Do You Have These Managerial Qualities?

I was invited at a party at my uncle’s apartment for dinner along with few other guests. They were having a random chat about different topics so I wasn’t really paying attention to any one specifically until I heard the word “Manager”. I, being unaware of the context, heard my uncle giving an example to some person next to him that “if any person asks anyone about how to become a manager, cannot become a manager just like a person entering a showroom of luxurious cars asking for the price, cannot purchase the car.” These lines hit me so hard that put me into a flashback of every acquaintance having a managerial position that I have ever come across.

 

In modern organizations, managers’ roles are important as to efficiently convert decisions of the strategic management into actual results through utilizing resources. “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Efficient managers play a vital role in bridging the gap between operational and elite staff and they must not easily be lost.

 

 

We all have been gone through working under different bosses and managers but at some point or another, there is always someone who stood out for that position and perhaps even motivate you to become like him/her. So what made you think like that about that person or should I say, what was so different about him that made you think like that?

 

Let us identify some of the common traits that such managers might have, to stand out among the others.

 

Speak out

No one is going to listen if you don’t talk; no one is going to show interest if you don’t know how to talk. There are personalities whose distinctive quality is the way they talk. They could tell ordinary stories in such a tone and style that the audience surrender to listen to them. Managers with good and attractive persona have this ability to speak uniquely to the crowd.

 

Analyze yourself and you might find couple of lacking in your conversations that might not getting you the desired responses. These may be pitch of your voice, tone with respect to subject, speaking using your nose etc. Pick up your phone and start recording yourself and make use of the internet for your own good to overcome such deficiencies.

 

In touch

Everybody loves hearing their names being called. Try to do a little effort by memorizing names of your colleagues. This give them a sense of importance and recognition at the workplace.

 

Ask them “how is it going?” on the go where the interaction is minimal, can boost affection unnoticeably. Ask them about some mishap they might have faced or about their children’s education or may be their trip to other cities. Such little and friendly touches can make your image positive in team member’s mind.

 

Personality

Personality isn’t just well dressed person with groomed up hair, it is pretty much complex and psychological. You perhaps think about different persons in different situations like at parties, in parks, during a fight or during a card game. That’s how different persons build their image subconsciously in other people’s minds which are often recalled in certain situations.

 

A good manager’s image are often recalled in situations where critical dealings are in progress, negotiating with authorities, taking up responsibilities and providing solutions forthwith, cooling down heat etc. Ask yourself do you fit in any such criteria in any part of life, not just being official?

 

Team driver

Managers should be able to achieve 1 + 1 = 11 from their employees by assigning the best jobs to the employees having the most suitable skills. A great team providing synergy depicts quality of resource allocation and management, determination, communication, goal settings of an able leader. For example, if a team member possessing good computer skills has been assigned to negotiation with 3rd parties, won’t get you optimum results.

 

 

Congeniality isn’t always needed, nor stiffness serve you better all the time. It is all a matter of time and demand of the environment. A good manager must be able to identify and analyze its group member behaviors, motivational and demotivating factors, demand for environment etc.

 

Equity

Equality doesn’t mean equity. Performance appraisal is a tool to help here. Managers must take an active part in formulating, explaining the mechanics and its importance for all the employees. Equitable treatment is important for rewarding the persons giving out their best together keeping the low performer motivated.

 

Clear & open

Clarity builds trust and confidence, which also helps in honest, crucial and critical feedbacks. The more clear and open you are, the less people will hesitate to come up with their problems as they know that how their points will be considered and solved on merit and in transparent manner.

 

Of course, clarity and completeness is also important in goal setting. Be specific, shorter in words without losing the meaning, as incomplete messages may cost higher than expected in terms of time and money.

 

Taking over

Analyze your surroundings! You might find few people who are just party takeovers. Such people come and irrespective of the topic in continuation, can contribute or even change the topic entirely. Such people possess a remarkable quality of speaking in, at least known, social gatherings. Such quality can be learned through practices and bearing few principals in mind before entering into the action.

 

 

One more quality that builds up confidence, loyalty and respect about the managers is the ability to take responsibility for what the team has done and ready to defend, being a single unit. This “owning the team” promotes the culture that enlighten the team members to put the best effort in projects. Less politics takes place, which result in better productivity.

 

Figure of confidence

When you feel yourself as powerful as you have achieved something or you know that you already have achieved it, it all gets visible by your behavior, actions and reactions. A captain of a winning team earning Rs.10,000 in prize won’t have same expressions as the captain of runner up team getting Rs.7,000 in prize.

 

Non-verbal communication is a deep science in itself. Honest leaders behave differently than dishonest ones. A powerful country’s leader will walk in a different way than a leader of a weaker country. A few study about the non-verbal gestures like when to fully open hands and when to close, how to move your head that doesn’t show that you’re lying or doesn’t know the answer, when to smile and when to laugh, when to chant and when to whisper, can make a personality being subconsciously like and absorbed by the viewer.

 

Milestones

Milestones are specific and short range goals that help the team lead towards a certain objective. A manager’s efficiency to set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bounded) goals can make everyone’s life easy and free from useless disputes, saving both time and cost of discussing perhaps the same points over and over again. And remember this “What you can measure, you can manage” – Peter Drucker

 

Checklists

“What was the 3rd thing I said? Oops!” obviously such blunders are often highly demotivating in crucial situations, usually in front of younger members. They might also start to take the assignments lightly as such events shows lack of seriousness from the manager’s side.

 

 

Many people feel ashamed to write something down to remember, totally negating the fact that their minds might get occupied with unexpected calls of duty. Making checklists ease the mind from remembering something that is obviously need to be considered later in a timely manner. “You are not a manager if you work after office hours” and you definitely won’t like to get this quote to fit on your routine.

 

Conclusion

Good managers can take the average and get something superior. While practicing management skills, the difference between a leader and a boss should also be considered as “people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses.” Managers don’t have to have all of the best qualities that you can come up with. It is just a matter of time when such attributes can play its role for good of your team and your organization. A constant behavioral change and learning more about the subject with interest can significantly impact one’s personality favorably.

 

Good luck and

Happy Management!