It’s an old saying that employees quit managers, not companies. Many employees have said that most managers and leaders often lack the characteristics of great managers.
In research – Horrible Bosses, 82% of the employees said they would quit their jobs due to a bad manager. In another study – Frontline leaders project, 57% of employees said they left their jobs due to their managers.
The problem is not actually with managers but their approach and behavior. Most bosses (managers and leaders) lack the characteristics of great bosses that are, in fact, easily adaptable.
We have discussed the most appreciatable traits of great managers that any manager can learn and be great.
Thus if you are a manager or leader or want to coach your managers on the must-have traits of a great manager, here are the top six characteristics that every manager can adopt to become a great manager.
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Character
To lead a team, the most important quality is being a man of character and words. If a manager is characterless or lazy, it will become more challenging for him to manage employees.
At least, bad employees will definitely raise questions. And many will leave their jobs.
Thus, to lead a team, an essential trait of a manager or leader is to be ethical and have remarkable character.
Ethics and character help managers win employees’ hearts. People follow managers’ instructions easily if they are hard workers themselves.
Here is how managers should spend time to get optimal results in the workplace. Otherwise, if a manager isn’t great, many employees leave due to bad managers.
Good at Communication
As we know, a manager’s most important duty is to get things done. People who lack communication skills face problems in getting the best results.
It’s not because they don’t get the right teams. The reason is that they can’t deliver their expectations to the employees.
For instance, if you can’t tell an employee how much business you want him to bring and which tools or tactics he is allowed to use, you might get business, but you may face some other problems.
Many times things aren’t as easy as telling someone to bring 100 sales. So in most cases, managers need excellent communication skills to get the best from employees.
Here is another scenario to emphasize communication. If a manager isn’t good at communication and hesitates to be formal, he can’t positively criticize or appreciate employees. Or you can’t ask him to celebrate employees’ workiversaries; they will find it harder to send emotional workiversary messages.
Great listening quality
Many managers don’t focus on listening; they believe the employees must do their jobs; thus, it’s less important to focus on listening.
That’s why many times, business communication is one-way communication.
It causes many troubles.
For instance, when employees find it harder to speak (due to managers’ fear and pressure), they don’t share many work issues they face and hide environmental problems.
Problem-solving
While hiring managers, along with communication skills, the most critical ability to check is how problem-solving that manager is.
Someone who is not good at problem-solving can’t run the team. The reason is that there will definitely be many conflicts in the team, and there will indeed be some disobedient employees as well; if a manager doesn’t know how to manage those problematic employees or how to resolve conflicts, he can’t run the team.
It begins an endless journey of problems.
On the other hand, when a manager is a fantastic problem solver, he can bring positive change to any workplace; He can easily handle difficult employees, retain loyal employees, and get the best from the employees.
Productive and results-oriented
It’s also one of the great managers’ best traits; they are productive and results-oriented.
There are two scenarios when great managers play their best role in getting the best from employees.
- Great managers prioritize results. If an employee isn’t getting results, they can’t satisfy the manager with excuses. Their employees understand that work is the top priority of their manager.
- Great managers don’t rely on physical appearance. They dig deep and see how things are happening. For instance, a company general manager said that many of his international employees were bringing sales but were using unethical techniques to generate sales. He caught them in the very early stages. (It happens in almost all companies.)
Thus great managers understand why important the work is and how transparently the results should be.
Empathy
Empathy secures a good position among the top characteristics of great managers. If a manager doesn’t understand how employees feel and why they do whatever they do, he can’t convince them to give their best.
Many times even telling employees you know how they are feeling can get excellent results.
For instance, if you are in challenging situations and you overburden employees to keep the company running smoothly, you can tell them how they feel, and you understand their burden. Still, with your great communication skills, you can get sympathy to keep them performing well.
When you are transparent and genuinely care for employees, it will indeed result in employee loyalty.
So if you are a manager or leader who wants to adopt the best qualities, or you are in the onboarding team and want to see whom you should hire, the above discussed are six must-have qualities of a good manager.