Becoming a Great Manager

Successful businesses thrive with great managers! Managers provide leadership and direction to their team, create cohesion and increase productivity. When there are no managers, a business is like a ship without its compass, just directionless and struggling to reach its destination.

But what makes a great manager stand out?

Here are some of the skills and qualities that you need to go from being a good manager to a great one:

Good communicator

Communication skills can make or break a manager. Being a good communicator involves written, verbal and listening skills. Listening to the needs of your team, relaying information in a clear and concise manner, and communicating well with all members of an organisation hierarchy can help you become a great manager. Strong communication skills build trust with your team and keeps your door open for confidential chats.¹ A great leader can clearly articulate the organisational vision that motivates staff to work towards achieving shared goals and success.

Strategic Thinking

Thinking long-term i.e. of the years ahead, but also focusing on the day-to-day activities, helps build a better future. You will need to create a plan which includes your end goals along with the tasks involved.  Additionally, not only do you need to align with the business’s goals, but you also need to think about your own goals and your team’s, such as learning and development. A great leader brings together the daily processes with an understanding of long-term strategic goals to give those around them the direction to move forward towards success.

Empathy

Empathy means understanding what your team are going through – checking in how they are going, helping when asked or offering to help, and asking questions about the person. It is important for a manager to be able to get to the heart of an employee’s concerns but keeping it confidential and to understand their team’s truth and feelings without making assumptions. In fact, an analysis from a Gartner survey showed that managers who displayed high levels of empathy have three times the impact on an employee’s performance, in comparison to those who showed lower levels.² A great manager has the capacity for empathetic, ethical, and social awareness that sets themselves apart in the 21^st century as a role model in the organisation.

Flexibility

A manager must be flexible with their staff, including provided work/life balance. Flexibility in the workplace is said to be the future of work, as it can impact employee satisfaction and influence a company’s bottom line.³ It involves listening to the needs of your team and giving them the space to get the job done. A great leader has the skills and understanding to empower their staff to take responsibility and work more autonomously, leading to greater ownership of shared goals and objectives.³

Mentoring

As a manager, you need to be able to train your staff and provide the guidance they require so that they can be the best version of themselves, on both a personal and professional level. From a professional point of view, you need to ensure your staff are learning and developing each year. Providing the resources they need for development will ensure that your staff remain engaged. A great leader knows when to provide the guidance and support to assist people to grow personally and gain new professional capabilities.

Study with SIBT

You can learn all these skills through a management course. With SIBT, the Diploma of Business Administration will teach you the management fundamentals so that you can develop the foundational skills required to be a manager in today’s society. The business administration diploma will help you transition to an entry level position in management. Otherwise, you can progress to the second year of your Bachelor of Business degree at Western Sydney University, Sydney City Campus.

At Western Sydney University, Sydney City Campus, you can study a Bachelor of Business with Management as a major. You will learn the expert skills required to begin your career as a management specialist. Management skills covered include how to make effective decisions in an organisation, leadership, entrepreneurship, organisational development, operations management, change and innovation, and policy. Your career opportunities will then open, as you could potentially become a manager in operations and logistics, human resources, or sports, just to name a few.

To help prepare you for the workforce, there will be work integrated learning, which means you will be working on industry-based problems and applying learned theory to the real world. You can interact with industry partners to gain valuable insights and experience networking opportunities. In summary, you will be able to hit the ground running with your qualifications, and well on your way towards becoming a great manager.

1. Smith, J. 2021, 7 Skills for a Successful Management Career | Prospects.ac.uk. [online] Prospects.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/business-consulting-and-management/7-skills-for-a-successful-management-career.

2. Kropp, B., Cambon, A. and Clark, S. 2021. What Does It Mean to Be a Manager Today? [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2021/04/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-manager-today.

3. Robinson, B. 2022, Work Flexibility is the Most Important Leadership Skill, According To Research. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2022/05/01/work-flexibility-is-the-most-important-leadership-skill-according-to-research/?sh=70093b484a04.