Many people today believe they have the tools to be a good manager of a working team. However, what they don’t realize is there are many different facets to being a successful leader of others and encouraging them on to success.
“The key to being a good manager, or a good entrepreneur, is to pick the right people. Pick the right people, and they’ll make you look good.”– Joe Gibbs, former NFL coach
One of the critical pieces of being a successful manager is choosing the right person to hire for a position. Before you even begin the selection process, you must first define what the expectations and required capabilities for the proposed position should be. All too often, a manager/company will embark on hiring an individual without first clearly defining how that new person/position will compliment the team they will be joining. In the past, the company may have written a description for the proposed position, but the manager must take responsibility to ensure that description is accurate. In many cases, a successful manager can call upon his team/staff to help him define the expectations of the proposed hire.
“It will be disastrous when a leader or manager shows up with one attitude one day and treats people with a different attitude the next day.”– Zig Ziglar, American author/motivational speaker
Once a manager has a credible team in place, it is important for them to develop a consistent method for leading their team, while gaining their continued working trust. A manager does not need to be everyone’s “pal,” but they do need to be seen as someone that has the best interest of his/her people in mind. In doing so, you will create an environment where people are interested in working synergistically together to improve the overall success of the whole. By creating that environment, you can begin to achieve profitable results.
“A manager is a guide. He takes a group of people and says, ‘With you, I can make us a success; I can show you the way.’”– Arsene Wenger, French soccer coach
With the right environment and the respect of their team, a manager can begin to chart a successful path for their group. To do so, they must first establish the objective of the company/team. Using the basic principals of Total Quality Management (TQM), a manager should develop a “plan” for his group that delineates the exact objective for the team.
If the overall plan is clearly defined and includes an explanation of each “team member’s” contribution to reaching the goal, the manager can gain the enthusiasm of their staff, which will ultimately translate to results in the form of reaching established goals profitably. That plan should, of course, also include incentives for the team, should any pre-established goals be reached.
“The true measure of the value of any business leader and manager is performance.”– Brian Tracy, motivational speaker
If a manager is able to successfully build the right team, establish a mutual respect/trust with that team and then implement a successful plan, they will succeed.
