Would You Know if You Weren’t a Good Manager?

We’ve all had good managers and bad ones – and it’s not hard to tell the difference between the two. But do the “bad” managers know that they could do better? Everyone thinks they’re good at managing people, but how do you know for sure if you’re an effective manager? Check out the following management pointers to evaluate how you're doing as a manager. If you aren't meeting these benchmarks, maybe it's time to reevaluate your strategy and shift your management style so you can be a more effective leader.

Provide Feedback

Providing the right feedback at the appropriate time is vital for the growth of an employee. Good managers deliver feedback to staff members in a way that allows them to feel motivated to improve their mistakes. Managers who only point out the errors of their employees and fail to appreciate their efforts are often unable to increase their team’s efficiency. If you only provide negative feedback to your employees, highlighting behaviors they can change or improvements they need to make, you’re probably not an effective manager. Managers should always balance positive and negative feedback while discussing with employees how they're doing. Sharing what's going well along with what could be improved can help your team keep up the good work while also motivating to improve when needed.

Effectively Delegate

Good managers guide their teams to meet their individual goals and keep tabs on the overall progress toward those benchmarks. They help their team to take ownership of their tasks and perform better with time. They focus more on employees’ performance, growth and learning so the end result ends up being what they want rather than getting to a negative outcome. Managers who micromanage and don’t allow people to make independent decisions can lead to team members' demotivation or disengagement. Managers who place all their attention on task completion and blame the team, prompting them to defend themselves, typically fail to make a positive impact on their team members.

Set the Right Expectations

Good managers know that if they care about their team, employees can take care of their tasks independently. Therefore, they set demanding and challenging expectations for their team members in a way that helps them grow. Team members working for such leaders are clear about their goals and almost always perform better as a team. If you don’t hand off tasks from your workflow to your team, your team members may not develop new skills. Managers should communicate their long-term goals clearly and guide their teams on how to achieve those targets. They should also develop short-term goals to review team progress and discuss challenges.

Boost Morale

A team counts on its manager for coaching, guidance, mentorship and advice. Under the leadership of a good manager, people naturally improve, and their morale remains high. If the growth of your team members has become stagnant for a few years, you’re not a manager people love to work for. If you are a good leader, you have a responsibility to help people become better versions of themselves.

Focus on Employees' Career Development

By spending less time checking in, monitoring and supervising the day-to-day work your team does, you can dedicate more time to guiding employees as they develop new skills. Treat the growth of your team with the same importance as your own, since your company’s success lies within your team’s success. Show your team that you care about their growth, and brainstorm ways they can reach their goals. If you'll support and appreciate the growth of your team, they may be less likely to look for another career opportunity with a better manager.

Keep Promises

Employees quit because of bad managers more often than they quit because of bad jobs. If you fail to keep promises, your team may not be able to trust you. If you want your staff to respect and trust your leadership, you need to standardize team rules and policies.

Offer Flexibility

Workplace flexibility is one of the most highly coveted benefits of job seekers, and if you’re not providing that, you may lose your talented team members. In cases of sudden illness or emergencies, your employees will appreciate your understanding and flexibility.

Respect Personal Time

If you send messages or emails to your team members during off-hours and expect them to respond right away, it may lead to employee burnout and turnover. As a manager, you should always set and respect office boundaries so that your team members don't feel like they're working during their time off.

Make Time for Team Building

To build trust among your staff, share information about meetings and major events, asking for feedback about what they think could be improved. Tell your employees how executives and other leaders feel about their performance. All such conversations can help you build trust among your team.

Reward Hard Work

Employees want to feel appreciated and noticed for working hard, so make an effort to reward them through gifts, awards, bonuses or fun experiences as a team. If you build an environment of mutual trust and appreciation, employees can feel more comfortable coming to you with problems and concerns. If you don’t recognize your team’s progress toward achieving the vision, they may feel discouraged. Share your team achievements in meetings so that your staff can be recognized for their good work by others as well.