8 Practical Ways to Become a Better Manager

Do you want to become a manager that people can follow? Managing people isn’t easy. Becoming a better manager isn’t something that magically happened overnight. You have to invest in improving your managerial skills.

Good skills take patience, wisdom, and experience.

Managers play a vital role in improving employee engagement in the workplace. Developing your leadership and management skills can make a big difference. In this article, you’ll find 8 proven ways to become a better manager. 

1. Get to Know Your Team

If you want to become a better manager, start by knowing your team better. And this goes beyond memorizing their names. Whether you have a handful of colleagues or a large team, you must try to understand them truly. This includes their backgrounds and their current roles.

The best way to develop a healthy understanding between you and your team member is to have a one on one conversation with them. 

Remember that not everyone excels at talking in a group. Some of the employees might end up opening up to you better about their roles, challenges, and how they seek help from you when you talk to them personally. 

Ensure that you ask them about how they feel working in the organization, especially their role, and whether they would want to do things differently. Know what their potential is and how they contribute uniquely to the team. 

2. Don't be a Manager, be a Mentor

Most leaders make the mistake of taking the job title very seriously. While it is true that most organizations have the job profile of a manager, it doesn't mean you have to strictly be one. How about being a mentor? 

Remember that your job is to help maximize your team's potential and productivity, along with bringing new ideas to the table. You do not just need to take care of who is doing what, but also that any difficulties your team members face are addressed. 

When you create an environment in your team that is helpful and nurtures each others' growth, you create a potential for more growth. 

Your employees will feel comfortable speaking to you about any problematic issue and come up with suggestions to make a job or task easier. This way, you are not only getting a job done but also earning respect from your team.

3. Learn how to Motivate Your Team 

Every great leader believes in motivation. When you're trying to become a better manager, make sure that you must encourage your team, no matter what. 

It is not acceptable to assume that just because employees are getting paid for the job, they must do it on time. You never know what your team members might be feeling on any particular day. 

As a manager, when you motivate them, you send across a strong positive message. This reinforces your team's faith in their work and drives them to complete it with their best efforts. 

Why not start every day with a quick catchup on every day's goals and a personal check in so that your team goes on to carpe diem!

4. Improve Your Communication Skills

If you want to be respected and taken seriously by your team, you need to communicate more effectively. Remember that there is no substitute for good communication in becoming a better manager. 

Be it handing over a task, giving away feedback, or managing a difficult situation in the team, it all comes down to how you communicate. Your tone should be helpful, motivating, and help resolve a problem if there is any. 

While you might have challenging days where achieving targets and generating numbers will be the only thing on your mind, you must effectively share the goals and help your employees achieve them.

And in the process, never forget to be kind.

5. Appreciate Your Team's Efforts

Appreciation is the recipe for complete success when you're trying to be a better manager. Your job as a leader is not just to make sure that your team delivers the task, but also that they get appreciated for what they do. 

Especially when employees are working in a large group, their efforts go unnoticed. Not every employee might be the one to prepare presentations or polish up the end, where most of the efforts are recognized. 

Some might even be putting up the missing piece at the beginning of a job leading to its end success. When you know who is contributing what, you must go ahead and appreciate your employees for their part. This sends across a positive message and makes them feel valued. 

6. Give Honest Feedback

Honest feedback lies at the heart of a healthy relationship. The one that you share with your team must also be built on the foundation of quality feedback. 

While it is easy to appreciate a team member in a group, you might have times when you have to share something critical related to their job. 

The best approach is to speak one on one with your team member and tell them honestly how they could've done the job better. You should give constructive feedback to motivate your team.

7. Ask For Feedback

Just as important as giving honest feedback, it is also important to receive one. If you want to become a better manager, you have to hear from your employees about your performance. Create a culture of open and honest communication.

Try anonymous forms and surveys that will help you understand your role better and the ways you can improve them. 

8. Set SMART Goals

Successful managers set SMART goals and map out the key steps they must take to get closer to their goals every day. Goals give you direction. SMART goals allow your team to stay mentally and physically focused on the road to where your team wants to go.

• Specific: You should know the outcome of your goal
• Measurable: You should know when you will have reached your goal
• Achievable: You should be able to achieve your goals
• Relevant: Will your goal help your team in the long run?
• Time-bound: Set a time frame for your goals