3 steps to get the most out of your managers
Managers play a crucial role in any business. A good manager will be the first person to hear of any issues, they will get the most out of your employees, and how they handle complex issues can be the difference between a simple process, or a lengthy, time-consuming formal process. Therefore, making sure your managers are up to the job is key to performing well as a business. Here are our three proven steps to get the most out of your managers.
Step 1: Knowledge
When you first promote someone to a management role, it’s often because they are great at their job. However, being a manager is very different from their previous position. Firstly, their responsibilities are greater and secondly, they are now in charge of the team rather than working within it.
When you first become a manager, this can be overwhelming and if not addressed, can quickly lead to imposter syndrome. The best way to combat this is to make sure your new manager knows what they need to know.
Until you’ve been a manager, you can’t always understand what the role involves. For junior employees, it can often look like their line manager is delegating tasks and not doing much of the delivery. When you are a manager, you discover that you now need to attend more meetings, report on activities and make serious decisions all while doing your daily workload.
Helping your new manager to understand what the role is, is the first step to getting the most out of them.
Give them clarity
If you have someone that you know will make a good manager, start preparing them before the role becomes available. Give them clarity on what the management role looks like, what is expected and where they might struggle. This gives your employee the opportunity to understand what the role involves beyond their impressions of their own manager.
Knowledge of their team
When you’re managing people, you need to know what their strengths and weaknesses are as a team. You also need to know how they approach work, what the team dynamics are like, and if anything is happening outside of work that might affect performance. Giving your manager space to get to know their team will help them perform better in the long term. It will also support high levels of psychological safety, which creates more productive teams.
Knowledge of the business
As someone is promoted, they need to have a closer understanding of the business and how it works. Many of your strategic decisions stay within the leadership team but letting managers understand why certain decisions are made can help them perform better in their role. They can spot opportunities and make sure their decision-making is aligned with the company's vision and goals.
This includes knowing the company policies and processes, as well as how to apply them in their daily work. Most of your employees will have looked at company policies during their onboarding and probably not given it another thought since. Your managers need to understand them fully, so they know when to act and what decisions to make.
Basic employment law
While you wouldn’t expect your manager to be an expert in UK employment law, they do need a basic understanding and to keep up to date on the changes. Employment law changes throughout the year and there are two big areas where your manager can help protect the business: equality, diversity and inclusion, and sexual harassment.
Equality, diversity and inclusion are essential to avoid any direct or indirect discrimination in the business. This can lead to grievances and the risk of an employment tribunal. Plus, a workplace that feels safe for all is a productive workplace.
The new sexual harassment law means your business has to actively prevent sexual harassment of your employees. To not do so could mean a 25% uplift in awards from the employment tribunal. Your managers need to be aware of the risks within their team and the wider business to help actively prevent sexual harassment.
Making your that your manager has the right knowledge is the first step is getting the most out of them.
Step 2: Skills
According to the CMI, 82% of managers have no formal training in the role. This means that when you promote someone, they are unlikely to have the skills they need to be an effective manager from day one. Often, managers are missing out on key skills throughout their careers. Making sure your manager has and can apply the core management skills will save senior leadership time and help your manager ease into the role.
Communication
Communication skills are essential for managers. Gone are the days when the manager had all the answers and only delivered instructions to their teams. Managers today need to support their teams to get the best work out of them and this all starts with a strong communication style.
They need to make sure all of their team feel like they can contribute as well as resolve any conflict within the team. This all comes down to communicating well.
Time management
As we mentioned earlier, your manager now has to deliver on their work as well as attend more meetings, have greater responsibilities and juggle a bigger workload. Time management is now critical, so they don’t feel overwhelmed.
Managing Conflict
Your manager needs to manage conflict effectively. No matter how close your employees are or how well they work together, there will be conflict at some point. Your manager needs to have the confidence to address any issues as soon as possible. We know that many managers will put off conflict management and having difficult conversations, but this only allows a situation to get worse.
A great manager will head off any issues and use their knowledge of company policies and processes to get the best outcome for the business. This is a key set of skills for any manager.
Managing performance
As well as managing unwanted behaviours, your managers also need to nurture the talent within the team. Getting the best out of people and letting them know their work is appreciated is part of the role. Your manager needs to spot who the rising stars are within the business so that they stay with the company for the long term.
These are four of the many core skills that a manager needs so they can be effective in their role. We teach all the core skills in our Managing People Fundamentals Programme.
Step 3: Confidence
Confidence is the final piece to get the most out of your managers. Without confidence, your managers cannot effectively apply the skills and knowledge they have. Managers need to be confident in their ability or they will not be able to make decisions.
We see this quite often with businesses. Senior leadership time is taken up by supporting managers to manage and helping them make the best decisions for the business. Yet, if you give your managers the right tools and support their confidence, it will give you time back to run the business.
Firstly, a manager needs to understand the mission, vision and values of the business. They need to know why they are making certain decisions and taking action so that it is aligned with the business outcomes.
Secondly, they need recognition for the good work they are doing. This helps boost their confidence. Giving them continual feedback and development will help your manager build on their confidence.
Finally, confidence can only happen if it supports the core skills and knowledge that your manager needs. All three steps need to work in conjunction with each other to get the most out of your managers.
How to put the three steps into action
We’ve already touched on some ways in which you can put these three steps into action but let’s take a closer look at how you can get the most out of your managers.
Firstly, your managers need support. You can do this through continuous feedback and managing their performance regularly.
Secondly, your managers need comprehensive learning and development. Training can give them the skills and knowledge to perform well in the role. Our Managing People Fundamentals programme takes place over seven months to allow them time to implement what they learn in the sessions. We find that some training programmes can be ineffective unless that implementation stage happens. Danton is on hand to support your managers put what they learn into practice.
Finally, your managers need mentorship. Managers need someone to model and champion them as they develop through the challenges of the role. Having a person within your business that your new manager can turn to is needed for them to thrive in the role.
How to get the most out of your managers
When your managers are confident in their role then they can get the best out of their teams. It helps keep your business compliant and creates a better working culture. Investment in your managers will pay dividends in the long term through how your business grows as a result.