Three Management Mastery Hacks
In my experience most middle managers are often overburdened with work and responsibility and underwhelmed with support and training.
Show me a business with trained, respected and supported middle managers and I will show you a business that works smart, has effective, vibrant teams with employees who are passionate about their work and clients and customers who come back for more. Show me a business where middle managers are given a title without delegation, additional responsibilities without decision making power, a team of people without soft skills and coach training and I will show you a business that is barely surviving, has a blame culture, is inefficient and struggling to build engagement and accountability.
It needn't be the case.
I'm on a mission to throw all the help I can to these middle managers to help them navigate the world of being the meat in the proverbial organisational sandwich. I run a series of free Masterful Manager Webinars which you can subscribe to here https://www.uqpower.com.au/Masterful-Managers
To get some immediate wins here are three management mastery hacks to boost your management skills pronto!
1. TAKE ALIGNED ACTION
Research by Gallup in the book "It's the Manager" reveals that middle managers and supervisors have the biggest influence on employees behaviour, engagement and wellbeing. People will do what you do, not what you say to do.
For example if you say it is rude to check your phone while in meetings and yet are constantly on your computer or checking your phone for an 'important' call, people will interpret that you don't really practice what you preach.
Talk is cheap. Positive actions that are congruent are what get people on board.
2. KNOW THE GAME
In his soon to be released new book, Simon Sinek says managers and leaders have to know the game they are playing. The challenge he argues is that business is an infinite game. An infinite game has known and unknown players. The rules are changeable and you can play however you want. The objective is to perpetuate the game, to stay in the game as long as possible.
Simon believes most leaders don't know the game they're playing. They talk about being number one, being the best, or beating their competition. The problem is when we play with a finite mindset in a game that has no finish line, then there's a decline of trust, cooperation innovation and ultimately culture.
Know that you are playing a long, infinite game. Develop your people and support them regardless of if they will stay with you three months, years or decades and do what's best for the planet and not just short term profits. People will trust you more and want to work with you on achieving the goals.
3. GET OUT FROM BEHIND YOUR DESK
Becoming a manager can be overwhelming. Not only do you have to complete your own tasks and work you now have to somehow juggle the personalities, idiosyncrasies and workload of multiple other humans in your team too.
It can often mean you get shackled to your desk or in an endless daisy chain of meetings that see you more and more removed from day to day operations. There result is often a communication disconnect which erodes trust and feeds the gossip void. What's critical to remember is that as the manager, you are the most important person in your employees work life. Dozens of studies show that your relationship with your direct delegates has the greatest influence on their experience of work. Don't become an island from them. Get out, connect, relate, listen, ask questions and motivate them. Eye contact is critical.
Becoming a masterful manager takes work. It takes time, energy and care. The effects are not always easily apparent, or simple to measure, but bit by bit they add up and build trust, rapport and loyalty. Be the manager you always wished you had.