Leading a team can be a tough task even for the most experienced manager. Because of the nature of the work, you cannot expect listening to direct reports every time make a mistake. As a result, much of what a manager has to learn will depend on their own capacity of analysis and feeling.
Besides the necessity of a quality educational training and courses, managers need also to improve their interpersonal skills in order to successfully deal with different personalities and take the best of their teams. Just as everything in life, the trial and error is a very efficient way to learn, since our mistakes have lots to teach. Listen to the experiences of other skilled managers is another way to achieve a good knowledge in the field.
Another useful tip is to make interviews with the employees that are leaving the company, so they will feel more comfortable to say what they think about your managerial skills, but it will only help if you are wise enough to see a criticism as an opportunity to grow as a leader.
One of the most common employees complaints are about the favoritism that some managers have over some employees. If the members of the staff suspect that you have your favorite, they will automatically blame it for all the problems they could face at work. Therefore, your tendency to benefit one employee over the others can become a huge cause of conflict in the office. So, pay attention to your acts and, if you think that you might be favoring some employees over others, be aware of your behavior and make a conscious effort to provide same opportunities to all the members of your team.
Other difficult think to deal with is the poor communication among the team. Sometimes, people complain that they do not get clear instructions from the manager, so they are not able to know what is expected from them. It is important to explain exactly what kind of result you are expecting from a new task, including the dead line and the set progress dates. Clear communication is the only thing that ensures that job will be successfully done.
It is also very important that you know how to successfully manage the tasks as well. Some managers do not want to delegate, feeling that they have to control every aspect of the process, giving few space for the employees to manage their own tasks. This kind of attitude is the best way to deliver a wrong project. When you try to control every single step of your team, the only thing you are doing is creating a stressful work environment. Stop checking on every detail of the project and let your employees to take their own decisions, making authority over the project. The better thing to do is to establish periodic dates to check on the progress of the project.
Finally, the art of being a successful manager is related to the balance between giving direction to the members of the staff and allowing them to make decisions. Make your team identify with the vision of the company and understand how their work contributes to this vision. To becoming an effective leader, you have to be confident and use the complaints to improve your expertise and build health work environment.
What your staff’s complaints can teach you – by Miracle Studios,