Tips For Being a Good Manager

Like many of you, I’ve had many different jobs in my life and I’ve had a lot of people in the workplace I’ve had to answer to. Like some of you, I’ve been in that other place…being the person in charge of others. I have to say that whatever side of the relationship you are on, it’s an interesting ride.

I come from the “old school” of thought that getting the work done doesn’t mean treating your employees like automatons. People need rest. People need to tend to emergencies. People need to feel that they have worth. It’s a tricky balance. I’ve had a few managers who have been able to stand on that high-wire. I’ve had more that haven’t, but some come close. As for me…my past employees tell people that I was a good manager. My thought? The first time, not so much, but the most recent time, not bad.

I never wanted to be a manager. My father had supervised large numbers of people in his work, and I really didn’t want his job. I avoided anything that smacked of the “M” word. Consequently, when I was given my first managerial job (going from being the second-newest graphics artist to managing a dozen people across two companies), I really wasn’t prepared. Oh, I could do all the jobs, but I didn’t know how to manage people. I had no training. All I could fall back on was trying to deal with employees in a manner that would do justice to the best boss I ever had. It took a year, but I started to get the hang of things before I left that position for other pastures.

With my most recent managing job, I again managed an art/production department. This time, not so scary. I’d sort of figured it out. Personally, it’s a case of being responsible. The manager is the go-between between the wants/needs of the manager’s bosses, and the employees under him/her who will have to implement those wants and needs. I think where a lot of people get into trouble is that they forget that. The manager needs to always be in the middle. They need to do what their bosses want, but also need to look after the people working for them. Too often, it’s more Dilbert-esque–where the manager refuses to “lower” themselves to the level of the people who work for them. That’s wrong.

A manager is the employee’s advocate to those above. At the same time, they can’t be “just one of the guys”. It’s a snarky balancing act. How do you do it?

First: have high standards. I don’t mean silly things like wearing ties, or shined shoes, or stuff like that unless it is directly important for the job. No, I mean that the work done has to be of a high standard, and the employees need to be responsible for its outcome.

This leads us to the Second point: Employees must be allowed to make mistakes. No one gets it right all the time due to factors controllable and uncontrollable. That’s business, and that’s life. It has to be factored into the equation. The trick is that employees have to take responsibility not to repeat the mistake. It’s the manager’s responsibility to address someone who doesn’t understand what’s expected: either through education, or a job change.

The third point: understand that employees have lives outside of work. Kids have doctor’s appointments. Workers need to be in touch with family members (e.g. kids home alone, parents in need, etc.). Cars break down. A myriad of things. While it’s important that the importance of work isn’t diminished, nor should short-staffing be tolerated for long, as it’s unfair to others, the human factor must always be considered. Complicating things is that singles (as opposed to marrieds and parents) shouldn’t be the drudges of the holidays. Just because a person is single doesn’t mean that they deserve time away from work any less. Again…balance.

Much of this ties into the most important factor: setting up an environment where the employees feel that they have worth. This encompasses so many things. Pay, of course, is a factor. I hate that a lot of companies (and governments, for that matter) neglect the fact that a fair wage for the service and industry of an individual needs to be fairly compensated. There’s responsibility. An employee who is treated as a subordinate will eventually get frustrated and need an outlet for that frustration. It’s human nature. If employees are trained, and given the trust to use their training, they feel more a part of the organization and will tend to work harder. By far one of the best things a manager can do is to compliment good performance. If the employee only hears from a superior when things go wrong, then fear is bred in the workplace every time a boss is in sight. That’s not good.

Lastly, a manager needs to make the workplace something more than just work. Some do pot lucks, or birthdays, or other things that are great for a while, but soon turn into another work chore–worse, a work chore that’s also a money-out-of-pocket chore. It’s actually simpler than that…let the employees talk. Banter. Have a paper-airplane contest. There are so many things. In spite of what some will say, employees are not interchangeable. A chemistry develops. That needs to be nurtured, but not to the exclusion of needing to get the work done. Nor should the inevitable updates to the employee roster be greeted with dread. Yes, sometimes it’s bad, but just as often it’s an infusion of new blood, new ideas, new passions, and most importantly, new stories.

So, when it comes to managers, my point of view falls back on those two primary laws that work for just about everything: 1) Be good to others; 2) Try to not be afraid. Amazingly, it usually turns out well.

(Originally published Dec. 19, 2005)