4 Min. Read

What Makes a Great Manager: 7 Must-Have Qualities

August 12, 2021

Do you have what it takes to be a great manager? Read on to find out!

Not all entrepreneurs are effective managers. You may even dread the thought of hiring staff as a small business owner. How do you know you have the skills to excel as a manager?

Fortunately, you can develop these managerial skills with some practice. So for each quality, we have added a way you can strengthen them.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

Coping Under Pressure

Empathy

Key Takeaways

1. Confidence

Confidence is essential to effective management. You have to have conviction and strength in your decision-making skills. The ability to stand by your decisions. A confident person also instills confidence in the people around them too.

How to Build Your Confidence:

Work on your follow-through. You feel more confident in yourself and your skills if you get things done. It’s a simple tip but it really works.

2. Focus

Speaking of getting things done, let’s talk about focus. The ability to focus on work tasks is important as a manager. Even with a team, you have more tasks on your plate than you did solo. Focus will help you get your day-to-day work done. It will also help you keep your long-term goals in mind.

How to Improve Your Focus:

Meditation! Yes, it’s the buzzword of the twenty-first century, but it’s worth trying. Meditation is scientifically proven to improve focus over time.

3. Creativity

Creativity is not necessarily being artistic. All problem-solving requires creativity. You’ll motivate your team if you can find creative solutions to problems. You’ll also delight clients and drive the business forward.

How to Improve Creativity:

Create a workplace environment that inspires you and everyone else.

4. Not Micromanaging

Micromanagers are a struggle for small business owners in particular. You believe that you are the only person that can do the job as well as you can. And you’re probably right! You built the business and know its needs intimately. No one cares about the business as much as you do. However, effective training should set your employees up for success.

How to Avoid Micromanaging:

Practice setting clear expectations and detailed briefs. A strong manager can create good team goals and communicate them to the team.

5. Clear Communication

Communication is the burden of the sender. This is a great motto to have in life. It essentially emphasizes your responsibility to communicate clearly. Employees are not mind readers. It’s on us to develop clear effective communication skills.

How to Be a Better Communicator:

Make yourself available for questions just in case something isn’t clear. Strong leaders are always willing to help team members however they can. It’s one of our managerial responsibilities to be open to questions and give positive feedback when staff reach out.

6. Coping Under Pressure

Being a small business owner has a lot of pressures. Even more so when you have staff. Not only do you have added responsibility. You also are accountable for everyone’s mistakes. Withstanding work pressure is all about emotional stability. Self-care is paramount if you are a manager. You’ll need stress-relieving techniques to cope with any work issues that crop up.

How to Improve Your Ability to Cope With Pressure:

Create a prioritization protocol. When things are overwhelming, what are the most important tasks? Successful managers take time management very seriously and know the absolute non-negotiables.

7. Empathy

Lastly, empathy is one of the essential management traits. It’s important to have a connection with your team. You need to be able to listen to your team and listen to them with an empathetic ear. Learn how you can support your team in the best way possible. Being able to foresee if the workloads you are delegating are too much for your staff stems from empathy.

How to Show More Empathy as a Manager:

Empathy is a basic human trait that most people have. People who lack empathy would be on the sociopathic or psychopathic spectrum. However, there are ways to show empathy to your workforce. One of the best ways is showing gratitude. Being appreciative of your employees’ hard work helps staff feel supported. This will lead to positive work culture and team morale.

Key Takeaways

We’re not born great managers. Some people have natural leadership skills but great managers are developed. Working on these managerial qualities will improve your standing as the boss in your company. Higher employee satisfaction comes from excellent management and support. Lead the way and your business will flourish!

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