7 Habits of Damn Good Managers

A couple of weeks ago I came across an article over on FoundRead that highlighted the 7 habits of a highly effective manager. The list came from a webinar given by entrepreneur and writer Alyssa Dver.

The 7 habits of a highly effective manager are:

1. Know your limits – you don’t need to be a know it all. There is alot to be said for a manager or leader who is comfortable with their own skillset and also knows when to augment it with the skills of his/her team. Talking and “acting” above and beyond your level of knowledge can really hurt your credibility.

2. Listen before you speak – as a manager it is your job to take in all of the available “data” and make meaning of it. Don’t give your audience a reason to think you are stupid, especially if you totally miss the point of discussion because you were to busy blurting out your views to really understand the topic at hand.

3. Ask “why” not “what” – this is especially important in situations with lots of “legacy”. Many time, people and organizations will go on blindly without understanding why they do things. By asking “why” you’ll have a chance to easily jump past legacy issues and get down to details and facts. “Why” is the first step in process engineering, and as a manager, you are a major process creator.

4. Be decisive – make decisions! A leader who cannot make a decisions will lose credibility almost instantly. If you are engaged in the previously outlined habits, you should be able to make the best decisions possible with whatever amount of “data” you have.

5. Be responsive – a managers job is to manage. This means doing your best to respond to questions, issues, etc. on a regular basis. You don’t need to solve every problem on your own, and you probably shouldn’t. Deligate issues and empower your team by being attentive to their needs. Many employees will take unresponsiveness very personally.

6. Communicate frequently – keep people in the loop so they feel included and aware of the world around them. By keeping a constant flow of information available to people they are less likely to harass you with seemingly simple obvious requests. People who feel “in the loop” also tend to feel more empowered.

7. Manage passion – be excited and energized about what you and your team are doing, but don’t lose track of reality. Managing passion is a culmination of all of the above habits. In many cases passionate teams sometimes mistake their passion for execution. Don’t get blinded by your passion and ignore the need to execute efficiently.

At the end of the day, a successful manager is: “A humble leader. A careful communicator. An avid student.”