v1n2 Characteristics of Good Managers

Management Notes Online
October & November 1996

Alan L. Joplin, Publisher

Productive organizations do not happen by accident; they develop through some one or some persons making the right decisions, influencing the right people and avoiding the many managerial mistakes that can hold people back. Operating an organization requires managers to have varied knowledge, skills and a set of clear and distinct characteristics essential for successful and sound organizational management.

Here are some characteristics which have been considered as being those of good managers.

1. Keeping abreast of developments in your field. Be the expert in the your field; the job will become more interesting and worthwhile. Techniques: Prepare for advancement--accept managerial training when it is offered; do not underrate your technical skills; expose yourself to new ideas; look for ways to self-improvement and growth on the job.

2. Do not confine yourself to your specialty. You will have better opportunities for promotions; the higher you go, the better the financial return; your career will be much more interesting. Techniques: Set high goals--use the million-dollar personal-success plan--do not limit knowledge to a single specialty--learn everything there is to know about the organization.

3. Seek higher responsibility or take responsibility for your own actions. Learn to assume the initiative; you will increase your professional stature--you will gain the respect and confidence of superiors; you will have the cooperation and support of subordinates. When you look for responsibility, you will find it. Techniques: Know the cardinal responsibilities of the job, do every task as well as possible; have the courage of your convictions; assume responsibility for your actions; ask for diversified management assignments.

4. Make sound and timely decisions. People will have confidence in your leadership; people will trust your decisions; you will become known as an expert trouble shooter. Techniques: Do the worrying before placing the bet.

Ask yourself these five questions first.

1. Do I have to make this decision?
2. What do I have to decide?
3. When must I decide?
4. What else do I need to know?
5. How shall I make this decision?

5. Conduct personal inspections properly. Increased and improved production will result from proper inspections; improved safety conditions will result from proper inspections; better housekeeping is another advantage; improved employer-employee relationships. Techniques: Ask if the right people have the answer--does the supervisor really have things under control? Check the obvious things--they are so often overlooked.

6. Make sure the job is understood, supervised, and accomplished. People will respond quickly to your concerns; people will do their best; you will have more time for your own work. Techniques: Make sure the need for an order exists; issue the correct order; never issue an order you cannot enforce; disguise orders as suggestions or requests; know what is wanted before issuing an order; use clear, concise, simple language; have oral orders repeated to be sure they are understood; use the established chain of authority to issue orders; encourage questions from subordinates, ask them questions.

7. Do not waste time on details or work that belongs to someone else. You will gain the respect of employees; you will develop initiative and resourcefulness in people; you will not be surrounded by a bunch of "yes people."

8. Assess your performance realistically. Learn to be honest with yourself; consolidate strengths and eliminate weaknesses; assess your performance realistically, ask yourself these questions: Do I give my boss problems or solutions? Do I try to get all the facts first? Do I use all available resources to get the job done? Do I try to slough off the details? Do I panic easily? Are my reports based on actual results? Do I meet deadlines? Do I finish the job?

9. Going for the maximum. Do not accept the minimum--people will give their maximum efforts; production will go up; costs and expenses will go down--this means increased profit, prestige, and promotions.. Techniques: Set a high standard of performance for the organization--do not accept the present system as the best or only way; encourage your employees to better the system; help people to set goals for themselves--make a person proud of his/her job.

10. Do not use your management position for personal gain. Employees will trust you and give admiration and respect. Techniques: Use managerial resources for their intended purposes; practice the old-fashioned virtue of honesty--one must follow the rules, too; give credit to your subordinates for the work they do; develop the character trait of unselfishness.

11. Always tell the truth--Always keep your word. People will believe what you say; you will gain the reputation of being dependable and not have to remember every word said; you will be respected. Techniques: Develop moral courage; never make a promise which cannot be kept; always carry through with announced punishment; learn how to be thought of as being dependable; learn how to develop the character trait of integrity.

12. Do not try to be liked--Try to be respected. You will not have to put on a false front; you can be yourself; and will not have to use soft soap and flattery; you will not have to win any popularity contests and can just be yourself subordinates will do much better work; they will willingly carry out your wishes and desires; they will give their loyalty, cooperation and respect. Negative techniques one should avoid: Do not accept favors from subordinates; do not try to make popular decisions; do not be soft about enforcing discipline; do not place yourself in a compromising position with employees. Positive techniques one can use: Know the job; conduct yourself as a gentle person at all times; have a sense of humor; be loyal to both superiors and subordinates.

13. Cooperate with your employees. Employees will cooperate; even problem employees will cooperate, too; they will respect and have confidence in you and will give their loyalty, and wholehearted support; they will work with initiative, ingenuity, and enthusiasm; they will work together as a team; they will feel like they belong; they will work as hard as necessary to get the job done. Techniques: Give of yourself; give employees a second home in the organization. Four techniques you can use to give cooperation to employees: Give them a chance to participate in management; give them the opportunity to help make the rules; give them a chance to take part in decisions; hold weekly conferences.

