8 Clever Ways to Improve Your Performance as a Manager

Every organisation needs practical managerial skills for its success. According to the World Economic Forum, management is among the top skills required for the workforce to thrive today. Heading a department or a particular team in an institution is not an easy task. However, talented managers bring significant levels of productivity, high employee engagement scores, and profitability. Most of the time, executives or managers have problems with their teams; however, more often than not, they are usually the ones to blame. Here are clever ways to improve your performance as a manager.

 

Build trust

When employees trust you, they have higher productivity, more energy, greater engagement, and less stress that is essential for your organisation’s success. The key to building trust between you and employees is creating deeper connections; try and get to know them beyond the office. You can engage in small talk before meetings, talk about their professional and personal differences, and seek to understand their different viewpoints during discussions.

Additionally, instil trust by being credible; when you say you’ll do something, stand by your word. Also, be respectful and fair in decision-making.

 

Practice employee recognition

Employees spend most of their day in the workplace, making valuable contributions to the company’s success; recognising their efforts goes a long way in making them feel recognised and valued. Besides training, daily motivation, promotions, and autonomy, employee recognition is the top driver of better employee performance.

As a manager, you can recognise employees by rewarding them publicly when they achieve particular set goals.

 

Collaborate

Collaborating as a manager goes beyond forming committees or reaching a consensus during organisational activities, such as taking on projects; it involves working directly with your team to concoct ideas and create plans. Improve your collaboration skills by doing the following;

  • Involve employees in decision-making, mainly if it affects them.
  • Seek feedback from your team about processes and decisions.
  • Hold regular informal and one-on-one conversations.
  • Ask for your team’s opinion on problem-solving.

 

Avoid micromanaging

No one likes the micromanaging boss; it becomes challenging to work when someone is always hovering over you to give corrections and directions. Employees perform their best work when they feel trusted to accomplish their roles and duties with minimal supervision. Allow your team to prove their proficiency by giving them space.

 

Be part of the team

Don’t be the “bridge lizard” kind of manager who spends most of their time seated and watching employees working and peppering them with unfunded and regular criticism. Many employees lose their respect for such characters; lead by example and be part of the team. Instead of dishing out instructions all the time, insert yourself in work; leave the desk and first-hand about the challenges employees face.

 

Be a good communicator

Organisations run smoothly when there is a good flow of information, especially top to down. The hallmark of a successful manager is the ability to communicate effectively with their teams. Be transparent with employees about tasks, the state, and the vision of the organisation. Give them feedback about completed projects and their performance; you can give briefs during update sessions.

During update sessions and team meetings, create opportunities for employees to ask questions and, if possible, invite various executives to answer the strategic and complex questions.

 

Take up a management training course

Beyond carrying out your daily activities as a manager, improve your management skills by enrolling in a course. Even though you completed a higher diploma or degree, things in the workforce change with time; training enables you to learn new tools and techniques to shape organisational processes. Take up an online course like Lean six sigma black belt to allow you to steer innovation and change for organisational success.

 

Be an effective decision-maker

Above all, a great manager can effectively make decisions without faltering. From leading team meetings and seeing to it that everyone performs to the organisation’s expectations, learn how to analyse critical problems and effectively implement plans to solve them and move forward. Practice the three C’s considered management essentials for decision-making which are:

  • Constructive conflict- Engage employees in decision-making to invite debates and diverse perspectives for creative problem-solving.
  • Consideration- Fairly consider all viewpoints from stakeholders before determining and implementing a solution.
  • Closure- Involves alignment of stakeholders before proceeding by defining project initiatives and accomplishments within a particular period and ensuring everyone agrees on successful outcomes.

Be an effective leader today by increasing your managerial skills through training, effective communication and decision-making, and collaboration. Build trust between you and employees, be part of them, avoid micromanaging, and recognise their efforts for overall organisational success.