Putting time, money, efforts in the development of employees is the most meaningful and rewarding thing a manager can do. However, for an unknown reason, it is usually the last thing a manager is worried about.
Not only developing employees makes them smarter and more efficient, and helps them perform better, but also it helps with recruiting and retaining the best employees. Most importantly, it is beneficial because it is the primary goal of leadership: making a difference in the lives of other people.
Keep reading to learn ten steps to becoming even more effective manager.
Start with Yourself
For being able to credibly and efficiently develop others, it is vital to develop yourself first. Otherwise, you will become a dissembler, instead of an actual mentor. To shape appropriate behavior, begin with role modeling.
Always Treat Your Employees with Respect
It is important for employees to know that by discussing their development, you are not just striving to make them admit their weaknesses. For getting them inspired to take ownership of the process, begin with building trust. Let them know that you are interested in their success.
Turn Weekly Meetings Into Learning Opportunities
You have to understand that employee development is not something that happens just once a year, nor something that can be passed off to the HR department. All of your everyday interactions, including reviews, weekly meetings, etc. are opportunities for team development. Think about how to integrate a development mindset into your regular meetings.
Ask Questions
Not many people like simply being told what they should do. Instead of dictating the process, make your employees engaged by asking proper questions that will force them to figure things out for themselves. They can also come back with those requests after the completion of an assignment. This can significantly help to memorize the new skill or knowledge.
Learn How to Delegate
Many managers spend time on work that they should not actually be doing. That’s not right: leave design for digital department, commercials for marketing and online writing help for writers. By letting go of the duties that you enjoy, you will increase your employees’ skills and get more of your time. However, you should not expect your reports to do things the same way you would do them. For the first time, they may fail and require some special instructions, but that is how people learn. As a result, they may do the job even better than you.
Provide Stretch Tasks
Such kind of tasks is probably one of the best ways to learn and develop. Every manager is in a position to find opportunities for the employees that are balanced with their development needs and career goals. Instead of choosing the most qualified person for a particular task, select the appropriate developmental assignment for the person.
Make Networking Introductions
As a manager, you are typically in the position to make introductions and connect your employees to role models, mentors, and qualified experts. Due to expanding the worker’s development network, you will strengthen their personal ownership in the process and remind them that you are not the only person responsible for their professional growth.
Provide Feedback
A good manager is usually the person who can delicately help an employee to see the weaknesses that prevent them from reaching success and becoming more productive. Get ready to provide feedback not only during performance reviews but throughout the year.
Although many employees tend to neglect the “politics” as it is for some reason considered a dirty word, it is actually the way things get done in companies. Your staff must know this and be able to navigate the office culture. Consider using such techniques as job shadowing and role-playing for this.
Spend Real Money
Whenever possible, provide your employees with various training, conferences, coaches, and other tangible resources. A good training program can significantly enhance your efforts and demonstrate to your employees that you are highly interested in their development.
Some Extra Tips on Becoming Even More Effective Manager
- Thank your employees for performing good — personally, in writing, or both. Make sure you are sincere when doing this.
- Show your willingness to devote your time to meeting with and listening to them. Provide them with as much of your time as they need.
- Provide specific feedback as often as possible about the performance of the employee, the department, and the company.
- Make every effort to create a fun and trusting environment for your employees. Encourage new ideas.
- Provide information about upcoming events, products, the ways the organization makes and loses money, and how each worker matches the overall plan.
- Encourage them to have a sense of ownership in their work and their work environment.
- Strive to create a partnership with every worker, providing them with an opportunity to develop and gain new skills. Demonstrate to them how you can help them reach their objectives within the context of meeting the company’s goals.
- Celebrate successes of the organization, the department, and the person in it. Devote enough time for team-building meetings and events.
- Use performance as the base for recognizing, encouraging, and rewarding employees. Work with low performers so that they develop their skills and knowledge and enhance their performance.
Management is not an easy job, which significantly relies on the person’s ability to show his/her human side. The office would be a dumb place if it was full of unemotional robots. Even while it is often tempting to put in the earplugs when you enter our workplace, you will build a highly motivated and inspired team if you demonstrate your human side as often as you can.
Mia grew up surrounded by a family of doctors, but could never imagine herself as a person who cures others. After a couple of years of being an architect, she found her passion in writing. Quickly, her works appeared in some of the known magazines, blogs, and multiple media resources and she became a professional online writer. She has considerable background in project-based learning, business writing, management, and has a genuine interest in creating effective programs that help employees get engaged in organizations’ goals.
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