The Importance of Effective Management Teams

Small business owners know employing an effective workforce is important in eventually satisfying the needs of the customer. But, attracting, interviewing and hiring great employees is only a part of the formula for success. Great workers can quickly become inefficient and unproductive if managed poorly.

The Manager's Role

A manager's fundamental goal is to ensure the long term health of a company. By managing people effectively, a manager can act like the lubricant between the gears to motivate employee efficiency and keep the company running smoothly.

One of the most important skills a manager can have is the ability identify and develop individual core competencies and work habits and to place the right employees in the right jobs based on those stregnths. A hockey coach would not place a natural offense man in the goal. The same is true for the office. Each employee has different experiences, traits and skills that will benefit different objectives. 

Qualities of a Great Manager

Managers must lead by example and rely on their reputation to be fair, make sound judgments and decisions, and to assert their power only when necessary. The way employees view their manager determines the quality of their work and performance and commitment to company objectives.

Managers must be able to put their faith in their subordinates. In order to build trust in employee's work, start with smaller tasks and give more responsibility after each success.

Small successes can build employee confidence in their work. After each acheivement employees will be more comfortable completing subsequent tasks while managers will become more comfortable handing off important projects and will assign tasks the employee has proved they can complete.

When an employee makes an error,it is important to work with them in private to identify the misunderstanding that led to the error without making personal judgments.

The manager's goal is to build confidence, not destroy it in order to make employees feel enabled to complete their work.