Good Management Qualities For This Year

Updated June 17, 20221.6k

What makes a good manager? Check out ResumeNerd’s tips on how to be a great leader, boost morale, and encourage employee engagement.

Top Management Qualities

What essential qualities do all good managers have, and why do they need them?
First, having top management skills is not just about technical or conceptual abilities, but also soft skills such as empathy and compassion. Good managers genuinely care about their team. It’s difficult be a great manager if you don’t know or care how your staff feels.? An empathetic manager should care about employees’ personal lives and help them create a good work/life balance. Using emotional intelligence builds rapport, opens communication, and encourages loyalty.
Fairness is another essential quality when managing people; you can’t offload all the grunt work to the employees you least like and save all the development opportunities for the ones you like best!
Honesty is vital if you want respect from your team. Good managers are transparent, communicate company objectives, explain business changes and tell staff why they are happening. Suppose you want your staff to embrace change; this is vital. Sharing details makes staff feel more involved with the company and creates a healthy work culture.
Being an excellent communicator is a top management quality. Good managers ensure they keep all their staff informed, not just a chosen few. If you are a manager, then ensure that you regularly check in with your staff to give updates. Check your non-verbal communication skills, like body language and facial expressions. Your tone of voice can also convey a lot more than your words. Finally, share information equally with your team. Communication is especially relevant with the rise of remote and hybrid working. Keeping everyone in the loop is paramount.

Best Management Behavior

The qualities of a good manager lead to positive behaviors. What kind of behavior makes a good manager great?

Invested in employees: This includes their well-being, job satisfaction, and career development.

Feedback and recognition: Successful managers value their employees and regularly give feedback, rewarding them for good performance. Knowing employee strengths will allow effective delegation.

Mutual trust: Effective managers trust their employees to carry out their duties.

Accountability: Good managers are happy to give credit directly to the employee responsible and take the blame for personal errors or errors in management. Taking personal responsibility encourages staff to be accountable too.

Executive function: Managers should be well-organized and effective at time management, making everything run smoothly and avoiding any last-minute stress.

Coaching: Effective leaders mentor staff and assist in their career advancement. They are good coaches because they are engaged and motivated, then model this behavior to staff.

Listening skills: Excellent managers active listeners and are genuinely open to feedback from staff, even if it’s critical. Encouraging team members to get involved in decision-making and offer new ideas boosts employee engagement and ensures they are invested in the company, making any company or team success feel like a personal win.

Problem-solving: Good managers are decisive and solution-oriented problem solvers.

Management Mistakes

Some of the biggest mistakes that poor managers make are:

Micromanagement

Micromanaging illustrates a lack of trust in the employees’ ability to carry out the job and can negatively staff, lowering individual and team morale. Don’t scrutinize every detail if you want your staff to remain motivated. Give staff autonomy, freedom, and independence, and employees will reward you by going that extra mile for the business.

Not Investing in Employee Development

A lack of investment in an employee’s development can hurt staff motivation. If you don’t care about your employees doing well in the role, then there’s less chance they care about the business. Instead, providing opportunities for career development that raises morale and motivation, and encourages staff to invest more of themselves in the role, boosting productivity.

Lack of Accountability

Managers who deny their part in mistakes or pass them off as others immediately harpoon staff engagement, whereas owning up to your mistakes shows authenticity and breeds trust in the work environment.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do:

- Defend your team to higher management; have their backs, and foster mutual trust. Work hard for them, and they will work hard for you.

- Provide support and encouragement to employees when they need it. Sometimes life is hard, and employees will remember the managers who were there for them when it mattered. Knowing the boss will help you get back on your feet will inspire loyalty from the team.

- Practice diplomacy and seek to resolve conflict when it arises. Leaving disagreements to fester could backfire and expose poor people management.
Don't:

- Pick favorites. You might think it’s not apparent, but your team knows! The unfavored team members will likely believe that doing good work or hard work will not achieve anything and start to disengage.

- Be reluctant to get hands-on and share in team duties. Your team will respect you for it.

- Underestimate the importance of soft skills in this role. It is not enough to just be experienced in the position or have technical competence when the resource you are managing is people.

FAQ: Good Management Traits

Are performance reviews necessary?

Ranking people and boiling your performance down to numbers means performance reviews can be unpleasant for employees but are they a necessary evil for management? Instead of boiling down reviews to formal reports, try to find opportunities to deliver feedback informally and regularly, be specific, constructive, and supportive. Make sure to involve the employee in setting milestones to encourage ownership.

What personality types make the best managers?

According to the Myers-Briggs test, ENTJ personality types are most likely to make the best managers because they are persuasive problem solvers and strong leaders.

Where do I start if I have no experience?

You can start by letting your employers know that this is your career path and offer your services for additional duties or mentoring. Studying a management qualification to learn new skills proves your commitment, and volunteering could be a great way to gain management experience to add to your resume. If you are looking to work somewhere new, then check out the opportunities for start-ups or internships to help you get that first rung on the ladder. It can be helpful to look at LinkedIn and see the paths other managers followed.
For more detailed data on what makes a good manager, check out this report from Gallup. Applying the desirable qualities, leadership skills, and behaviors will create a positive work environment and empowering work culture.

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About The Author

Jessie Oleson Moore

Jessie Oleson Moore is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer / ghostwriter and artist. As a writer, she has written extensively on finance, day trading, personal growth, and career development and has extensive experience producing in-depth, research-based articles and guides. In addition, she is an accomplished illustrator and author who has appeared on The Today Show and been featured in Publisher's Weekly. In her free time, she’s an avid traveler, Ashtanga yoga practitioner, and unicorn enthusiast.