What does it take to be an engaging manager?

Here is our A to Z:

AGREED – Consult, seek opinions before deciding the best course of action.

Focus on BENEFITS and outcomes rather than process.

Ensure CLARITY of communication in all directions. Poor communication is the most often cited reason for poor relationships with managers.

DEVELOP OTHERS. You are only as good as your team and colleagues. The better equipped they are, the stronger performance you will deliver.

Manage EXPECTATION – ensure everyone is clear on what you expect from them and you are clear on what they expect from you.

Continually give and seek high quality performance FEEDBACK

GOALS – be clear on what it is you are going to achieve and have milestones along the way to assess progress

HELP remove obstacles that stop others succeeding – it is a key part of a managers role

INNOVATE – challenge thinking regularly, seek a broad range of possible solutions to problems and constantly ask what if?

JOY – Enjoy what you do and that spreads. Far too many people believe they are stuck in jobs that they don’t like.

KISS – Keep it simple stupid, avoid over complicating things, get to the root of issues and act.

LEARN – regularly review what is working well and what could be done differently.

Know how you will MEASURE progress against goals and performance. Ensure your focus of measurement is where you think it is and balance measuring effort and result effectively.

Deal with NON-PERFORMERS quickly and professionally. The aim is always to help them become performers. Avoid putting this off.

Give as much OWNERSHIP as possible to the team. Managers have a tendency to keep ownership in an effort to control.

Establish clear PRIORITIES to achieve your goals and stick to them as much as possible.

Ask QUESTIONS rather than make lots of statements. Stephen Covey got it right when he said “seek first to understand”

Build strong RELATIONSHIPS. People work for and with other people.

SERVICE ORIENTED. Know who the customers of your service are. These may be end user customers, but how often do you think of your staff as customers of your service as their manager?

Build TEAMS. Organisations are mostly lean and mean these days. If your goals could be achieved by one person there would be only you.

USE THE STRENGTHS OF OTHERS – avoid putting square pegs in round holes, play to peoples strengths

Know your VALUE ADD. Your job is to make a difference and improve performance.

Seek WIN/WIN solutions. That does not mean 50/50, it means all parties get some benefit.

Set and EXAMPLE (ok X is a tough one) role model the behaviours you expect.

Be YOURSELF – be authentic in how you deal with people, they really appreciate it.

ZEST – be enthusiastic and passionate about what you do. It is infectious.

What is your A to Z? Let us know.

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