Introduction
There are many different ways to manage a team, and you may not even be aware of the approach you’re taking. But if you want your employees to be happy and productive, it’s important that you figure out what works best for them—and for you.
The best thing about being the boss is the flexibility to manage your time and the team in whatever way works best for you.
The best thing about being the boss is the flexibility to manage your time and the team in whatever way works best for you. As a manager, you’re no longer beholden to a 9-to-5 schedule or other people’s expectations of when you should be at work. You can work from home if that suits your life better, or take some time off on an impromptu vacation (or not).
You also have more control over what happens with your employees: If someone isn’t performing up to par, it’s up to you whether they stay on board or get let go–and who gets promoted next time around.
The worst thing about being the boss is the pressure to be perfect all of the time.
The worst thing about being the boss is the pressure to be perfect all of the time.
You’re expected to be a great leader, a good manager and communicator, and an excellent team member (in addition to being an employee). Your employees will look up to you for guidance on how best to perform their jobs–and if they see that you’re not perfect or even doing everything right yourself? That could spell disaster for everyone involved.
You might be a micromanager if…
You might be a micromanager if…
- You’re a perfectionist. Your team knows that they have to do things right, or else! You’re not afraid to get your hands dirty and help out whenever needed (even if it means doing the job yourself).
- You have a lot of experience in the field–and believe that no one else has as much knowledge as you do about how this business should be run. The fact that you’ve been around for so long means that everyone should listen when YOU speak!
- You don’t trust your team’s abilities; therefore, they need constant supervision from above (i.e., YOU).
You might be an absentee manager if…
You might be an absentee manager if…
- You don’t communicate with your team. You may be out of the office a lot, but if you’re not checking in with them when you are there, they won’t know what’s going on or how to handle situations as they arise.
- You don’t check in with your team regularly. Even if they have regular meetings scheduled with their manager, it’s important to make sure everyone knows that there is always room for improvement and feedback–even if it’s just for five minutes over lunch!
- You aren’t available to answer questions that arise from clients or other departments within your organization (or even outside). This can lead directly into another issue: If no one knows who exactly is running things behind the scenes at any given time because leadership changes so frequently due to vacation schedules then no one really has any idea who should answer questions about processes either internally or externally which makes for some pretty unhappy customers/clients/etcetera!
You might be a delegator if…
- You give your team a lot of freedom and trust.
- You don’t micromanage.
- You trust your team to do their job.
- You don’t need to be involved in every decision, because you’re confident that they will make good ones on their own.
Your management style matters because it affects how productive your team can be
Your management style matters because it affects how productive your team can be.
Managers need to be able to adapt their style to fit the needs of their team, but they also have a strong preference for one or two ways of managing that they favor over others. This preference may be based on the manager’s personality–for example, some people are naturally more hands-off while others prefer close supervision–or it could have been shaped by past experiences as a manager, such as having worked with an ineffective boss who micromanaged every detail of their employees’ work life and created more problems than solutions. Whatever its origins may be, your preferred management style will influence how you approach managing people on your teams today and in future jobs after graduation (and beyond).
Conclusion
Your management style matters because it affects how productive your team can be. If you’re a micromanager, they’ll have less freedom to make decisions on their own and might feel like they have no power over their careers. If you’re an absentee manager, then your employees are likely to feel neglected and unappreciated when they need support from above-and-beyond just like any other worker in any other job! The best way to ensure that everyone has a good time working together? Be flexible with your approach while still being consistent enough so everyone knows what kind of environment they’re walking into each day.
