Today’s Managers have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. The world of work has changed significantly in the past 50 years and many management paradigms have failed to keep pace.
All managers can benefit from checking in and ‘sharpening the saw’ (Dr Stephan Covey)
Sean Reddell | Blaze Unlimited, has worked with hundreds of Managers ranging from the very experienced through to those new to the function. Although there are common themes the specific issues each Manager is facing are as diverse as the teams and projects they are leading. Some of the more common scenarios I’ve assisted with include:
- Managing the behaviour of those in their teams.
- Managing your own workload WHILE leading a team.
- Dealing with the ‘Impostor Syndrome’ – the self belief that you’re not up to the task and you shouldn’t be there.
- Making the transition from former team mate, to new team leader.
- Managing difficult behaviours and conversations.
- Priority management – what do you REALLY need to be doing?
- Building morale.
- Developing resilience in teams to embrace change, complexity and stress in the workplace.
- Exerting influence in a changing environment (including managing upwards).
- Getting to ‘Yes’ – developing negotiation skills.
- Team-Building
- Strategic planning and performance measurement.
If you’ve read anything I’ve written you’ll probably know that I focus on improving employee engagement. You can read more about that here. The short version as to why this is important to you as a manager is this. Engaged employees are more productive, easier to work with, are happier AND contribute more of their discretionary effort towards the goals of the organisation. Discretionary effort is a fancy way of saying they your team will go the extra mile or above and beyond just the minimum requirements of their role. They are invested in the businesses success. They also take fewer sick days and remain with your organisation longer. Would you like to have a team of engaged people working for you? Well the good news is that as a manager you can (and do) have a SIGNIFICANT impact on their engagement. You’re not totally responsible, but I daresay you take the lions share. You can see on the table below just how much of an impact an outstanding manager can have on their people.
It stands to reason that if people are an organisation’s most valuable asset [and I believe they are], then the role of the manager is critical. Evidence suggests that ’people don’t leave jobs or organisations per se, they leave poor managers’. Today’s manager must not just operate ‘above the green line’ [ref: What impact are you or your Managers having on people at work and the organisations bottom line?
