The 3 keys to being a great manager

Wednesday July 26, 2017 , 3 min Read

One of the most important reasons for good employees to quit or leave a company is the kind of treatment they receive from their superiors (read horrible bosses). People do not leave a company; they leave their manager. If you are looking to retain the talented employees of your company, become their advocate. That does not mean that you have to suck up to them. A good manager is entitled to give tough feedback and demand results.

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Great managers understand who their star performers are and do anything and everything to keep them interested in the game by proving opportunities. Here is how you can become a great manager that employees will never want to leave.

Become a master at giving feedback

Contrary to popular belief, a tough feedback isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it shows how dedicated you are. One way of valuing your customers is to provide valuable feedback. The last thing any employee wants is to stay under the impression that all is well only get hammered all at once on a fine Tuesday morning. Avoid that by giving piecemeal feedback from time to time. A good relationship is marked by both parties being on the same page. Honesty is the best policy.

Have regular conversations about your employees’ professional growth

Every person loves being appreciated, and to know that their professional growth is taken care of is achievement enough. A great boss should not only care about an individual’s career growth but also help them get towards it. If your company’s needs do not match with that of the career path of your direct report, help the employees grow outside the organisation since this is going to foster a feeling on endearment later on.

Give direct reports

Managers underestimate the value of a good one-on-one conversation when it comes to talking about reports. Carve out the perfect amount of a weekly one-on-one conversation that is going to increase trust levels and provide the employees with feedback accordingly. By dedicating time specially to discuss reports, you avoid bigger problems by singling out smaller issues right at the very start. More than this, a weekly one-on-one direct reports shows that you care a lot about their development.

This is what an ideal one-on-one meeting should look like: (1) 10 minutes to talk about areas where the direct report needs support (2) 10 minutes for the manager to give feedback and check in on goals, and (3) 10 minutes for professional development or any other items

Pretty soon, these talks will become part and parcel of your routine as a manager and you won’t be able to do without them. Being a great manager is like walking on eggshells, but if you do it right, you will find the right balance and function seamlessly.