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Published on Jun 6
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Qualities that inspire loyalty and dedication
With a Gallup poll of more than one million U.S. employees reporting that the number one reason people quit their jobs is a bad boss or supervisor, finding managers that exhibit great leadership traits is one of the most important decisions a business owner can make. While it isn’t possible to know every quality that every employee will respond to, the following is a list of the top traits to look for in managers that will help inspire loyalty and dedication from your employees.
Empathetic and Conscientious of Employees
Great managers should always be understanding and able to put themselves in their staff’s shoes – both professionally and personally. Following the Golden Rule and showing empathy toward your associates will show them that management values them for more than just their contribution to the bottom line.
Empathetic and conscientious managers are understanding that employees are often under stress at work and are willing to listen to and help employees develop strategies to better enable them to perform their jobs. Employees who know that their manager is listening are more likely to engage in dialogue with their employer to help resolve issues rather than deciding to look for other employment opportunities.
Managers who look for opportunities to help employees grow their workplace skills, celebrate their contributions to the team, and are respectful of employees’ personal time are seen as conscientious and inspire a great deal of loyalty. Managers who express concern and understanding when employees need time away from work for personal issues, like illness or family care, are also major contributors to a happy workforce.
Great communicator
Nothing is more frustrating for an employee than a manager who isn’t able to effectively communicate work priorities or expectations. Great communicators are able to help every member of the team understand the objectives of an assignment so that everyone is working on their piece of the task but toward to the same goal.
Communication doesn’t always mean just expressing yourself verbally or in written form, but also listening. For a manager to be a great communicator, they must be able to actively listen to their employees, and act on employees’ needs or concerns when necessary. Employees who have daily communication with their employees, whether face-to-face, email, or over the phone, report being more highly engaged at work and more satisfied with their employment.
Not just any kind of communication will achieve this, however. Open and honest dialogue is vital. Managers who are engage in deceitful, dishonest, or disingenuous interactions with employees are just as likely to inspire employees to leave a company as those who don’t engage in regular communication at all. Genuine communication with employees is an ongoing task and is the lifeblood of any successful business.
Focused
With the competing priorities placed on their shoulders, great manager must be able to keep track of many details and tasks at the same time. Laser-like focus combined with big picture awareness are key to being able to lead a staff that understands how to prioritize and move projects forward.
Focused managers are able to identify and then delegate tasks to team members, allowing them to manage a few teams rather than limitless tasks. Keeping employees on target, ensuring that goals are met, and that tasks are completed on time to meet the ultimate project deadlines are all necessary traits of a manager who can wear many hats while focusing on the ultimate outcome. For a business to achieve success, managers must not lose sight of a task just because they are too busy dealing with something else.
Honest and Accountable
Nothing will doom your business faster than a manager who isn’t honest and accountable. Just as an honest manager will be able to inspire employees to follow them, an accountable one will be able to lead by example when it comes to owning successes and mistakes.
While the desire to tell people what they want to hear to avoid disagreements or arguments may be understandable, great managers always tell employees what they need to hear. The truth may not always be comfortable, but it allows all team members to know where they stand within the company. This transparency on the part of management will also help inspire greater honesty from employees.
Hand-in-hand with honesty, accountability is a must-have trait for managers. Great managers own their goals and projects, taking responsibility when things don’t go according to plan. This culture of accountability allows employees to understand the importance of responsibility and will lead them to take ownership of their actions and work as well.
Effective and Decisive
In a fast-paced world, effective and decisive managers can be the difference between the success or failure of a business. Strong managers will be able to identify what needs to be done and make decisions and act quickly in response.
Effective and decisive managers will be able to ask the right questions of the right people, take their advice into consideration, and then make the right decision. Understanding that ultimately the decision-making stops at their desk, great managers will be able to make difficult decisions quickly after doing their due diligence and assessing all of their options.
Indecisive managers can make your company move more slowly. This lack of confidence can cause employees to doubt the decisions made by supervisors and their ability to successfully lead the team. Great managers have to able to make decisions quickly with a wealth of information to get the best results from employees.
Sheakley can help you select stronger leaders
Sheakley can help you craft better job postings and descriptions that will ensure higher quality, more qualified candidates for your managerial positions. Sheakley’s Human Resources experts also offer training that allows your current leadership team to become more effective managers.
Learn more about Sheakley’s HR team and contact us for your free consultation today. Stay up-to-date on all things Sheakley by subscribing to our blog and following us on social media. Join in the discussion by commenting below.
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