Three tips for managers

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on August 31, 2007  
Filed Under Leadership

The world is full of management advice. Books, journals, business schools, conferences, news magazines flood our senses with the latest science on how to be a good manager. Well, here are three more tips from the author of How not to suck as a boss.

Three simple tips that most managers should find useful.

  1. When something fails, accept responsibility

    2. Avoid the attitude of I’m right, you’re wrong. Obey me. Instead, the author suggests taking the opposite perspective. Get in the mindset of when something fails, it is my fault. So if an employee fails to meet a deadline, look at what you as their supervisor did wrong to make that happen. What can you do to ensure the same thing does not happen again. And if the employee is that bad, maybe you need to look at your hiring methods.

  2. Understand employee motivations

    3. If you do not understand their motivations, you do not understand their capabilities. When you have an eager employee, take the time to listen to them. More importantly, try to understand them. Instead of shrugging and then giving that person menial tasks, listen and use their energy to benefit you. If someone is bored, distracted or slacking, ask yourself, what motivates them (not how can you motivate them). Start with their perspective, not yours.

  3. Reverse the organisational chart

    4. You are on the bottom. Get into the mindset that you work for your employees rather than the other way around. You are there to help them succeed. Also, realise that employees can, in a real sense, fire their bosses.

Every manager has their favourite tips for success. These three are worthy of consideration.


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