Be a Better Boss: 7 Must-Have Tips for Managers

It’s hard enough to have a great product to sell. The question is, do you have the right team to make your company a success.

Reports show that only 14% of CEOs have the leadership they need to help their companies grow. Developing your leadership skills is essential if you want to increase your business’s chance of success.

You owe it to your team to do everything in your power to learn how to be a better boss. Below are seven tips for managers that will help you learn how to become a better leader.

1. Prove Your Team the Tools They Need

Nobody wants to do more work than they need to. There’s no need for anyone to spend more time on tasks than necessary with technology today. You have tools available that automate many processes that used to be accomplished manually.

Ask your team what tasks they do every day. Use this information to search for tools online to make their lives easier. When people can automate menial tasks, they have more time to focus on the more critical parts of their jobs.

Once you have the necessary tools, people must know how to use them properly. Ensure you have enough training available to help people learn how to make the most of their new software.

2. Don’t Micromanage

People don’t like it when everything they do is monitored. You hired your employees for a reason. When you watch them like a hawk, it will seem like you don’t trust them to do their jobs.

Give people space and allow them to work on their own. You don’t have to have updates every 15 minutes. People will be more productive if you give them space and do not interrupt them.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should go without any status updates. Try to find a good compromise with your updates. Some managers go with morning updates, while others focus on weekly meetings.

Your meeting schedule will largely depend on the project that you’re working on. Take this into account and schedule your meetings based on how much information you need on your team’s progress.

3. Allow Room for Growth

Even if your employees are happy with their current roles, there’s no guarantee that they want to stay there forever. People like to progress in life. One of the best management tips is to give your people the chance to grow.

You can start by giving people the ability to deepen their skill set by spending time learning on the job every week. Doing this will let people gain skills in other areas of your business. If they get good enough, they can eventually move into a new role full-time.

Likewise, people need training if they want to become better. Make sure you have training available for anyone who wants it. Focus on moving people from beginner roles to higher-authority roles in your company.

4. Create Clear Lines of Communication

Big projects aren’t possible when people don’t communicate with each other. Nobody learns of problems, concerns, or what else needs to happen to finish tasks. Without a clear communication channel, it’s hard for people to communicate.

One of the best management advice is to work with a robust project management program. Often, project communication happens in email. People end up digging through email chains to find the information they need.

A project management solution fixes this. Your team will have an online portal available to see all information about a project that your team needs. Your employees can find what they need to do, see what other people are working on, and ask questions about the project.

5. Stay Open to Feedback

It’s your job as a leader to make sure your team is happy with their working conditions. If someone has a problem, they need to trust you enough to come to you about it. Without creating a communication culture, people won’t charge you enough to talk about their issues.

It’s up to you to make sure people are willing to talk. Spend time talking to your team to ensure they know that they can speak to you about anything.

It’s wise to sit down with each team member to talk about their situation. Try to form a deeper relationship and ensure they have everything they need to succeed. This trust goes a long way when people talk about something uncomfortable.

6. Build on Strengths

It’s easy to criticize people. If someone doesn’t do a great job at something, it doesn’t take much to pick at the problem. It’s much harder to focus on the things that someone does well.

Instead of focusing on your team’s weaknesses, focus on their strengths. Your goal as a leader is to empower your team to be better. It’s hard to do this when they receive constant negative feedback from you.

Talking about someone’s strengths will empower them and build their confidence. This confidence will help them do better work in the future.

7. Network With Other Managers

One person can’t know everything. As a manager, you can support a business coach or mentor.

Many events allow people with managerial skills to get together and network. Look for these events in your area and attend one.

In the meantime, look into how other managers spend their time and do their jobs. Read more about these habits to see if any of them make sense to you.

Follow These Tips for Managers to Be a Better Leader

Your team deserves your best. Make sure to follow the tips for managers above to improve your leadership skills. The more work you do to improve your skills, the better results you’ll see from your employees.

Do you want to learn other ways to improve the productivity of your employees? Read our latest blog posts to discover our best management tips.