Time and time again there’s many a manager who gets swamped with work that he can’t delegate, and sometimes the reasons are related to the manager’s inability to trust his staff to deliver on time or at all.
Delegating is an important skill for any manager. It requires a clear understanding of various team members’ skill sets as well as their ability to meet deadlines and work alone or with others.
At some point, as the boss, you get a new person in your group. He may be brand new, or he may be from some other department or made available after a reorganization. Regardless, a new personality is present. A good boss would, if possible, let all affected team members know about the new person in advance.
Your managing skills … how do they “rate”?
Many skills make a manager stand out: approachability, reasoning ability, listening skills, mentoring skills, attitude and — very important – your time management.
“Get a second opinion,” he tells me. But … but … I am pretty sure. I went over it a few times in my mind and on paper. How bad can my decision be?
Find yourself in a situation where you go with your gut feel? Feeling a little acid build up? Feeling a little squeamish? Maybe, just maybe, you need to ask someone else, maybe a few people who have some experience and can lend their opinions.
Decisions, decisions… that is a major part of a managers’ job description. There are easy decisions and then there are the hard ones mixed in every so often.
Under-performing employees need to be made aware of their lack of performance or unacceptable performance. Mentoring and coaching are a reasonable response. If the employee just doesn’t improve or refuses to meet expectations, the ultimate weapon has to be dismissal.
Early in a current project I’m working on, one of the major contractors was hurt on the job. He was alone, working late, and hurt his foot. He didn’t know how long it would take to recover from the injury and optimistically said he would be back in a week.
What do you do? He was doing a great job, was on time, consistent, and efficient. He kept up with the schedule and stuck to his goals — until this. There were only a few tasks he needed to do, but they were critical.
One of the really obvious qualities of a good boss is his ability to run a “good” meeting. Everyone who’s been to a good meeting usually remembers it as a pleasant experience.
Facilitating meetings between people for status updates, analysis, brainstorming sessions, emergency conferences, customer meetings, executive meetings and all the other get-togethers required in business is an art that needs to be understood and followed.
When your staff comes to you for help, what do they really want from you? Do they want a glib, pat answer that mimics the corporate doctrine or are they better served when you allow them to bounce ideas and issues around with you (listening skills!)?
How are your listening skills these days? Can you hear what your staff, clients, co-workers, and superiors are saying?
* Do you tend to fight back when an issue becomes personal?
* Are you quick to retort if pressed?
* Are you easily poked; can anyone get a rise out of you?
Turning yourself into a better boss is not easy, but it’s always possible. You may remember good or bad superiors from your past. What were the attributes that you agreed with, liked to emulate, or tried to avoid?
