“Every day is a school day” is a great saying. This is quite true, because whatever your level of experience as a manager, there are always new things to learn and skills to improve upon. Attending, and more importantly, using tools and ideas on a great course, can help. After all, good management training leads to quality service. One such course is our Introduction to Management, which will give you a range of practical, tangible tools and strategies to help you succeed as a manager, and ultimately lead to quality service – but how?
Understanding the manager’s role
What do you consider yourself to be? A manager? A Leader? A supervisor? Whatever you consider yourself to be, the truth is you need to be all of these things and more. Adapting your style to meet the situation, task, or people is key. Being able to adapt is fundamental to being a successful manager. It will ensure that your team is optimised and therefore more collaborative, productive, engaged, and innovative. All of which leads to quality service, and all influenced and role-modelled by YOU!
Effective communication
All managers must be able to communicate effectively. Those who are vague, inconsistent or send mixed messages will only create an environment that is doomed to fail. Communication is a vast subject. It really boils down to how you actively listen, ask great questions and how transparent and authentic you are. Are you personable and approachable? Can you adapt to each person’s own communication style so that they feel engaged? If so, you are effective and can make an impact. Everything you do is role-modelling behaviour and is noticed and remembered.
Developing and leading the team
You are only as good as the people around you, and great managers know that developing their team is absolutely essential. How can you do this? Here are some ideas:
- Establish clear roles and responsibilities
- Empower the team and include them in decision making
- Coach them
- Listen and give (and ask for) feedback
- Foster trust and inclusivity
- Develop your and their Emotional Intelligence
- Delegate and share your power
- Ask for ideas
- Encourage autonomy and independence
As a good manager, you want people that willingly want to follow you. Therefore, you want a team that are positive, self-motivated, efficient, result-oriented, and inspired to achieve. You have to be seen as honest, ethical, competent, forward thinking, have courage, be decisive and inspirational. You cannot insist or just expect it. People judge you on results and not what you say, so it’s necessary to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
Final thoughts
An excellent and thought-provoking question to ask yourself is, “What would my team say about me to others?” So, what would they say? What would you want them to say? How could you ensure that the answers would be positive and encouraging? One way is by learning more about yourself.
These are the key ingredients and practical tools that can assist you in becoming the type of manager everybody would want to work for. This all contributes hugely to a team and organisation that would provide high quality service. STL can show you how good management training leads to quality service.