14. Ask subordinates for their advice and help. They will feel a part of the team; identify people of above-average ability; give employees a sense of importance; employees will put their imagination, initiative, and ingenuity to work. Techniques: Get in the proper frame of mind; make employees feel it is their problem too; encourage individual thinking; make it easy for them to communicate their ideas; follow through on an idea; do not forget the reward.

15. Develop a sense of responsibility in subordinates. One will develop confidence and respect between oneself and his/her subordinates; you can cut supervision to the bare minimum; subordinates will put their initiative to work; there will always be a pool of trained manpower available. Techniques: Allow employees freedom of expression; use mission-type orders as much as possible; give each person the responsibility to learn his/her superior's job; give responsibility and authority together; back decisions; allow methods to be put to work--hold the person accountable for the results.

16. Emphasize skill. One will gain these benefits. Concentrate on results, not methods; production will go up; costs and expenses will go down; you will attract a better class of employees; employees will put their initiative to work; they will give their maximum efforts; employee morale and esprit de corps will be high; you will have fewer managerial problems. Techniques: Give the employee a job to do, then let them do it; challenge the person to beat your system; let the person improve their own job methods; learn how to emphasize skill by making the work meaningful.

Techniques for effective rule making:

1. When rules are made, concentrate on results to be obtained, not the methods to be used.

2. A good rule is to consider the health, safety and welfare of the employees.
3. A good rule will help to increase production and decrease costs and expenses.

4. Employees should be stimulated by the rules to use their initiative and give their best efforts.

5. Good rules should improve employee morale and esprit de corps.
6. Good rules should improve a person's individual proficiency on the job.
7. Good rules should also raise overall organizational efficiency.
8. Good rules should reduce managerial problems.

17. Keep criticism constructive. You will gain peak performance , production and profits. Twelve questions you can ask to achieve these benefits: When something goes wrong, do I tend to assume who is at fault? Do I do my best to get all the facts first? Do I make clear to the person his/her specific offense? Do I control my temper when criticizing a person? Do I always talk things over in private? Do I praise before I criticize? Do I share responsibility for the person's mistakes? Do I listen to the person's side of the story, too? Do I allow a person to retain his/her dignity? Do I suggest specific steps to prevent reoccurrence of the mistakes? Do I keep accurate records? Do I forgive and forget?

18. Pay attention to employee gripes and complaints. You will get to know and understand each employee better--even though one is the manager, and employees will like it when you listen to them--they will know you are really interested in them--you will find out what they really want when you listen to them. Techniques;: Listening to problems is a manger's responsibility; learn how to.

19. Keep employees Informed. You will encourage their Initiative and enthusiasm: the well-informed employee is a better employee--you will get rid of rumors--you will gain a persons respect, cooperation and support. Techniques: Let People know exactly where they stand--if you do not Like a person's work, tell the person so; learn how to praise a person properly--tell him/her about organizational plans; let close assistant in on plans at an early stage; learn how to eliminate misunderstandings; let employees know of any changes that will effect them.

20. Treat subordinates as Individuals. Employees will be your friends--none of them will be your enemies: they will admire and respect you; they will do what you want; production will go up; costs, expenses, employee grievances will go down. Techniques: Learn how to treat subordinates as Individuals--know each person by his/her first name; Praise employees; give a pat on the back; show respect for knowledge and skills; make an honest effort to really know employees--match talents to the Job.

21. Train an assistant to take over. You will always be ready for promotion; you will have a person who can run the place in your absence; you will have more time for other managerial duties--you can devote some time to image-building activities. Techniques : Make the decision to develop an assistant to take your place--pick the right person for the job.

Qualities you should look for in an assistant:

1. A person who is willing to learn from their mistakes.
2. A person who can learn fast and is anxious to get ahead.
3. A person who can think for him/herself.
4. A person who has the ability to work with people
5. A person who can get along with others
6. A person who can give them his/her trust and confidence.
7. A person who has initiative and the ingenuity of a leader.

Learn how to delegate responsibility to an assistant:

1. Give a complete picture of the job.
2. Let the person know what you are doing.
3. Add responsibility gradually.
4. Do not hold tight reins on person.
5. Give employees the authority needed to carry out their responsibilities.

Managers who maintain these characteristics tend not to end the day in total exhaustion and nervousness; for they would have let people carry the load, they would have made life easier and pleasant for all, and they would have been more productive and less costly.

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Management Notes is published six times a year a year by Voices of the Tribe. Editorial offices are located at 933 Washington - Davenport, Iowa 52804/USA. The Purpose of this publication is to provide readers with down-to-earth management information, ideas and techniques they can put into action to motivate employees and spur productivity.