To be an effective manager, certain “ingredients” must be present to enhance your Emotional Intelligence and to create key skills that will eventually lead to improvements in both employee and customer development. This will ultimately lead to your organizational success.
First, you must know the difference between management and leadership. Leadership involves setting the example, vision, mission, and goals for your organization, while management involves more of the administrative and technical skills to ensure your organizational goals are accomplished.
Second, you must understand your people very well. Employees generally respond better when you have a professional interpersonal relationship with them. As a leader, when you know your personnel, you can effectively manage their tasks and optimize their time in performing such activities.
Third, you must understand that all motivation stems from self-interest. Therefore, give praise instead of criticism and understand the reward system. When rewards are offered in the workplace, employees generally respond well, and this is key to their motivation. This can be as simple as public recognition for doing a great job.
Fourth, as a leader and a coach, you must have strong organizational skills. You should manage your time effectively in order to understand your daily, weekly, and monthly schedules. Time management skills will create better role clarity and role responsibility for your employees. Get to know certain software, such as Microsoft Office products in order to optimize your organizational skills.
Fifth, you must stay on schedule for completing tasks. In this day and age, you may report to both clients and upper-level management. Deadlines abound. Make sure you stay focused on your goals and objectives and establish a structure for periodic meetings. Establish role clarity, role responsibility, and time-lines for completion of tasks with employees to assist you in meeting your deadlines.
Sixth, in any business, there is no such thing as over-communication. Develop strong interpersonal communication skills. Communication is core to being an effective manager, especially when you need to interact with both external and internal stakeholders. This is a cornerstone to making a business run and to leading and managing employees. Listening is the most important here, so when you communicate with your clients and employees, make sure you listen more than talk. Make eye contact. If you are unsure of what they are communicating, get them to clarify. Make sure you are clear and concise with your communication to your employees and outside stakeholders. Many issues and misunderstandings have occurred as a result of not providing the proper information or communicating ineffectively.
Finally, to be an efficient and valuable manager, you will need to provide leadership guidance. Therefore, you need to manage your employees effectively. It is not simply a matter of providing tasks with deadlines. You must create the roadmap for completing the tasks and coaching your employees as required. You will need to help your employees if you want them, you, and the business to be successful.
Ajay Sinha, VP Operations at Northbridge Consultant