Being a good manager: 8 key points

"He/She has it in his blood!", "He/she is a born manager". Yes and no! You are not born a manager. While some people naturally possess certain leadership qualities, being a good manager requires constant learning and questioning . So, if you want to lead a team, here are 8 fundamental points that you should absolutely not miss.

Making yourself available to your team 

The name " manager " comes from the English " to manage " which means to manage, to direct. This translation shows the importance of a manager being available to his team and supporting them in order to achieve, together, a common goal. When an employee needs help, cannot find the solution to a problem, or is hesitating on a subject, it is important that the manager makes himself available to help and support him/her. Availability also involves setting up regular interviews, in order to take stock of the work of the teams, or to ask them if everything is okay. However, it is important not to overcommit yourself and to know how to dedicate time to your personal work.

Showing gratitude

Being a manager is not just about supporting your employees in achieving their goals. It is also (and above all) necessary to show recognition when these goals/objectives are accomplished. An email/thank you note? A financial reward? An extra half-day off? There are many ways to reward son.sa employee for a goal achieved, a good performance, or simply the way they are at work! Thanking an employee does not require much effort but will, on the contrary, have many benefits. Showing gratitude will encourage employees in their missions and therefore, in the long term, increase motivation and performance. It will also build trust and strengthen relationships within your team.

Don't micro-manage 

Micro-management is a management style where the manager monitors and controls the work of his employees. He/She masters a project down to the last detail. As a result , employees feel policed, are under pressure and do not feel recognized in their work. Authority is good, of course, but it must not be abused. Imposing a way of doing things is in no way productive, since the person who will carry out this task will not necessarily be comfortable with the dictated method. Instead, let your employees have their free will. What is relevant to do is to explain the goal you want to achieve, and if the person needs help, to be available to advise them.

Be transparent

Being transparent means providing all the necessary and strategic information about the company to its employees. Transparency would be one of the pillars that guarantees the success of the company and its teams. It facilitates exchanges between members and establishes a climate of trust. Employees will feel valued and involved in the company's projects. In the end, transparency has a direct impact on well-being at work and on employee performance.

Promote team cohesion

Alone we go faster, together we go further! By strengthening your team's sense of belonging, you create a high-performing and healthy work environment. Organized regularly, team building allows you to create more bonds between colleagues. Brighten up your employees' daily lives with fun activities that allow you to release the daily pressure! Moreover, in Brussels, we offer you a list of team building activities not to be missed. Your employees will thank you.

Knowing how to motivate your teams

We have now understood that being a good manager is not easy. This role is all the more difficult because it is up to the manager to motivate his team. Indeed, the success of a project depends largely on the people who carry it out. If they don't believe in it, the project is doomed to failure. Motivating and promoting a favourable dynamic in your team is therefore essential, even crucial. Through positive reinforcement, public praise, and the promotion of results, a manager strengthens group cohesion as well as the desire to always do better. Methods have been created for this purpose, such as the OKR method. All in all, no matter how you go about it, motivating your teams will be beneficial.

Learn to delegate

Easier said than done! A manager has many responsibilities but that doesn't mean he has to control everything! To be a good manager, you have to learn to trust employees and give them responsibilities. The manager must position himself as a support, who helps his team to be autonomous and to bring out new ideas. It's not enough to give orders and see your employees apply your words like good soldiers; Instead, promote collective intelligence ! Of course, this should not prevent you from checking that the tasks are well accomplished.

Knowing how to manage conflicts 

As a unifier, a good manager must know how to manage conflicts ! Tensions between two members of a team? Conflicts of ideas or interests? There is a whole variety of conflicts that can take place in a company, and unfortunately, these can have a very negative collective impact. This is why the manager must manage these tensions as quickly as possible. To manage a conflict, 3 fundamental steps ! The first is to organize an individual meeting with the committed parties. After the meeting, bring them together for a collective exchange to take stock of the differences. You must make sure that you find a common agreement or common ground and check that the commitments are kept. These steps are essential to ensure that this type of tension is not repeated.

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