How to Be a Better Manager

Being a manager is no child’s play. Mostly, you are responsible for everyone and everything regarding the project you are managing. You have to organize the work, get it done, and deliver it in time. As a result, most managers feel the need to be strict and end up being hated. A recent study conducted on 7,200 employees show that more than 50% employees left their jobs to get away from their managers. (Source: http://fortune.com/2015/04/02/quit-reasons/)

So, is there a way to stop something like that from happening? Is there a way to be a better manager? Yes, and here’s how.

Motivate, not Scare

It is a well-known fact that people respond better to motivation than to fear. This is something that managers need to utilize in their approach. Employees work for either compensation or recognition, in other words, they work for themselves, not for you. So, how do you motivate them? By recognizing their efforts and compensating them well.

Train them

It is very easy to put someone down by saying that they are not competent enough. Although it may seem the case most of the time, it is much more effective in the long run to take the time to train them on that particular subject instead of putting them down. When you do that, you will automatically gain respect from your employees.

Communicate

So, you have a plan on how to work on the project, you know what needs to be done, hence it becomes your responsibility to communicate this to everyone. They should be aware of what their roles are and what they are expected to deliver in the project. This is actually one of the most important skills to have in corporate life, considering the fact that you won’t be able to motivate your employees if you do not know how to communicate.

Lead the Way, Don’t Boss Around

Google has the happiest and the most satisfied employees. It is because Google has managers who invest their time and energy on them. They train and lead their employees instead of simply giving orders on what to do. This approach has been proven to be more efficient than the orthodox bossing around method as it helps the employees to learn and become better at their work.

An approachable, accessible manager is more effective than an aloof, authoritative one. Employees are resources; if a manager has to retain them in a project, he has to inculcate these values in this leadership methodology.