It’s been six months since I started working at Santa Clara University and almost nine years since I began my writing career. I’ve had five managers in a full-time capacity and three editors I’ve reported to as a freelancer and each of them has had a distinct personality, unique quirks, and interesting leadership styles.
Recently, I hire
d an intern and have been pondering since what makes a good manager?
Is it someone who is a visionary? Or someone who isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get in the trenches with you? Or is it someone who oversees from a distance, but trusts you enough not to micromanage?
Or, perhaps, someone who isn’t afraid to lead the charge when you need support? I have determined that it isn’t one or the other … it’s a host of good qualities that make a good manager.
Here are some attributes I have observed in my managers that I hope to emulate as I supervise my intern.
A good manager is one who:
- Knows their own strengths and weaknesses.
- Knows their team’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Leverages their team’s (and individual workers’) strengths to produce outstanding results.
- Looks for development opportunities to keep the team growing.
- Shields the team from the politics in the upper echelons of management so that the worker bees can continue to do their best.
- Is honest in their communication with the team.
- Is realistically ambitious about team goals.
- Takes responsibility for deliverables.
- Keeps short-term projects on target while keeping the bigger picture goals in sight.
- Invites new ideas and encourages intellectual exchanges (i.e., is not a smart ass).
- Recognizes and rewards good work. In other words, gives credit where it is due.
- Is a good listener … and is able to read between the lines.
- Has good time management skills.
- Conducts meetings that are short, yet productive.
- Has good people skills.
- Sets the bar high.
Have you had any good managers along the road?
Do you consider yourself a good manager?
I invite you to share your thoughts…
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that so sounds like me… lolz…probably I shud ask my team members to read this and comment…
)
on a serious note… i have had good managers with few of these qualities but not all… (tough to be perfect like me
Hey Mansi,
Thanx for visiting my blog. As I can see here’s a lot of quality expected out of a manager…or rather a good manager…and I feel that most of them are absent in one such person I know and he’s trying to make a hell of my life. So it was just a reverberating post to cool things off.
But on the positive note, I am still up and running…so keep visiting….
These are relevant qualities a manager possesses, good leadership. As a blogger I tend to digest this post by picturing that we’re all managers to our own services and tasks. Do I consider myself a good manager? I’ll say still have rooms for improvements.
@wchingya
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