Managers and leaders need to mentor more and manage less

I have had the benefit over the years of having a great many different kinds of managers.

I in turn have managed people myself and so I feel that as both the subject of management and a manager of resources I have a little context and qualification to comment.

I will also tell you that managing people is more of an art than a science.

The best managers that I ever had, never felt that they needed to ‘manage’  my work. They provided guidance around their expectations, filled me in requirements and needs as they developed and were never shy or closeted in their approach. The best managers were succinct and directed empaths.

A good manager doesn’t need to have done your job in order to be qualified to comment on how your meeting his/her expectation, instead they need to have clarity of their own needs and an ability to articulate their thoughts.

No reasonable manager can seriously state that they understand and can execute against all the tasks assigned to their cohorts but they will tell you that if something can be learned or experienced then all that remains, is to determine how an employee can meet the demands of the role. This is the empath part. From the lowest order to the highest, there are all kinds of work pressures, so a manager that appreciates and understands pressure and the impact it has on morale, effectiveness and motivation gets more acceptance and ‘air-time’ from subordinates.

While many managers will talk about the concept of an ‘open-door’ many don’t appreciate that the metaphor needs to be lived rather than just stated. This means not micromanaging but rather regularly taking the pulse of employees – sometimes moving out of their own comfort zone, asking hard and awkward question and positing radical thoughts about the nature of work and life. Being light-hearted and serious, being a friend, a confidant and a guide and instructor – above-all, being receptive to negative feedback and being a snow plow that can clear the hurdles that impair their teams from being more effective.

Some people fall into management roles quite by accident and it can be daunting. Suddenly you’re told – you’re a manager! So what can you do?

How you can be a more effective manager

1. Believe in yourself and don’t let doubt stop you from being assertive and being prepared to take action
2. Give yourself latitude, you cannot be expected to know everything and no-one really expects that of you
3. Invest your time wisely, choose tasks and projects that make the best use of your time and provide the highest value – above all, find a balance, delegate and push-back as necessary – you cannot do everything
4. Identify the strengths of the individuals and your team as a collective, lean on those strengths to take your team’s effectiveness to a higher level.
5. Listen more, state less, be receptive to the feedback of others so that you don’t get surprises too often. Don’t play a game of hide and no seek.
6. Managing people and processes is an activity – take the time to do it and execute
7. Keep on growing

The process of learning never ends, being a manager is just another learning experience.

About the author

Clinton Jones has experience in international enterprise technology and business process on four continents and has a focus on integrated enterprise business technologies, business change and business transformation. Clinton also serves as a technical consultant on technology and quality management as it relates to data and process management and governance. In past roles Clinton has worked for Fortune 500 companies and non-profits across the globe.