How to Become an Admired Manager
By Dr Goh Seh Kai
2 Mar 2021
Generally, we are somehow both a superior and a subordinate. If we are a manager, we aspire to be an admired leader. However, it is challenging to be a good manager who will win workers’ heart. From my experience as both a manager and subordinate before, I think the following are the ten tips for becoming an admired manager.
Ten Tips to Becoming an Admired Manager
1. Responsible for Performance: Good managers should be accountable for their department’s performance. We often encounter some superiors who escape the accusation for poor performance by making their subordinates a scapegoat. Although they may survive the crunch, their credential of being a respectful leader will deteriorate since workers will lose trust in them. Good managers must still be responsible for their department’s unsatisfactory performance even though some workers cause it. They shall reflect on how they can uplift both their workers’ and organizational performance. Followers will always respect leaders who are fully responsible for their team’s performance.
2. Enhance Harmonious Relationships: Managers should avoid causing conflicts among workers. In many instances, managers cause conflicts deliberately to create intense competition among team members. For example, they may encourage workers to be aggressive with others to get things done. They may believe a hostile working culture will uplift organizational performance. However, this practice will often result in finger-pointing, conflicts and stress among workers. As a result of unhealthy interpersonal relationships, mistrust and sabotaging cases may abound and undermine the long run’s organizational performance. Likewise, workers prefer a harmonious working relationship and respect managers who can enhance a working environment free of conflicts and stress.
3. Avoid Taking All Credit: As human beings, we like to receive credits for our remarkable performance. During work, we often come across managers who took all the credit after attaining goals, and extraordinary workers did not receive any recognition despite having contributed well in accomplishing goals. It is unwise for managers to think that an accomplishment is not due to workers’ effort. It would be best to give credit to those well-performed team members — acknowledging contribution, recommending salary increment, rewards or promotion, etc. Managers shall remember that workers like to work with them if they do not take for granted their contributions. They will win the workers’ heart if they can recognize their contributions.
4. Build an Ethical Culture: Due to a lack of ethical culture, ethical issues are common is organizations. Some of the common ethical problems are bribery, fraudulent financial manipulation, thefts, misleading information, false promises, unsafe working practices and so forth. As unethical conduct may cause trouble to organizations and workers, managers should behave ethically and demand all workers to act accordingly. It would be best to heed workers with unethical behaviour and take immediate actions to rectify them. Workers will respect managers if they can build an ethical culture that will always eliminate their ethical dilemma and enhance their organization’s image.
5. Stop Unfair Practices: To gain respect, managers shall deal with workers fairly. They should assign tasks to their subordinates equitably to ensure it is in line with their compensation. High-salary workers should assume more roles and responsibilities. Employees will be unsatisfied if their salary is inequitable. Similarly, managers should assign tasks to their subordinates according to their abilities. Incapable workers will affect organizational performance unless managers can provide them with training and development. Managers should provide appropriate training and development opportunities for workers according to their deficiencies. Also, managers should appraise subordinates fairly — base on accurate performance data but not favouritism and partial information. Workers can know whether their managers are biased towards them and will respect managers with fair judgement.
6. Empathize and Render Help: Workers may encounter problems from time to time. They may be worried, stressed and unable to concentrate on their work. They hope their superior can understand their issues and help them if possible. If managers can empathize with them and render their help to them, it will surely enhance managers’ likeability. For example, workers may experience issues currently, such as children not concentrating on their study, family members are seriously ill, etc. If managers can make some work arrangement for them not to lose their work concentration, it will help them. For instance, managers can allow them to go off temporarily to settle their problems and ask someone to cover their duties. The concerned workers will appreciate their managers’ help, and the rest will respect the managers due to their kindness.
7. Permit Learning from Mistakes: A good manager will allow workers to learn from mistakes. Managers should understand that setbacks do not equate with failures. Success results from many setbacks. Workers might make mistakes sometimes due to some unforeseen causes. It is unreasonable to penalize them and disallow them to learn from their mistakes. Unless workers make mistakes repeatedly despite numerous counselling, managers should give them learning opportunities to improve. Workers will always appreciate an understanding superior who can provide them with some leeway to improve their performance. They will admire managers who can sympathize with their unsatisfactory performance and encourage them to improve.
8. Set Clear Rules and Regulations: Managers have to set clear rules and regulations for governing their department. Workers must adhere to the rules and regulations so that the whole department can function appropriately. An organization is like a system where each component has its roles to ensure the entire system runs smoothly. Sometimes, workers are confused and hesitate to perform a task since there is no clear guideline. Setting clear rules and regulations will also ensure managers will manage their workers reasonably to minimize conflicts. The rules and regulations will guide workers on what they can or cannot do. Workers will respect managers for building a stable and systematic workplace where everyone can work efficiently and harmoniously.
9. Implement Feasible Solutions: Implementing workable solutions to eliminate problems is essential for enhancing organizational viability. Workers will follow managers who can implement viable solutions that will lead them to a favourable destination. Since most workers can always judge whether managers’ decision is workable, they will respect them if they can implement reasonable rules and regulations, equitable compensation policies, systematic work procedures, etc. to improve their well-being.
10. Practise Two-Ways Communication: Workers prefer managers who can practice two-ways communication. They will always like to provide their views to their manager. If managers can obtain feedback from their workers, they will be able to fine-tune their strategies. It will enhance organizational performance and motivate workers since their input is valued and taken into consideration. Likewise, workers will admire managers who can listen to their issues or requests and immediately address them.
In conclusion, most managers aspire to be well-regarded. In my view, managers can adopt the following ten tips recapped to fulfil their dream as an admired manager:
1. Managers should be accountable for the overall departmental performance but not pass the buck to subordinates.
2. Managers should enhance harmonious relationships among workers to avoid causing mistrust, sabotaging, and conflicts deliberately among them.
3. Managers should avoid taking all credit but recognize well-performed workers through reward, promotion, salary increment, etc.
4. Managers should build an ethical culture to eliminate workers’ ethical dilemma and enhance corporate image.
5. Managers should stop unfair practices by assigning duties and responsibilities to workers according to their compensation, providing incapable employees with training and development opportunities and fairly appraising workers’ performance.
6. Managers should empathize with workers’ problems and render help to address them.
7. Managers should permit workers to learn from mistakes by sympathizing with their unsatisfactory performance and encouraging them to improve.
8. Managers should set clear rules and regulations to build a stable and systematic workplace where everyone can work efficiently and harmoniously.
9. Managers should Implement feasible solutions to enhance workers’ well-being.
10. Managers should practise two-ways communication to fine-tune their strategies and address workers’ issues or requests.
Thank you for reading, and your feedback is very much appreciated!
