A friend of mine told me that he was tired of reading about what makes a bad manager, he wanted to know what made a good manager. Fair enough, it is easy to criticize but not as easy to reflect on the positives. I've experienced my fair share of bad managers, but of course that is subjective, isn't it? My bad manager is someone else's good manager. I did some research and decided that I would make a list (of course!) and allow others to add to it in the comments.
A good manager...
A good manager...
- creates rules to govern how activities are to be conducted and those rules are uniformly enforced but not so rigid as to be draconian,
- does not have favorites who are above the rules nor sets him/herself above those rules,
- allows open dialogue with employees that is respectful even if what is being suggested can not happen,
- provides regular praise to employees who consistently complete assigned tasks and encourages others to reach toward their goals,
- celebrates employee's milestones, helping to create a positive environment,
- prevents assistant managers from conducting business in such a way that would undermine productivity,
- assesses employee's contributions according to a clear criteria that is obtainable and not subjective,
- listens to complaints from employees and objectively deals with them,
- realizes that employees have lives outside of the office and does not make constant requests of that time unless it was a condition of employment,
- follows the Golden Rule, because really, isn't that what we all want?
So I now invite you to add to the list.
