific organization, it might also be the most difficult to measure. Generally speaking, employees who are satisfied at work are the ones most likely to turn out quality work. As a manager, when you include employees in company goals, they are more likely to perform at higher levels.
Quality feedback can help you all work better together, as well as improving your leadership. So, how do you get people to tell you what you might not want to hear?
Whatever metrics you choose, you want to ensure that the metrics for each employee shows a consistent upward curve over time. If you are not seeing improvement in your chosen metrics, it could be time to implement additional training or education, and/or to have a one-on-one conversation with an under-performing employee.
Are Your Employees Comfortable Giving You Honest Feedback?
When was the last time you received feedback from an employee? Are your employees comfortable giving you the unvarnished truth? How do you know? Let's face it -- the higher up in the organization you get, the less likely you are to receive constructive feedback on your performance, your ideas, or your strategies. After all, no one wants to offend the boss. yet without input from those you manage, your own development can suffer, and you may miss out on hearing some really useful ideas. Quality feedback can help you all work better together, as well as improving your leadership. So, how do you get people to tell you what you might not want to hear?
The first step in getting your team members to offer constructive feedback is also the most obvious: ask! But -- and this is important -- instead of simply saying, "Hey guys, do you have any feedback for me?" be specific. Ask very targeted questions such as, "What could I do that would make you enjoy your work more?" or "Would you like more or less direction from me on your project?"
Consider asking the hard questions that could potentially garner you some tough feedback, like, "Do you feel heard by me and other team members? Are there any obstacles that I can help clear out of the way?" Often a manager should pave the way and make a project easier to complete.
Once you've asked these questions, it is essential that you are accepting of any feedback you receive. Remember how difficult it is for a subordinate to offer honest feedback. When they do, be humble, rather than defensive. If you offer only a defensive response, your employees are unlikely to offer feedback in the future, or will not offer honest feedback. Try to think of feedback from an employee as a gift -- the employee cared enough to take a risk and share their feedback with you, therefore, your job is to accept it and learn from it.
When the feedback is particularly tough for you to hear, take a breath, and thank the employee before you say anything else. Next, ask them to share a recent situation in which the feedback applies. Ask questions that allow you to fully understand the feedback, then discuss possible solutions ore changes. While feedback is not always a pleasant experience, it can be a positive experience.
Once you have accepted feedback, it's time to take action. Obviously, the employee who was brave enough to offer feedback wants to see that feedback morph into a real change. If you do nothing with feedback, not only are you unlikely to receive feedback in the future, you are also highly unlikely to have an engaged team over the long term. If your team still resists offering honest feedback, ask yourself why. Is there lack of trust? Is there lingering resentment for past actions? Are certain team members simply too quiet or shy to offer feedback? (Consider a one-on-one in a less-threatening environment.)
Try to think of feedback from an employee as a gift.
In the end, remember that your team members are watching you much more than you might think. If you regularly offer feedback and praise to employees, they may feel more comfortable reciprocating. Finally, always own up to your own mistakes when a project goes wrong or has a problem. Take the time to talk to team members about what went right, what went wrong, and what you will all do differently next time.
"Able to, Want to, 'Allowed to' -- What Does This Look Like in Your Organization?
The path to a successful organization can be summarized in the phrases Able to, Want to, and Allowed to, as in these questions:
Are your employees able to do the work required -- Do they have the necessary skill sets? Have they been properly trained? Do they have the necessary education, experience and background? Assuming the answers to those questions are all "yes," then the next question is, "Do your employees want to do the work?" They can do the work, but are your employees eager to begin new projects? Are they engaged and showing up -- both physically and mentally? And if your employees are able to do the work and want to do the work, are they allowed to do the work? In other words, are you doing your job as a manager in letting them do the work? This means that you are not micro-managing your employees, but rather are letting them do what they are ready and able to do.
Going from Manager to True Leader
Hopefully, you have a solid understanding of the difference between a manager and a leader. While you may be managing your team effectively, you may not be truly leading them. What separates the two, and why does it matter? A manager knows how to execute, knows how to effectively delegate work, manage time and meet deadlines, and can be counted on to ensure the job is done and done right.
While all that is well and good, a true leader takes it to the next level. A leader has vision. A leader knows the best way to inspire each team member, motivating, and drawing the best from each employee. According to a Forbes article, the ultimate difference between a leader and a manager is that managers control, while leaders grow.4 If you truly desire to morph from a manager to a leader, remember:
Check your ego -- The best leaders check their ego at the door. What does this mean in practical terms? It means that if you have your team working late on a major project, you don't hesitate to make a pizza run, assemble folders, or help elsewhere.
Listen -- Leaders listen. Really listen. This means treating your team like a democracy, rather than only listening to the more seasoned members.
Be emotionally intelligent and fit. Leaders possess emotional intelligence as well as emotional fitness. Emotional intelligence encompasses the ability to read and connect with your employees, while emotional fitness refers to your ability to endure the ups and downs of business. This means that when a deal falls through, a deadline is not met, or the copy machine breaks in the middle of a project, you never freak out. When the manager loses it, ripples of chaos and panic spread quickly throughout the team members.
Take chances -- Leaders venture outside their comfort zone -- true leaders are willing to take chances. If you believe you are ready to become a leader rather than just a manager, be willing to go above and beyond what is required, empowering your team to do the same.
1 “4 Shocking Statistics that Every Manager Needs to Know,” 24 Nov. 2016 – http://bit.ly/4shockingstats
2 “4 Shocking Statistics that Every Manager Needs to Know,” 24 Nov. 2016 -- http://bit.ly/4shockingstats
3 Shannon Howard, “25 People Manager Stats You Need to know,” PREDICTIVEINDEX.COM, September 27, 2019.
4 Ashley Stahl, "4 Ways to Go From Manager To Leader," January 26, 2018 -- https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2018/01/26/4-ways-to-go-from-manager-to-leader/#2831bdc7d3f
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION, from Lead Don't Manage -- 12 Lessons in Creating a Leadership Culture Based on Core Values, by Mark W. Williams. Copyright 2020, by Mark W. Williams. Available on Amazon.com in paperback ($14.95) and Kindle ($9.99)..
Mark W. Williams is CEO of Brokers International, and is dedicated to serving the organization's employees and clients with his intentional and