Why do you think people leave jobs? Is it the profile, compensation, or company policy? Or is it the manger that had the potential to play the trump card, yet did not?
I am sure many of you have guessed it right. Also, many of you have survived extremely bizarre and unreasonable MANAGERS.
The ultimate truth is that a manager has the power to make or break a team.
In today’s competitive world, it is hard to find a manager who weighs his team’s growth above his self-professional growth. Finding a mentor and a guide in your manager is definitely a matter of luck. However, in a world of BOSSES, there are only a few LEADERS who bring the best in their subordinates.
It is difficult to assess the manager before joining the company (unless you have a strong network). One’s you are in the organization, and you are on the outset of evaluating your manager, you need to observe their traits that will make you stay or leave.
Make Your Employee Happy First- Sir Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson, a proud father of Virgin Group and a truly self-made entrepreneurial genius, always followed a simple Mantra in his business.
For Richard Branson, shareholders come third, customers come second and employees first. His idea has not only built a billion-dollar company but taught many corporates the significance of nurturing a happy workforce.
In one of his interviews with Inc., he precisely explains the chain reaction between a happy employee and a satisfied customer.
He says, “It should go without saying, and it is surprising that it still doesn’t go without saying but if a person who works in your company is 100 % proud of their job, proud of the work they are doing and proud of the brand and are looked after by the company, are happy. Therefore customers too will have a good experience”.
No doubt, many managers can follow Richard’s ideologies to nurture a brilliant taskforce.
So, what are the traits you need to see in your manager to decide the duration of your stay in the company?
1. Every day is a new learning
Not all but some managers have hidden knowledge on different attributes of the task. They may not show off or talk about it every day, but they will pass on the know-how at hours of need.
Many managers refrain from sharing the best practices with subordinates (some overly competitive managers do), however, leaders build a world-class team by introducing best practices on a daily basis. Leaders do not demand perfection; they help you in creating it through their experience and subject knowledge.
As a matter of fact, a manager who exudes such vibes is a lucrative catch for any employee. This should be treated as the best opportunity to learn and grow in the company.
2. Allows room for mistake
Lucky is the individual who works under a manager offering sufficient room to make mistakes.
Encouraging an employee to take up opportunities is every manager’s role. However, permitting mistakes while working on a brand new project is an art which only a few managers are able to conquer.
In my experience, I have not only been permitted to make calculative errors but also found a manager who owes up to the mistake in front of higher authorities. Taking a stand for an employee is definitely not something you see every day.
When India’s Rohini satellite was to be launched into orbit, this incidence of late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is a testament to the fact that shouldering the blame for failure and conferring credit where it is due comes rarely to most.
But remember, such risk-taking individuals, are equally stern when they see any slack in hard work or sincerity from the worker. They will not weigh the results but your effort in the duration of the project.
3. Encourages on work-life balance
All work and no play make employees dull! Yes, this statement is as real as it sounds.
Progressive managers understand and encourage the balance between professional and personal life. It is possible to slog for 15 hours in the office, but the performance will not be up to mark. However, ask employees to work for 8 hours with full productivity and leave for the day to enjoy a relaxing evening with family and friends, they will not only speed up their pace but get better results than expected.
Staying late, once in a while due to resource crunch or unrealistic client deadlines is a different matter. But those days can also be compensated by rewarding a day off or work from home for the next day.
A happy employee needs to be a healthy employee. So, allowing room for self-care and well-being makes a huge difference in their performance.
4. Shares Pressure
No employee likes to struggle alone in a stressful situation; a couple of hands and two words of empathy is what they wish for.
If managers are incapable of offering a helping hand in hours of pressure, then they are not supposed to be in the position they are. No?
A manager is next to a leader. And according to my ethics, a true leader never quits the battleground. Instead, fights from the forefront.
5. Work on milestones, checklists, and bottlenecks
Managerial roles are taught to smoothen a project by constructing a process of inception, development, review, feedback, and finalization.
It is expected of managers to participate actively in the process formation and always keep a bird’s-eye view on the undertakings. As and when needed, they should interfere in reviewing the progress and take stern steps to remove bottlenecks.
Note: A manager who takes up troublesome bottlenecks on his/ her shoulder is always taken in high regards.
6. Knows the difference between empathy and discipline
There is a thick (not thin) line between empathizing and maintaining order in the team.
Empathy is a must in a managerial role and demands managers to understand the situation of teammates. However, if any staff member starts taking the supervisor for granted, then the whole team suffers besides the manager.
Managers cannot be good cops all the time; they do need to turn into hard taskmasters at times. Certain justifiable circumstances expect disciplinary actions, and supervisors must show authority to take strict measures.
Insincerity and unethical behavior should not be tolerated.
7. Can Take and make hard decisions
Decision making is not everyone’s cup of tea. While some decisions are relatively straightforward, it is the hard ones that make managers sweat.
Leadership positions not only demand skills and experience but ownership and tough decision making are equally sought for.
Let’s say in spite of several warnings if a team member is caught plagiarizing reports and contents multiple times, and the manager has a great rapport with the employee, what do you think the manager’s decision should be the?
It doesn’t matter whether the employee stays or gets terminated. The major issue is the consequence that the manager will have to live with and its impact on the entire team.
Hey Boss, you need to lead by example!
A manager’s experience is always looked up to and plays a significant role in strengthening the team’s performance. However, one blunder many managers commit is not playing by their own rules. Let’s take a simple example- your manager decides an early office time for the entire team, and the team members find him coming late every day and leaving early as scheduled. This inappropriate behavior may create a sense of frustration and uneasiness among the team.
Responsible manager’s most significant achievement is to stick by his own rules.
Every manager is a responsible leader who can create an efficient and satisfied team with his people skills and smart strategies. It is time for moving from performance over people to performance with people strategies.
While it is hard to find all the traits in a single manager if you find the majority of the characteristics, then you are in for a party! Stay and grow under that manager.
Did you leave your last job because of your boss? What one quality you didn’t like?