At some point in your career, you have probably dealt with a bad manager. Almost everyone has experienced bad management – a micro-manager, a yeller, a schemer, an unsympathetic jerk. Bad management lowers morale, impacting both productivity and employee turnover, which affects the bottom line.
The truth is that management can be a difficult and challenging job, and not everyone has the skills or knowledge to do it well. Here are a few bad management practices to avoid, and suggestions for what to do instead.
It is very easy to think that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Many managers are promoted to their position because they are good at something besides management. If you are, say, a salesperson who is promoted to sales manager because you’re great at selling, not only do you have to learn how to manage instead of sell – you have to learn to let other people do the selling.
You cannot be intimately involved in everything that happens on your team. It is a poor use of your time and energy, and your employees will resent your constant interference and your lack of trust. Train your people well and then give them the autonomy to do their jobs.
Just because you are the boss does not mean everything should be your way or the highway. Controlling people through fear is not leadership, it’s bullying. Shouting, threatening, making demands instead of requests, or refusing to consider others’ ideas and perspectives are neither productive nor inspiring behaviors for a manager.
If your subordinates are terrified to give you bad news or to make suggestions, you might want to rethink your management style. Try instead to keep an open mind - and an open office door.
Management is a demanding job, and it is easy to get overwhelmed. A manager who is stressed out, overworked, and constantly putting out fires is functioning in reactive mode. A drowning manager is not going to be able to work proactively to organize, plan, and effectively lead their team.
Just because you are putting in sixty-hour weeks does not mean you are doing a good job. If you are feeling overwhelmed, chances are that you are not managing your time or resources properly. Make an effort to delegate more and to identify and eliminate unnecessary tasks.
If you pay more attention to statistics, reports, and budget limits than to the people on your team, you are putting the cart before the horse. Properly trained and motivated employees will achieve more and show up better on paper, so if you want to improve your stats, focus on the team, not on the report.
Do not let the budget manage your team for you. It is your job to manage the team AND the budget. If you make all your decisions based solely on the numbers, your subordinates become line items instead of people. Line items have no motivation, drive, or loyalty. You must be an advocate for your team members, not the one trying to squeeze them in with budget restrictions.
Communication skills are critical for good management. Not only do you need to be able to assign tasks clearly so that team members can understand what you need from them, you must also be able to deliver feedback and performance reviews with tact and sensitivity, calmly defuse conflict and mediate disagreements, and communicate issues and needs to your superiors. You need to be able to write effectively and with poise, and have the judgment to know when face-to-face conversation is better than email, and when it is best to use a telephone call.
Communication is a two-way street, and good managers must also know how to accept criticism, address concerns, answer questions clearly, and really listen to what their team members and superiors have to say.
Management skills are developed through training and practice. Be aware of your management practices and how they are impacting your people, your team, your department, and your business. Don’t be the boss your employees will be telling horror stories about for years to come – be the manager they admire, emulate, and follow. Be a leader.
Baker Communications offers leading edge Management Training solutions that will help you address the goals and achieve the solutions addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change in managing others, click here.
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