7 ways to be a damn good manager
November 21, 2007 by Phil Gerbyshak
Filed under Business
Andre Gaulin writes a relatively new management blog called Damn Good Manager. He says DGM “is decicated to helping fellow managers make good decisions and become the type of leader that employees only dream of.” Awesome purpose Andre!So I was browing around DGM, and came across Managing a Manager’s Time, an insightful article on how to better manage the daily time stresses manager’s feel.
Andre shares 3 helpful tips:
1) Suck it up and make friends with your calendar
2) Process Your Inbox
3) Use the Phrases “Send me an Email” or “Schedule a Meeting”
Great tips!
I’d liked to add 4 others that have served me well as a manager to give you:
7 ways to be a damn good (and damn effective) manager
Create a great voicemail greeting that reminds folks your team can help
As a manager, sometimes folks think you are the ONLY one that can help. This is especially true if you came up through the ranks and were the team’s go-to expert. Put in your voicemail that your team is the expert, and then set your zero option to go to your team (if you have a team number or queue system) or at least to your second in command, or if you’re really lucky, to your admin.
Ask your team to put them in my voicemail
Repeat after me: Every person that calls for you does not need YOUR help. If someone calls your team and asks for you, encourage your team to place them in your voicemail, and that you’ll return the voicemail promptly. This gives you the time you need to finish what you’re working on right now up, and if it’s urgent, to quickly research the issue and get back to the person making the request. Sure, some people won’t wait to talk to you, but for most, a 5 or 10 minute delay while you research a problem isn’t a problem. At the very least, ask your team to find out what they need before the warm transfer them to you.
When on vacation, always set your out of office assistant AND change your voicemail greeting
The first time I went on vacation, I forgot to do both of these things, and when I came back after a week away, I had accumulated over 200 action required e-mails and 20 action voicemails that should have been done while I was away. DOH! Don’t be like me! Set your out of office assistant AND change your voicemail greeting to let folks know you’re gone AND who can help them while you’re gone.
Schedule your lunches from right now through the end of the year, and then schedule the next 12 months January 1st
Again, I learned this one after my first year when I didn’t do this, and I never got to take a lunch. I now have time blocked on my calendar every day from 11:30 until 12:30 for lunch, and I try my best not to accept meetings during this time. Each week I manage to take lunch 4 days out of 5, and I am much more refreshed and recharged in the afternoon. I take my lunches AWAY from my desk, otherwise I would get nothing done.
What about you? What do YOU recommend to be a Damn Good Manager?
[Phil Gerbyshak is working hard to be a better manager, and writing management posts like these help him clarify what's worked and what doesn't.]
Thanks Phil! Beyond my 3 tricks, I’m also a HUGE fan of scheduling dedicated lunch time as well as using my out of office assistant whenever possible. I can’t say it enough – time related stress is the worst and as soon as you can get your time back you’ll instantly feel much more productive.
Andre – Glad to see we’re on the same page. You are so right about time related stress. Productivity = freedom in my book.
As a manager of a small business, I have learned that most often employees’ performance correlates directly with the amount of praise given for little things well done or even creatively thought through.
Interesting point Mitzi. I haven’t seen those exact results, though I’m glad to hear that works for you. Are you specific in the praise, or generic? Do you feel you are authentically grateful for your team’s success (and failures)? Are there other factors that complete your management style, or is this the only one? I’d love to learn more about what you’re seeing.
I always give specific praise, otherwise it comes across as exactly what it is…flattery. I work primarily with women. The response a woman has when praised is the desire to please even more because she will perceive the praiser as someone who appreciates the little things she does, which will translate directly to the company. Men, however, perform equally with or without praise, in my experience. Conversely, a man’s performance can improve when presented with criticism. A woman, however, will more often become discouraged by criticism. That does not mean that a woman can not handle criticism, it means that to be an effective supervisor one should know these responses to the types of feedback given during evaluations, and in everyday critiques. A specific example of this is when I began to prepare a female employee for a management position. She was highly qualified in the area of education and skill. She, however, lacked the necessary confidence to speak up in a group setting and to present ideas in an assertive way. I coaxed her along by assigning her projects that needed to be presented in meetings so that decisions could be made about the outcomes. I took notes from each presentation designed to be used as positive feedback. After each meeting, I would email or call her to tell her the things I liked about her work. In the beginning, she would call me before the presentation to get my approval. I was careful to tell her I had full confidence in her and was interested in seeing what she could do instead of what I would have done. In less than six months I had a confident assertive manager who was able to think creatively and make decisions without seeking approval from others. The sincere praise made her fiercely loyal to the company and to her work ethic. Sometimes, just saying something as simple as, “Wow, you really have it going on over in your department.”….and throwing a thumbs up or whatever, will improve morale which results in improved performance. Strangely, this employee had some issues concerning arriving on time occasionally. Once she was showing a deeper sense of confidence, she no longer had these issues. She even made it a habit to get to work early from that point on. And, yes of course she is able to take criticism, when it is presented as a way to enhance her success on a project.