3 Steps To Become A Great Manager

Being a manager is harder than ever, you’ve got to manage virtual teams, never-ending zoom meetings, a demanding boss of your own, and your team has higher expectations than ever of how you’ll make their work more meaningful, purposeful and interesting.

In this new world of work, if you want to become a successful manager, you need to learn to balance being a great leader, an amazing coach, AND enabling your team to thrive. However, if you can master these three areas you are guaranteed to become a great manager.

But how do you do that?

We’ve been researching management practice and managing teams for over 25 years, so to help you excel as a manager, we’re going to share 12 skills that we wish someone had taught us sooner, so you can hit the ground running from day one.

Part 1: Learn how to lead your team

To lead and manage a team well, you need to be able to get your employees to execute successfully against your strategy.

Let’s look at four habits you can foster to ensure that happens.

1. Create a compelling vision and strategy. Set a clear direction for your employees and involve your team members and other key stakeholders in the planning process to ensure buy-in and alignment with your vision and strategy.
2. Design specific, measurable and time-bound goals with your employees. Once you’ve set your team goals or OKRs for the year, you should regularly check progress with your employees and revisit them quarterly.
3. Learn to delegate effectively to ensure that team members have the opportunity to develop new skills, feel more empowered, and can take ownership of their work. By mastering delegation and avoiding micromanagement, you can focus on more strategic work and create a culture of innovation and autonomy in your team.
4. Communicate clearly and frequently. Communicate effectively by running productive meetings, providing regular updates, and maintaining an environment of openness and transparency to ensure employees feel heard and valued.

Part 2: How to be a great coach

To become a great manager in today’s workplace you need to learn to become a coach for your team.

Here’s four ways to elevate yourself from tactical manager to effective coach.

1. Give feedback continuously. Giving feedback well means regularly providing praise and constructive criticism, when needed, to help employees improve their skills and achieve their goals. Feedback is also a 2-way street, good managers are always open to receiving feedback from their team.
2. Manage performance and results to ensure your team executes well. This involves monitoring progress towards goals, recognising and rewarding achievements, and addressing any performance issues as soon as they pop up.
3. Support your team’s career development by providing them with opportunities for growth and development. Help your employees with identifying training, mentoring, and other resources that can support them in acquiring new skills and knowledge. By regularly discussing and investing in your team members’ career development, you will increase their job satisfaction, engagement and productivity.
4. Hold regular 1 to 1 meetings to provide personalised support and guidance to your team. 1 to 1s help to improve communication, build trust, and identify areas for development. Good managers spend most of their time in 1 to 1s covering what is top of mind for their employees and show genuine concern for their team’s health and wellbeing.
   

Part 3: Enable your team to thrive

It’s no longer enough for your employees to make you successful, to be a great people leader you need to focus on enabling your team to thrive.

Here’s four skills you need to build if you want your employees to thrive.

1. Foster trust and psychological safety to create an environment where team members feel comfortable speaking up, sharing ideas and taking calculated risks. Building a culture of psychological safety can lead to reduced turnover and absenteeism, as employees are more likely to feel committed to the team and the organisation as a whole.
2. Motivating employees is critical to the success of any team. Learn to identify the individual needs and strengths of each team member in order to create a supportive and productive work environment. Research has shown that areas such as meaning, autonomy, mastery and purpose are the most motivating factors for employees.
3. Influencing successfully is essential for managers to build stronger relationships with their team and gain buy-in externally for their priorities. By building rapport with your manager and key stakeholders, you are more likely to gain support for budget and resources when you need them.
4. Become a master at hiring great talent. This will enable you to identify and attract top talent that will help your team achieve its goals and drive business results. Hiring and selecting talent well means you are able to onboard individuals who are not only qualified for the job, but also fit well with your team’s culture and values.
   

Do you think we missed anything out?

Let us know in the comments below, and check out our other posts and videos to learn more about how to build any of the 12 key skills you need to become a great manager.