It is fairly common to read about leadership and administration skills or to find a variety of management books in bookstores that advise managers into taking several key actions to evolve into an integral and effective leader. But how often do we stop and think about the individuals that are being managed and the tasks they should focus on?
Coaching is the most important behavior to differentiate good managers from excellent ones
In 2014, Harvard Business Review published an article that recommended a set of actions to become a successful manager by focusing on communication skills and how they can create progress for both the employees and their company. One of the highlights was to engage in coaching conversations, where a personal connection between a manager and an individual is met.
The most powerfully motivating condition people experience at work is making progress at something that is personally meaningful.
M. Valcour
Coaching provides an incredible opportunity for a manager to bond with an individual and create a link between their work tasks and their unique interests. Although it is stated that an exceptional manager will bring out the best of people in relation to their professional growth and performance, it is also worthy to reference the effect someone can cause on their direct manager, especially in business, financial, or IT services firms, where the asset number one of the company is their (talented and engaged) people.
Empathy is a two-way street
By staying true to the previous statement, I take into consideration my acting background. In acting, you learn to externalize the internal conflicts of a character in a short period of time in front of an audience, and this can only be done by studying and understanding the deeper connections between characters within the plotline, their purposes, expressions and underlying meanings throughout these fictional relationships. In other words, to play the role, you must understand your counterparts’ roles as well.
This means that by trying to understand your manager’s position, delving and searching for a personally meaningful connection, you are providing a professional relationship with plenty of opportunities to keep motivation at a top level. Aside from an individual’s professional expertise and qualifications; personal interests, effective communication, and passion are very valuable and relevant towards a successful and well-adhered work team.
The number one reason employees quit their jobs is because of a poor quality relationship with their direct manager.
M. Valcour
Enjoy your work relationships, enthuse about team building importance
Instead of questioning your manager’s way of solving issues or directing the team (not to say you should avoid it completely), it is a more proactive exercise to ask yourself if you as a team member, are providing your coworkers and your manager with what they require from you in order to be successful, whether you are in a project with a client or dealing internally within your firm. It can be quite simple to undermine the success or failure factors of an outcome to a manager when in reality the team motivation must also come from within the team members.
Hence, an individual has to realize how can they boost their coworkers with meaningful working experiences and to keep providing his manager with a proactive, personalised team-building perspective; because at the end of the day, the work environment is filled with diverse relationships to take care of. Develop strong relationships with your manager; you will feel an improved working environment and surely a faster professional growth.
Everything written here is a personal reflection and is by no means educational, financial or professional advice in any way.
Please feel free to cite and refer reliable sources in the comment section down below.