Losing an employee who leaves a company due to poor management costs a business not only in loss of that person’s knowledge and contributions but also in increased recruiting and training costs to replace the person. All bosses should therefore strive to be effective managers, but how do you know whether you’re meeting that goal? Compare your performance as a manager against the following common signs and traits of poor managers to see whether your management skills could use some help.
1. You spend a lot of time repeating basic expectations and correcting misunderstandings. If you feel like you’re always repeating yourself, this could be a sign that you aren’t effectively communicating essential information to your employees. People need clear, memorable, effective guidance from their boss in order to do well on the job and meet expectations. If something is lacking in the way the manager communicates, employee performance will suffer and the whole team’s productivity will take a hit.
2. Your employees don’t have much team spirit. Effective managers foster an attitude of unity and team spirit so that all employees feel comfortable, included, and supported in the workplace. Teamwork and team spirit have a notably positive impact on employees’ job performance, satisfaction, and retention. Fostering this quality in teams you manage is an essential aspect of good management skills.
3. You’re too bogged down in administrative tasks to foster an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation. Managers set the tone for how employees approach their work, so it’s up to a good manager to foster the sort of collaborative and innovation-focused work environment that lets employees and companies really excel. If you’re not future-focused and encouraging new ideas, your employees won’t be able to be either.
4. You manage all of your employees the same way. A hallmark of good management skills is being able to tailor your management style to best support each of your employees. People are all different, so a cookie-cutter approach won’t be the best way to ensure effective management and mentoring for all of your employees.
5. You rarely give individual feedback, or most feedback you give is negative. Constructive feedback is essential to employee development, so a lack of feedback, or feedback that’s too negative in tone, will only stifle your employees’ performance.
6. You have a tendency to micromanage your employees. Everyone hates to feel like they’re not trusted to competently complete their work. Effective managers are able to lead their employees in a way that fosters individual competence and reduces the need for micromanagement by supervisors.
7. Conflicts and drama between employees are starting to impact productivity. Good managers have the soft skills necessary to manage interpersonal relationships and defuse conflicts before they can become a major problem.
8. You feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities as a manager. If you feel overwhelmed or unsure of what you’re doing, that’s a sign that you could benefit from more knowledge and skills related to your management duties.
Effective managers should be supported by their company with good training to know how to manage others. If you feel like you’ve been thrown in the deep end as a new supervisor and aren’t sure what you’re doing, you could benefit from training and mentorship to improve your management skills. A variety of organizations, such as the Management Training Institute, offer specialized training in management skills that could be very beneficial to your success as a manager.
