The recipe for finding effective managers

It is not difficult to fall into the trap of having a poor management team. All it takes is one manager to leave their position and they are either not replaced or replaced too quickly by the closest fit that is far from ideal. You are then hit with a terrifying surprise; your profits are falling, your employees’ overall performance is dropping dramatically and employee turn-over has reached a new high. So if you ever catch yourself wondering where it all went wrong… it may have something to do with the managers you hired, or didn't hire. Research has shown that the number one reason that employees leave their job is ineffective management. It has also been shown that employee satisfaction and performance are directly linked to effective management.

Let’s take a ride in Dr. Emmett Brown’s Delorian. All the way back to your management selection process, what did you do? You picked potential candidates based on their performance, right? You conducted interviews and sorted through candidates until you found one who answered all your questions correctly. But how much does this actually tell you about how effective they are as a manager? If an applicant vying for a managerial role has gone through a number of interviews, then they’d probably be relatively well versed in answering questions correctly.

Let’s say you, as the interviewer, asked your candidate how they would approach a workplace dispute. If they’re well prepared, they've probably read the workplace manual and will pass that question and any other questions relating to workplace protocol and procedures with flying colours. However, this only tells you that they've done their homework. It doesn't tell you how effective they would be as a manager.

And here is your dilemma, you've selected a candidate who has performed well as an employee and has answered in all the right ways, and your profit margins, employee performance has fallen, and employee turn-over…well...

But wait! Don’t kick yourself, you’re not the only employer to find themselves in this predicament. In fact, it’s quite common. What’s important is understanding what makes a good manager and how to find them (or make them). Below are some of the attributes that researchers and other employers have discovered that make a good manager:

• Training: Whilst some people are intrinsically good managers whether it be through their openness, communication (especially listening) skills, confidence or their general manner, there are others out there who have the potential but need the training. An investment in on-going training in the short term can have lasting profitability in the long-term. So find a good training program and get all your managers on board!

• Effective mentoring: A manager who is able to mentor their team effectively is able to highlight an employee’s strengths and coach them in improving their weaknesses, in an engaging and respectful manner. Besides increasing employee productivity, this will also enable employees to reach their full potential.

• Character Judgement: One size doesn't fit all, and a good manager knows it. A manager should be able to tailor their managing strategy to each individual under their instruction in a way that promotes their best performance. This is achieved by acknowledging and respecting individual differences and is reflected in an employee’s work performance as a result of increased work satisfaction. Just as not every worker is the same, not every leader is the same, so take each manager’s individual strengths as a sign of the value they can add.

• Effective delegation: A good manager knows they can’t do everything and is aware that another employee may have more knowledge in a particular area than themselves. To delegate effectively means to lose total control. This takes trust, respect and confidence in an employee’s abilities. So, using effective delegation skills, a good manager can assign the right tasks to the right employee based on what they know about each individual’s strengths, knowledge and skills.

• Outstanding communication: This doesn't just mean telling. It means listening with intent and genuine consideration, and keeping an open forum with all employees. Creating a respectful and committed communicative environment increases employee self-worth, and confidence within their manager. Again leading to increased workplace satisfaction and productivity.

Given that all of the preceding qualities lead to increase workplace satisfaction, who would WANT to leave their job? And given that increased workplace satisfaction leads to increased profit, why WOULDN'T you want to invest in finding a good manager?

So how do you find these qualities? There are a few ways that have been shown to blow traditional ‘resume read and interview’ methods out of the water:

1. Employ a personality screening test, such as the Business Personality Reflections assessment
2. Collect non-identifiable employee peer reviews and performance reports for potential candidates
3. If you work closely with your employees and managers, think critically about your options. Take note of those employees who standout as potential promotion material based on your observations of their qualities.
4. But most of all, don’t just rely on the textbook answers of a standard interview process.

So next time you’re preparing to fill a management role remember:

Effective management = Maximum profit!!

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