What makes a good manager? People who become managers because they enjoy working with people want to know the answer to the question: how do I become a good manager?
What does it entail? What should I be doing? How should I be doing things?
Being a manager can be very fulfilling as a career path, but it can feel like a lot to learn and a little guidance when starting.
There are actions, habits, and behaviors that make good managers. And these things are learnable because a lot of them are skills.
So, what makes a good manager?
As the author states in the introduction of the book, The First Time Manager, “The advice in this book centers around two overarching messages: Be thoughtful in your actions and always conduct yourself with class.”
After all, management is dealing with people, so the most critical aspect of being a good manager is to care about the people you are managing.
“Management is about controlling, and leadership is about inspiring.”
-The First-Time Manager
Management is directive and starts as very involved in managing projects and ensuring that projects progress. The goal is to eventually get to a point where you become a leader in your management role.
For more, see Management vs. Leadership.
Since management focuses on people, it requires a very different skill set than those needed as individual contributors. Being a good manager means being good at your job and recognizing when someone else is good.
It can be a standard trap for managers to overfocus on the direct reports working in your previous domain to the detriment of the other functions you are managing now.
You must be able to recognize success in those that you manage.
Focus on people.
People want to feel that you care. And you can show them.
By listening to them and their ideas.
By helping them develop their careers and work on projects, they want and are engaged with.
By inspiring them to do their best work.
By being honest with them.
By being clear in your communication with them
By supporting them.
By not judging them.
People want to feel supported, heard, and cared for.
Emotional Intelligence
Another skill crucial for good managers is emotional intelligence.
Good managers are emotionally intelligent. According to the book Primal Leadership, emotional intelligence can be improved. The book also posits that emotional intelligence is the number one factor in determining if someone will be a successful leader.
The book classifies four domains of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.
Within each of these domains, there are specific skills. And because they are skills, they are learnable if you want to learn them.
Improving your emotional intelligence skills is one the most impactful things you can do as a manager since those will affect everything you do in your organization.
A Final Note
As a manager, you have a lot of influence over the people who report to you. It is something that should not be forgotten, and it is something that should be handled with care.
People want to know that you care, and they want to see that you are competent. You can demonstrate these things with emotional intelligence: communicating with them, having good relationships throughout the organization, making sound decisions and listening to people, and being fair.
“As a manager, think of class as ‘style and elegance in one’s behavior.'” –The First-Time Manager.