I’m fascinated by different styles that managers choose to adopt for various situations. Sometimes they will choose to be directive and take their mood out on team members; other times they will be jovial, have fun, delegate well and create a good atmosphere.

People often say that, if there was one skill they would like their manager to show more of, it would be consistency.

I read an interesting quote by Manfred Kets de Vries, of INSEAD, who stated:

“The best managers have the ability to go beyond narrow definitions of what management should be. They don’t fall into a pigeon-hole. Instead, they have the ability to excite people to achieve goals. They lead by example and are extremely resistant to stress. Leaders like Branson are very aware fo their failings and they find good people who can fill these areas”

So what style would you like to consistently choose? Remember that style IS a choice…you are not born that way, and your conditioning can be over-ridden by your conscious awareness.

Most managers do not know what their weaknesses really are. Because their staff rarely share their REAL feelings with their boss, they think everything is ok and never hear the back-biting and sniding comments when they are out of earshot.

Consistency is the main skill that many managers fail to adopt. One person said on one of our courses that he never knows what mood his boss is going to be in when he comes in. Everyone in his departments holds their breath when they hear his footsteps in the morning. If he says hello to everyone, they breathe a sigh and know it’s not going to be a too-bad day. If he storms in and goes straight into his office without saying a word, they all know they will be walking on eggshells all day. He stated that the morale is through the floor and everyone spends most of their day when not working surfing the job websites.

What a dreadfully disheartening situation to be in. This person stated that if the boss would only be consistent, they could deal with it. But his style is so haphazard that they don’t know what to do.

As a manager, you need to identify the best way to get the best out of your team. Just because no-one says anything to you about their mood or how they feel about your style, doesn’t mean everything is ok. Silence often speaks louder than shouted words.

Remember, your role as a manager is to “adapt, modify, adjust and rearrange the complex task and function interfaces that often slip out of alignment” (Leonard Sayles).

If you don’t know what these slippages are, you are in trouble. Keep close to your team, open the lines of communication and, above all, be consistent in your approach to everything you do. That way, you have a fighting chance of getting everyone to communicate back.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

It’s been said that there are three types of people in business: – those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who ask “what the heck happened?”!

At the start of each month, it’s a good time to analyse how you want the next month to be, so you can look ahead with control and anticipation, rather than look back with regret.

The start of the month gives you a chance to review what went right last month, what can be corrected, and gives you an opportunity to renew, regroup, recommit and reinvent yourself as a manager and leader.

It’s a process that can renew your energy and rejuvenate your motivation. So, what’s the best way of going about it?

• Spend 30 minutes or so with your monthly calendar. Write down all your deadline dates, when projects are due, important meetings, personal and business appointments, and other important dates. Then, working backwards, estimate how much time you’ll need to prepare for each event or project. Enter the start date on your calendar, and then you’ll have a vision of how you need to work to accomplish the goal.

• Make a plan for your own development this month. Read a professional journal, improve a specific skill, write an item for a newsletter or journal, attend a short seminar or course…anything that will improve your contribution to your own personal and business development.

• Now work to a weekly plan. Set deadlines for next week, so you know what are the urgent things that need doing. Practice efficiencies with paper, e.g. handle each piece of paper only once. Notice when you procrastinate, prepare and be on time for every meeting and become a better delegator.

• A strategy you might want to follow is the OATS formula: Have Objectives written down in priority order, plan Activities that will help you achieve your goals, allow the Time to achieve those goals, and Schedule when is the best time to acco0mplish each goal

• Manage your relationships well this month. Make an effort to ensure every member of your team feels important. Remember the old phrase ‘catch someone doing something right’. Be consistent in the way you lead your team, rather than making it depend on whatever mood you are in, and do just one thing this month that will make your work environment a better place for others to work in. For example, when was the last time you bought some fruit or doughnuts in for your team?

• Make a monthly resolution to do one thing better this month. Then do it again next month. And the next. Slowly but surely, you’ll see the team respond to you and, by setting this example, you encourage all to contribute to the whole business in a positive and motivational way.

All this will mean maintaining a proactive management style, giving you the chance to make a really good impression on higher management and clients.

Let us know how it goes. Be the kind of person who makes things happen; then you won’t have to look back and wonder what the heck happened! Have a great month!

Thanks again

Sean
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”