Every healthy business has competent managers. These are the employees that will help guide and drive everything in your business forwards. But who should you be promoting to manager? Read on to find out what makes a good manager.
Empowering the team
A good manager will help their team develop by empowering them. You want your manager to be overseeing a coherent group, rather than trying to carry out all the work themselves. Ideally, all your employees will be empowered to thrive under their managers.
Productivity
A manager should also have a strong work ethic, helping them to be as productive as possible. If your manager isn’t able to be productive, then it could hold back the entire team.
Driven by results
They should also be driven by results. Most managers will set objectives and goals to meet and it’s important that they’re motivated to reach these targets. If not, you could end up with teams falling behind schedule.
Communication
Communication is key too. A manager will be responsible for outlining company plans to their team and should always be helping their team to improve. To achieve this, a manager needs clear, persuasive communication skills to get their point across.
Vision
Vision and creativity can help too. Managers will often have to solve problems or maybe think of new, more efficient ways to carry out business. But by having the vision and the ability to think critically, a manager should be able to come up with effective solutions.
Planning
Planning is essential. Managers will usually have a busy schedule throughout the day: they’ll be juggling their own work and that of their team. As such, your managers should be capable of organising and planning effectively.
Things to avoid
Micromanaging
Micromanaging is a key trait to avoid as a manager. This refers to the tendency to try and control every little detail in their team. If your manager does this, the whole team will become less productive and morale’s likely to drop.
Ill-defined goals
If your manager can’t articulate the goals for their team, it could be a problem too. If employees aren’t sure what they’re aiming for it can result in a lack of motivation and productivity.
Spoon feeding solutions
Spoon feeding solutions isn’t a helpful trait either. If you fail to empower your employees then they won’t develop and your manager will be swamped with too much work.
Finding the right manager can be tricky for your business. You can follow the advice above, but if you’re still stuck, it could be worth looking into leadership assessment services to see if any of your employees are ready to make that step up to management.
