Managing a team or a department is very easy once you have been on the sharp end. Care, kindness, and understanding go a long way toward building mutual trust and respect. Through these and other experiences over my long career, I have learned that a happy crew is the best crew.
What makes a good manager?
Are they the ones who consistently meet their targets? Well, for that matter, a bad manager can also reach their targets, but does that make them good then?
A good manager is much harder to define than simply using statistics; in other words, the numbers only sometimes count for everything. So many variables are involved in making a good manager; we should look instead at bad management characteristics.
The bad manager.
Consider a person who habitually and unfairly pressures subordinates, developing a pervasive sense of fear and anger instead of a mutually respectful atmosphere.
I once worked for someone just like that. Over several years, there was always pressure. No problem with that, but this was unnecessary pressure and counter-productive. When somebody makes a mistake, no matter what, even errors that could be simple misunderstandings, this man loses it.
He seemed to take every single fault like a personal insult. What was the result? I realised I wasn’t doing the job or completing the tasks I was being paid for.
Eventually, the team I was a part of and I were doing our work so he wouldn’t get angry. But unfortunately, we had lost sight of our team’s primary goals. As this situation progressed, the quality of work suffered, which had the knock-on effect of making this person even angrier. A vicious circle if ever there was one.
Why people management is so important.
Throughout these years of turmoil and, occasionally, verbal abuse, I learned some important lessons about people management. Perhaps it would be better to say that I learned how not to manage them.
Fortunately, I have always had a strong character and was able to continue working in this environment for several years. My loyalty lay with the client and the project and not with my abusive boss. Once there was a break in the virtually continuous round of projects, I left.
These experiences, while very unpleasant at the time, are invaluable to me now. Of course, nobody likes to be mistreated. But the positive side of the story is the knowledge gained and insight into how different people react under extreme and, more importantly, unfair and unnecessary pressure.
Managing a team or a department is very easy once you have been on the sharp end. Care, kindness, and understanding go a long way toward building mutual trust and respect. Through these and other experiences over my long career, I have learned that a happy crew is the best crew.
An example.
Let’s talk about this bad theoretical manager, some way up in the management hierarchy. The potential damage is much more severe than my experiences in this case. It isn’t simply one manager and a small team affected.
Their disruptive atmosphere will permeate down through the organisation. Each management level will also begin to pressure subordinates in the same or a similar manner.
Eventually, it reaches the ‘shop floor’, immediately affecting motivation and productivity. At this point, nobody from this one bad manager down will be happy with their work. Instead, they will all view it as an unpleasant but necessary grind they must endure daily to pay the monthly bills.
Now the manager at the source of all this misery may well meet his targets. However, the targets were referenced against similar targets from the recent past. In that case, their department could be more successful if only the happy and motivated personnel could go completely unnoticed.
Management metrics.
Think about it, how are the targets defined in your organisation? How do you know what are and are not reasonable goals?
A common way is to reference previous years or similar departments. Together with market research and carefully chosen Key Performance Indicators, these figures will eventually produce the yearly, quarterly, and monthly goals. A good discussion on measuring performance and setting targets is here.
However you do it, part of the goal/target-setting methodology will likely consider previous data. The last information may be tainted and realistic if the department is unhappy and demotivated. How the department or team’s performance could improve should they, once again, enjoy coming to work every day and take pride in their daily tasks.
A good manager. This time.
Suppose the ‘problem’ manager, several levels up in the management hierarchy, was, instead, what I consider a good manager. In that case, he should be aware of any potential problems throughout his area of responsibility.
He may do this by acting and encouraging his subordinates to work professionally and be mindful and respectful towards all colleagues throughout the organisational structure. As a result, there could never be an issue that could affect either the running or the productivity and efficiency of the department or team. All it takes is some openness and a sense of approachability.
Encouraging every person to take responsibility for the success of the business as a whole will ensure that success.
When put into perspective, ruling by fear and intimidation can never succeed in the long run. Instead, a fully involved, motivated, and committed workforce can achieve long-term success.
Final thoughts.
Here is an example from times past, in the life of Joseph Rowntree. Would he have tolerated such bullying tactics if he had been around today? You may think his liberal values belong in another age, but not entirely.
Respect and kindness are still basic human social needs and always will be. So always be mindful of how you treat your colleagues no matter their position within your business. It will pay dividends in the end. I guarantee it.