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Business, Communication, Help, Human Resources, Leader, Leadership, Rules, Team
You were promoted or you just start working on a managerial position in the organization that you want. What are you going to do – you will let the department to be self-managed and you will rest… or you will start to work hardly to build up a good team? If you choose the first option close this article, but if you choose the second one the following lines are for you.
In order a manager to be successful he has to perform the basic functions of his position: planning, directing and motivating and controlling. They are very important but there is another quality that we will examine- the ability to communicate with his subordinates.
Prof. Fred Findler states that it is easier to change the working environment instead of changing people’s personalities. I think he is right because , for example communication as a quality is something that you are born with. Furthermore , there are some stereotype schemes that can help you to learn how to be a good leader.
1.Be a role model.
People usually view you as a person that earns more money. That creates an incentive for the team to do the minimum in order to perform their tasks. Threats that you will fire someone won’t help-that was a stereotype for the previous century. Do not try to crush your employees with you power given by your position-because that can be the end of you leadership.
I can recommend you every morning to be first person at work and please do not emphasize that to you team that you do that. Moreover, do not tolerate delays.
One of the leader’s functions are to show that he can and want to do more than the others , because people do not need a director , they need a leader , a role model. As Peter Draker Said “Leader is someone that has followers”.
2. Protect employees.
As I said in order employees to be motivated you need to lead them but you have to something else- to protect their interests. You know that sometimes departments compete each other and often someone is trying to pull your team’s leg. That is combo, double hit, against your team and you. In order to protect you team/department image in front of the managerial directors of the organization you can do the following:
Share opinions with them how well are you working with your team.Often praise team members for their achievements.Inform them about your current work
Another important thing you have to do is to protect you employees working rights. When you allow someone to go on vacation do not allow someone from another department or on higher position than you to cancel your permission. You have to show that the team/department is yours and you do not allow externalities in it.
Furthermore, when someone in your team has made a mistake and your boss has made you mad for that do not fire this employee. Give him/her a chance because you know that it is easier to fire a simple employee instead of you. I can recommend you to try to see the point of view of the others.
3. Control over employees’ tasks.
No one likes the guy that always controls you and asks you twenty times per day- “How is it going with you work?”.People hate to be lurked. There are better ways to be informed with the team’s performance.
Praise the team, ask once for the worked performed, if it is well done show that it is very important for you and the organization, also make the team members to feel relaxed. If you do that regularly your subordinates on their own will discuss with you and their colleagues their work without to have the feeling that they are under interrogation.
4.Assistance when it is necessary.
Actually not everyone is working on 100%. If you see someone that is not working very well, you have to help him. Talk with him in private and you can offer him help in the following way:“I have some free time, would you mind if I take part of your work?”
Sometimes there are people that never work appropriately and always someone else has to help them. Probably will sound very unpleasant but these people should be fired.
5. Employees’ supervision.
You have to take a look at your team because if you don’t probably you will be angry on them because of their mistakes. That‘s why supervision can help you to prevent such an unpleasant situation.
Firstly, you have to know your team members and their relations. Why? Often some of them don’t like each other. Therefore there is high possibility of bad performance. Try to group people that understand each other in order to work well together.
Secondly, know the competences of your employees in order they to perform tasks successfully.
6.Leadership authority.
Do you know that if there is a rumor that you are week leader your authority is ruined? As Napoleon Bonaparte said that desire to rule over peers is one of the strongest human passions. That is in our nature it is question of skills and choice to do it.
Do not make you employees think that they can decide which tasks will do, when they will go on vacation, etc. If someone make a mistake talk with him in private. But if he continues try to show to the team that you really make an effort to help him and afterwards you can suggest him to be fired.
When you give task don’t say “would you mind to do …”.You have to say ”do this this and …”.You have to be just straightforward.
Do not allow someone from your team that knows you personally to use that as an advantage to excuse himself for the poor performed work. These people should be equally responsible for their tasks as the other. Therefore, if they make a mistake they should be treated equally like others.
Hey Niko,
I think you wrote a great article here! I really liked that you have a lot of references in the post and some very inspiring quotes! I especially like your 6 steps you recommend.
However, a very good leader needs an additional skill set. As a leader you definitively have to know how to influence your employees and how to support and motivate them in order to optimize their performance. In this case, I think it is even more important that a leader reacts fast and suitable if there are conflicts within his department or team. I think sometimes you are to fast with your statements during your blog post, especially when it comes to your conclusion:
“Do not allow someone from your team that knows you personally to use that as an advantage to excuse himself for the poor performed work. These people should be equally responsible for their tasks as the other. Therefore, if they make a mistake they should be treated equally like others.”
Here, it seems to me that you think that there is a persistent fight of authority between a manager/leader and his employees/team. I think this is the wrong way of looking on these situations. We should start to finally rethink these connection between these two parties. Yes, the manager has to lead and delegate the workflow but he should never stop being a worker himself. We should understand these opportunities as a dynamic working process where we can only achieve great things if everyone is equal in value for the mission. What do you think about this?
Moreover, I recently read an article about managers in different parts of the world. The special thing about this situation was that the managers actually were not in their home country. They had to organize the work of teams in a foreign atmosphere. In the article they compared the performance of these selected managers. They figured out that every single manager had problems to deal with the cultural habits of their employees. This proves that we have to react and are always aware of the needs and wishes employees have. Even if we are not able to work within our comfort zone. If you are interested in this article check it out, here is the link:
http://hbr.org/2012/01/three-skills-every-21st-century-manager-needs/ar/1
Thank you for the post I really enjoyed reading it!
Hej Niko! Thank you for this wonderful article. I consider it your strongest so far! I love that you work with a bunch of examples and give references. Unfortunately there are some spelling issues. (some of minor importance, some rather upleasant) so you should proofread your post. I know myself that it is hard to see one’s own mistakes so if you want, you can send me your file and I correct what I discovered.
Hey Niko,
I agree with stefochka. I think this has been your best article so far. You finally chose a topic with a little more depth. You gave six great tips in a concise manner. Well done! I’d like to recommend these two wonderful articles which are closely related to your post. It’s Tizian’s 5 Steps to a Successful Team where he gives additional tips to get the ultimate team together and Employee Motivation – Happier Employees In 6 Steps! where I point out what you can do to motivate your employees.
In your introduction you wrote “communication as a quality is something that you are born with”. I have to say that I cannot agree with that! For example, you are not born with a stammer. Most people become stammers when they are three or four. That is something that they “learned”. Furthermore, you can preactice to get over it. Just have a look at “The King’s Speech” – fantastic movie! I think it’s all about practice and the effort you are willing to put in. Have a look into Greatness – Talent Is Overrated.
I guess I sound like a terrible advertising machine. However, I think all the articles perfectly fit to your blog post.
Please give us more articles like this one Niko! I’m happy to read them.
Cheers.