Be a Good Manager
That’s right, just be a good manager.
In business when it comes time to evaluate the cause for poor performance and unmet goals the blame is often on poor management. Sometimes managers set unrealistic or vague goals, they do not recognize when their reports are meeting or exceeding expectations, and are far too eager to voice their concerns when their staff is under-performing. Proper management plays a key role in: the success of employees, departments, and companies but, it also plays a key role in one’s own life.
We tend to be unaware or forget, that we are the managers and/or captains of our own lives, and our own health. Coasting through each day, in our own little life ship, where we allow the external environment, the scenery, other crafts, waves, and potential storm clouds dictate where we end up. We become the captains that cause crew members to either jump ship, or go searching for that last stash of pirate rum. When all we need to do is specify the characteristics of a superior that brings out the best in us.
We all may have our own criteria for an effective manager but there are some universal ones:
They Set Concrete, Attainable Goals with Realistic Deadlines:
Seems simple but when setting personal goals, some or all of these criteria tend to be ignored.
Example: “I want to lose a lot of weight, and I’m going to do it in just four weeks. Not really sure about the actual number but, maybe 15 to 25lbs in a month”.
Then of course, there’s a kick off meeting, basically just a pep rally for what in reality is an unrealistic goal.
When setting your own goals, step back and ask: ‘If I tasked my imaginary twin to accomplish this goal, would he/she be able to, and how would he/she feel during the process’? If the answer to these questions are negative, re-evaluate your goal.
2. They Recognize our Achievements not Just our Failures:
If your manager ignores all the times you’ve met your deadlines, and/or exceeded expectations; but, always shows up when you’re running late and/or under-performing, decreases the value of your hard work.
Example: “So no matter how much effort I’ve put in, and all the results I’ve accomplished you’ll show up only when I’m struggling? Even if I keep performing my job well, it won’t matter to you until I’m not, and then you’ll actually pay attention to me? But you won’t really help me out though right”?
Listen, we ALL need to sit back and be proud of our accomplishments, we need to say good job to ourselves every once in a while. If our internal conversation is only negative and demoralizing in context then we’re not going to want to keep working harder for ourselves. Start seeing and recognizing your hard work.
3. They Check in With You and Your Progress on a Regular Basis and are There to Offer Help:
Example: “Oh hey boss, is it the end of the month already, I haven’t seen you since the beginning of this project, oh oh, I know it’s due today, but well, I’ve been having a couple of hiccups along the way and I was unsure of what to do. I guess I could have come to you, but well you just seemed so busy, and well I was hoping I could figure it on my own”.
A good manager will have regular status meetings with their staff, in regards to the projects and assignments they’re working on. This means, that on a weekly basis you need to set time aside to sit down with yourself, and assess the past weeks performance and the plan for the upcoming week. You also have to ask yourself the hard questions that a manager asks of their staff. Meaning, your assignment last week was to workout four times, but you only worked out twice, this needs to be addressed. Was there a difference between the workout days vs the non-workout days? Did you prepare differently, was your commitments greater on the non-workout days, how was your emotional state different?
We need to constantly keep evaluating, making changes and reevaluating in order figure out what works and what doesn’t. Do not just focus on the days where you fell short, start with the ‘wins’, come from the positive, learn from what worked and apply it to whats not working.
4.) You Want to Actually Work for Them:
If your manager is a hypocrite, who is constantly criticizing your work, and only pointing out the negatives, they will not inspire that extra push. If your manager punches out early and comes in late, then you’ll start doing the same thing. If, on the other hand, you respect your manager, they make you feel good about yourself and are there for you; helping you grow and improve, then you’ll do what needs to get done. Liking and valuing the person you are working for (ie YOURSELF) makes getting the job done that much more critical and important.
So decide who do you want to work for, and then be that person.
Copyright 2019 Strength & Grace Life Coaching LLC