What You Need to be an Effective Manager

Some people in a management position have no aspirations of being great leaders. Your company needs effective managers just as much as it needs visionary leaders to move forward. The decision to promote people to a position of manager is taken very seriously by the company, the new manager and the staff that he will be managing. Promoting from within is always an effective strategy, but hiring experienced managers to help run your departments is also a good idea from time to time.

If you have aspirations of being a manager, then you want to do the things that will keep you in your managerial position and allow you to maintain your position of authority. Being a manager is hard work that often goes without recognition or reward. If you can do the little things that keep your department running smoothly, then the ability to keep your job can turn into its own reward.

Be Organized

When you walk into a good manager’s office, you will usually see a whiteboard or some other form of organization hanging on the wall. A manager has a lot of things going on at the same time and needs something he can quickly look at to remind him of important meetings, deadlines and employee issues. Try not to scatter your organizational materials over things like an appointment book, a log book or a personal computer. Keep everything organized at one central point so that you never miss your important reminders.

Be Involved

You need to be among your staff in the work area as much as possible. Your employees will always have questions, but they do not always have time to get up from their work area and come to your office. It helps the flow of the department’s work and it helps to improve your status in the eyes of your employees when you make it a habit to spend time on the work floor answering questions and motivating your employees.

Be Knowledgeable

Your employees know that you have a lot on your mind and a lot of responsibility, but it always helps when you know all of their names and the jobs that they do. When you stay connected with your staff and remain knowledgeable on the up to date goings on in your department, then you can avoid looking like you are out of touch. One of the first phases that your employees go through when they start losing respect for you is when they feel that you are out of touch. Stay knowledgeable about your staff and you will retain its respect.

Be Open Minded

Not every solution to every problem is done by the book. You hired your employees because you had confidence in their abilities and were impressed with their experience. When a problem presents itself, keep an open mind about the potential solutions and let your employees get involved in developing new ideas to help the company grow. It will help spur creativity within your staff and it will also improve your employee’s individual levels of confidence in the jobs that they are doing.