Everyone takes the new year to improve themselves both personally and professionally. If you are a manager, this may be the year you reinvent yourself and your management style to better suit your team. As new hires roll in along with the new year, it’s good to spend time reevaluating your skills as a manager to see if you are living up to your full potential.
Ask yourself, “Who do I look up to as a great leader?” You may have multiple leaders you admire for their different management philosophies – tough love, tell it like it is, the motivator. If you model your behaviors, work ethic and mindset after successful leaders who you respect, you’ll likely improve these must-have management skills.
Reading people
Whether you are interviewing a new hire or assessing a workplace conflict, your ability to read your employees will help maintain a healthy work environment, cohesive mindsets and transparency.
Managing employees
From training your team to remediating issues or delegating tasks, managing people and processes is a major role in any managerial position.
Industry expertise
While great business leaders rely on the strength and expertise of their subordinates to guide the company forward, having a great understanding of industry specific skills and trends allows these leaders the confidence to move in the right direction and chip in if and when necessary.
Communication
The way in which you communicate will play a major role in your effectiveness as a manager. Knowing how to communicate in certain situations and with different personalities will allow you to accomplish your goals as a leader. Whether you are looking to motivate your team, teach them a new process or delivering some bad news, being able to connect with your team makes the difference between someone who can manage a team and someone who can lead a company.
Listening and understanding
The most important role of a manager is being a source of stability for team members. From guidance on a given task to a serious work or personal crisis, being a pillar of consistent care is crucial to maintain a healthy working environment. However, as with teaching, managers can learn just as much from their co-workers as their co-workers learn from them.
Each team member that you manage has a lot to say, and not just about their individual role within the company. Truly innovative companies are promoting a more inclusive and creative culture by allowing all employees the opportunity to provide feedback regarding their experience with the company.
If you are looking to improve your management skills in 2017, start by adding your own source of guidance with the expert management firm in The Reserves Network. We understand how to manage employees and how to be a leader because we’ve been a leading force in the light industrial staffing industry for many years. Reach out to us today!
