Are you loved or hated? And will anyone really be honest enough to tell you? Probably not! Whatever you may be "managing," your tasks responsibilities will include interacting with people in a supervisory role, and, unless you are hiding in your office all day or working like the proverbial ostrich with your head in the sand, you should be getting some clues that tell you how you are doing. Here are some clues that all may not be well in "paradise."
[*] There is a high turnover rate - perhaps higher than in other departments, or, if a large corporation, people in your department are happy to transfer.
[*] There is a higher level of absenteeism
[*] Employees only come to you when there are conflicts or crises
[*] You know little about your employees' personal lives
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These 4 things are big symptoms of a "team" that lacks camaraderie and a good relationship with its manager. So, how do you fix this and become the kind of manager with which others want to work? Here are 6 ways that you can begin to turn this around immediately.
Be Honest and Forthright
The "direct" approach always works best, and honesty is both appreciated and respected. Many managers keep issues and problems to themselves and try to "paint a rosy picture" to their employees at all times. This approach almost always backfires, and people feel somewhat betrayed when they are not provided the true picture of a situation. If there are problems in the department or in the company as a whole, be honest about them and keep your people "in the loop."
Develop a Real Team
Bad managers "govern" from above at all times. They send out memos; they "solve" an issue on their own and give the solution to everyone in the department as new policy and/or procedure. When employees are dictated to at all times, they feel no "ownership" in any of the solutions or policies, and chances are they will ignore them whenever they can. If an issue or problem arises, be honest about it, hold a meeting, and ask for everyone's input. You may have the final say, but everyone believes that his or her opinion is at least of value. They then buy in to the ultimate solution.
Stop Complaining!
When someone is promoted to a management position from the "rank and file," s/he may be used to griping about things with co-workers. Time for that is now over. You are part of management and expected to behave like management. When you continue to gripe and complain about the upper level management and executives, you undermine your position, and no one respects you for it! If you really are unhappy about certain company policies, etc., then it is your responsibility to take those issues up with your bosses, not commiserate with your employees!
Meet with Your Employees Individually
You may have regular staff meetings, and those are good places for getting input and presenting tasks and issues. However, if you are really going to be a good manager, then you absolutely must meet one-on-one with every employee under you, on a regularly scheduled. You need to understand what their on-the-job issues and problems are; you need to know what their personal and professional goals are. They need to feel that you have a genuine interest in their well-being and their future!
Delegate Smartly!
If you truly are a hands-on manager, and you hold those individual meetings, you will begin to know your employees' individual strengths and challenges. You will also be able to assess each one's ability to grow in his/her position and to be ready for more responsibility. Obviously, you will have to delegate tasks, but, if you do not know your people, you will do so very inefficiently, and you run the risk of angering some of your people by giving them tasks that are either seen as too easy or too difficult!
Handle Conflict Directly
There are two kinds of manages that are horribly ineffective when there is conflict among the "troops." One ignores the conflict, in the hopes that it will go away on its own. The other becomes angry him/herself that there is conflict at all and tells the involved parties to resolve it and get on with their work! The problem is never resolved, and it never goes away. If you have done the above-listed 5 things, your employees should feel comfortable coming to you with conflicts. It is your job to be the conflict mediator. This may not be a pleasant job, but it is essential, and, if you feel unskilled in mediation, then you need to get some training. No manager can survive without mediation skills!
These 6 steps you can take immediately. They may not be easy, but they do become easier as you practice them. The biggest reward, moreover, is that your team will begin to like working for you, will have respect for your directness, and each member will feel that s/he has some control over his/her workplace situation – this is how you ultimately get loyalty and camaraderie!
About Author:
Andy Preisler is an expert in academic and business writings. Currently he is working as a blogger at Grabmyessay.com. He gained experience during his 2 majors in different universities in USA and UK. Furtheremore Andy attended and then successfuly finished two traineeship in big UK companies collecting priceless skills in business culture. Please feel free to contact him via social media : Facebook or Twitter