Business Level Strategy: What It Is Plus 3 Examples
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If you’re wondering how to be a good manager, you’re not alone. Many new and long-time managers wonder the same. And that’s actually a good thing.
Why? Because half of transforming yourself into an effective manager is improving the way you work. The other half is improving the way your employees work — not just telling them what to do.
But how exactly can you go about becoming the best manager possible? The experts at Sling give you 10 easy steps to streamline the transformation.
How To Be A Good Manager
1) Strengthen Your Skills
The answer to the question, “How to be a good manager?” starts with management skills. Depending on the industry in which you work, that could mean:
- Brushing up your skills in financial accounting
- Mastering a new scheduling software like Sling
- Keeping current on industry trends
- Familiarizing yourself with the time tracking software your business uses
It could even mean incorporating new skills like risk management, negotiating, patience, empathy, and trust. When you strengthen your existing skills and begin to develop new ones, you give your team members a model to follow.
2) Educate Yourself
Just because you’re now a manager doesn’t mean you should stop learning. In fact, it means you should start learning more. We recommend:
- Reading a book on management skills
- Learning about management theory
- Investigating your company’s inventory system
- Developing a sales projection template for your business
When you take your managerial education to heart, you open the doors to a tidal wave of personal and professional improvement that can set you — and your business — on the road to success.
3) Assemble A Diverse Team
Diversity in the workplace is essential in this increasingly global economy. It gives you access to a broader client base (even within a single country), improves your employees’ performance, creates innovation, and injects more skill, more talent, and more experience into your team.
Promoting diversity in the workplace starts with the hiring process. To be even more specific, it starts with the interview process. Bring in candidates with a wide range of ages, backgrounds, skill sets, education, and experience.
4) Train Your Team
Don’t assume that your team will automatically start to do things the way you want from day one. Even if you take the bull by the horns and lead by example, your employees might not understand without explicit instruction. That’s where training comes in.
Effective training starts with the onboarding process for all new hires. It continues through periodic performance reviews, meetings, and training classes. Then it culminates with learning all you can during exit interviews and passing that knowledge on to your employees.
5) Schedule For Optimal Performance
In some businesses, the same employees work together every day (e.g., an office). In other businesses, the team that works at any given time may change from day to day (e.g., a restaurant). Regardless of the type of business you run, scheduling plays a big part in the performance of your team.
If you’re in an office environment, scheduling the tasks that take priority during an important project can mean the difference between making progress and falling behind.
If you’re in a restaurant environment, scheduling your employees for optimal performance can mean the difference between strong teamwork and disgruntled employees.
6) Get Organized
This one applies to you alone, but the benefits can dramatically influence the organizational habits of your team. When they see how well you work through your day, they’ll want to get organized too.
If you’re struggling to bring a little order to your workday, try these quick and easy tips:
- Make a weekly plan
- Make a daily plan
- Avoid multitasking
- Keep your workspace clean
You can also consolidate the number of apps you use by incorporating a suite of cloud-based tools, like Sling. Sling can help you get organized and stay that way.
7) Communicate
Communication is one of the bedrocks of your team’s success. If you’re trying to learn how to be a good manager, make clear and consistent communication a priority.
This communication should occur between you and your employees and between the employees themselves. And don’t forget that good communication is a two-way street. Communication shouldn’t just flow from the top down (manager to employee). It should flow from the bottom up as well.
8) Get Feedback From Your Employees And Other Managers
You give feedback to your team members to help them improve. That’s not a one-way street, either. Ask for open and honest feedback from your employees about what you can do better or how you can make their job easier.
Similarly, ask for feedback from your peers (other managers). Often, they can recognize specific strengths and weaknesses that you and your employees may have missed.
9) Motivate Your Team
Ask your employees how to be a good manager and you’ll likely hear back something akin to, “Help me stay motivated.” That’s excellent advice regardless of what type of team or business you’re managing.
If you’re searching for tips to improve motivation in your workplace, we suggest:
- Defining the purpose of your work
- Focusing on the big picture
- Resisting the urge to micromanage
- Recognizing and rewarding great work
- Taking time out for fun once in a while
You can even get specific and tailor your motivation to the different types of employees on your team. If all else fails, try some quick and easy engagement ideas for a more productive team.
10) Set Goals Based On Strategy
Every good manager has a strategy. You should too. Sure, you may already have a general idea in your head about the goals you want to reach, but you need to put those goals on paper for everyone to see.
The goals you set for your team — and even for individual employees — should have their foundation in the corporate level strategy that guides your company as a whole. That strategy is further divided into a business level strategy and, finally, a functional level strategy that directly affects your team.
Lead By Example
The quickest way to demotivate your team is to tell them to behave one way while you behave another way. When they see this happen, they’ll start to reason, “My team leader doesn’t do it, so why should I?”
Instead, lead by example. Show up early. Leave late. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. When you do this, your team will notice and follow suit.
For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com today.
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This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for specific advice.
