8 Leadership tips for the busy manager
8 August 2024
If you’re a manager, you’ll know your role is to empower team members to accomplish set goals and objectives that drive your business forward in a way that uses available resources and time efficiently and effectively.
Good management comes hand in hand with leadership. In the words of ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “a leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”
Done well, management and leadership take time, effort and an understanding of what motivates each individual. Done poorly, it runs the risk of demoralising a team, creating confusion and mistrust, and losing good staff.
So how do you become the manager and leader that you would want yourself?
- Share the vision. If you want the team to be part of the journey, you need to involve them in the vision. Create an environment where people are comfortable in putting forward ideas. Be clear too in how you share your vision, making sure you don’t overcomplicate the message and using your own enthusiasm to bring the task alive.
- Be clear on direction. A manager or leader who is indecisive or flip-flops from one initiative to the other does not get the best out of their team. Similarly, the goals you’re asking for should be suitably specific and tangible, with clear timelines.
- Make sure each individual feels valued. Ask anyone what’s important in their working life and being appreciated comes very near the top of the list. There are lots of ways in which you can make sure someone feels valued, for example recognising their achievements in front of peers, senior management or clients, taking the time to listen to their ideas and simply saying thank you.
- Don’t be afraid to challenge. Everyone makes mistakes but not repeating them needs work. Make sure your team are supported to make the right decisions in the first place. Are processes and responsibilities clear and up to date? Does a team member have the time and space to make the right decision or does a heavy workload mean they are rushing and making mistakes as a result? Might they need extra support or training? It is only by exploring together why a mistake has been made – without apportioning blame – that lessons can be learned for next time. Where you’ve made a mistake yourself, own up to it.
- Don’t get involved in office drama. Gossip is a natural human trait in every working environment. As a leader, it’s your responsibility not to get involved and to set an example when it comes to what is said about people when they’re not in the room.
- Be available. In an increasingly digital world, it is easy to rely on email and Teams messages to communicate. Make the time to meet with your team face to face, particularly when you need to win hearts and minds or provide some important context.
- Be in control. It goes without saying that you need to be in control of your budget and performance management if your team is to have confidence in your abilities. You need to exercise control too when it comes to coordinating work in progress, deciding on the appropriate levels of freedom to offer your team (e.g. how much leeway is afforded your sales team when it comes to giving discounts), and general efficiencies such as ensuring that team meetings have a clear agenda and run to time.
- Review. As new team members join and new projects get underway, the team structure that once served you well may no longer be appropriate. Do you need new skills within the team? Do you need to re-structure or set up a sub-team?
Interested in learning more?
Our series of fully subsidised leadership and management webinars and workshops offer some great tips.
