Being a successful manager of employees is a lot like successfully managing your life—it all comes down to respect and common sense. Just like in life, if you treat people fairly in the workplace, they will respond in kind. Here are some tips from your friends at Dale Carnegie Training of Edmonton that will help you develop your style and enhance your likelihood for success:
Be Aware of Your Presence — Body language plays a very important role in contributing to your level of effectiveness. If people scatter when you walk into a room, you’re doing something wrong. Maintain good posture and make eye contact when speaking to people. Give a firm handshake to demonstrate confidence and self-assuredness. And don’t forget to smile! A smile displays a positive presence and can do wonders toward making you more approachable.
Be a Good Communicator — Set realistic expectations when communicating goals so that you allow your team enough time to deliver. Ensure that you communicate the goals clearly, and provide written and verbal instructions so that there’s no ambiguity. A good manager recognizes that all people are different and will utilize individual strengths within a team environment to ensure success. This will keep your team engaged and even create a little bit of healthy competition.
Harmony and Respect — Respect your team’s time and space. Don’t make a habit of calling employees after hours or emailing to their personal accounts during their own time. Contacting employees during the weekend, after hours, or when they are on vacation will only bring resentment. Unless there is a real work emergency, let your employees have well deserved downtime from office pressures.
Feedback and Credit — Give credit when and where it is due. If someone on the team came up with a great idea or saved time and money, don’t try to steal their credit. That type of action will make you very unpopular and tag you as an untrustworthy manager, which will hamper productivity and success. Give constructive feedback to help your staff and remember to offer praise when it is justified.
Self-Assessment — You should be evaluating your own performance to ensure it is up to standard. Accept responsibility for your actions and the actions of your team. Everyone makes mistakes, and you need to own up to errors if and when they happen. No one is above learning something new so you should be open minded and willing to learn from others.
Being a strong manager takes leading by example and a willingness to get your hands dirty. Demonstrate that you are committed to overall team development. Serve as a role model for your employees; gain their trust and respect, and you will reap the rewards of a staff that trusts you and remains committed to the company’s goals.
This post brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie of Edmonton. We would love to connect with you on Facebook!
Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net/David Castillo Dominici