By
Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor
Unless you are brand new to the business world, chances are
you have encountered someone in a management position who should
not have been there. Unfortunately, individuals who are the
best performers are often promoted to leadership positions without
much formal management training. But being good at the job does
not always translate into being a good manager. It takes a great
deal of skill and knowledge to be able to motivate, evaluate
and manage a team. A manager must have a firm grasp of the business,
but also must be able to communicate well with others, a skill
that does not always come naturally.
There are some basic rules of being an effective manager,
says Rich Moore, a senior organization development specialist
at AAIM Management Association, an organization that provides
training, networking and education to St. Louis-area businesses.
He says that being an effective manager is all about people.
"Good managers get their work done through, with and
by developing their people." Managers who are most effective
"know their people's talents, and take the time to get
to know their people."
If you are taking on a management role, or want to do so
in the future, take a proactive approach to learning the management
ropes. Here are six ways to get started.
1. Examine your own knowledge. Sometimes, knowing
what you don't know is the best place to start. Examine what
you do and do not know about management. Think back to experiences
you have had and managers you worked for. What worked in your
past professional relationships, and what needed to be changed?
You will probably find that you can pick out some of the good
and bad traits of managers in your past and use this knowledge
to your benefit.
2. Find a mentor. Another important early step to
take is finding a mentor who is in a leadership position in
your workplace. Moore cautions that you need to make sure
you find someone who is not just doing the job, but doing
it well. Make sure you are able to learn from someone who
can teach you good habits.
3. Go back to school. Many organizations offer courses
in management development. In addition to his organization,
Moore says that associations and businesses like the American
Management Association, Padgett-Thompson and SkillPath offer
a variety of resources. He suggests asking your company to
send you to a seminar. "These seminars are great places
for a new manager," he says, adding that they cover topics
such as how your role changes when you become a manager, how
to delegate, and how to get your people on board.
4. Hit the books. Another way to take your management
development into your own hands is by reading books on the
subject. Moore says that four of the "must read"
management books are First Break All the Rules: What the World's
Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and
Curt Coffman, Good to Great by Jim Collins, It's Your Ship:
Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy
by D. Michael Abrashoff, and One Minute Manager by Kenneth
Blanchard.
5. Learn to listen and understand others. The secret
to being successful in any management position is knowing
how to relate to, communicate with and honestly evaluate your
people. Moore says that this part of management is the most
challenging for professionals who find that they have gone
from being friends with their coworkers to being in a position
of authority. When it comes to establishing a relationship
with a new team, it is important to be up front and honest,
he says. In addition, take a real assessment of how your employees
are performing, and communicate with them about their quality
of work. This means not just accepting that the work is getting
done, but requiring that it gets done right.
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6. Put your people first. The bottom line about being
a good manager is this: If your employees don't perform well,
you don't perform well. Every good manager must learn how
to train, support and motivate his or her employees. If you
don't take the time to support your staff and ensure their
needs are being met, all of your work will be useless. After
all, says Moore, "If you don't develop your people, you
have nothing."
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