MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Management of people can really be a tricky thing.  No matter how long you have been managing, the tips below can help to assist you in becoming a good leader or help refresh your management styles.

1.       Be Enthusiastic

The best way to succeed as a manager is to be upbeat and enthusiastic.  You may not have everyone on board and agree with you, you may not know the answer to everything they ask, but if you are highly positive and let them know, together you will find a solution to any problem that arises, you will be fine.  The best thing about being upbeat and enthusiastic is that is infectious, no one wants to have a negative person leading them.  Motivation is key to a successful business, not in the old fashioned “punish if you don’t do well” way, but with praise and challenging them. Hopefully they will rise to the challenge and perform well for you. 

2.  Trust

Great managers do not get where they are using certain business techniques or by making themselves busy, it is because team members work well for people they can trust.  They like managers to show competence and be concerned for them. Your team members will work well when they feel their opinions are heard, if they know what is required from them and that they know that decisions are made with them in mind. 

3.   Listen

Team members are motivated when their managers listen to them.  Good listening skills need to be learnt and do not come naturally.  The key tip is to create good listeners out of your team members; you should lead by example and be a great listener yourself.  You will find people have some great knowledge and that if you take the time to listen you will discover great ideas.

4.   Do Not Judge Unfairly

The key to making good decisions is to weigh up the pros and cons and take balanced risks.  You need to make the best decision with the information you have at the time.  This applies to dealing with your team members as well.  You should never make rash decisions with your team and criticize someone’s idea, as they will then resent you.  You should learn to accept other people’s ideas and learn to work as a team together. 

5.  Warmth

Warmth is a factor a lot of managers overlook and is a great leadership quality to have, most people confuse it with being soft, but it really just means being considerate to your team members and showing empathy when it is needed.

6.   Delegate

A lot of your team’s potential will be wasted unless you recognize talents and skills and delegate.  You should trust your team members with various roles and this will lead to you having fewer things to worry about and show that you trust your team with important jobs.

7.   Learn

No one is perfect or the finished article, so a key tip is to learn new things that will help you improve.  Great leaders will research, talk to others and listen and find out new ideas they can incorporate into their business and team.  No management technique and style will be perfect, and if your team or situation changes, you need to adapt and learn how to best deal with this new challenge. 

8.   Set goals

Great managers set goals not only for their team but also themselves.  The sign of a bad manager is someone who is happy to plod along and not grow.  To be a good manager you need to invest time in personal development.  Set you and your team financial and personal goals and keep track of them and review them as necessary. 

9.   Lead by example

This is a common point that everyone has heard before, but is very important.  Don’t ask your team members to do something you wouldn’t be prepared to do yourself.  If they believe you would do what you are asking them to do, they are much more likely to respect you and do a good job. 

10.   Tough but fair

A lot of these points cover being nice and respecting your team members, but you can’t be popular all the time.  You will occasionally have to make some tough decisions that will not be popular with your team.  Hopefully they will understand why you have made certain decisions and if you can, you should take the time to explain your reasoning.

Hopefully these tips will help you think about your management style and develop how you manage your team members.

Terri L. Euchner

Euchner Performance Enterprises

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