What are the qualities of a good manager?

The following are some qualities to consider:

1. Communication

Good managers are excellent communicators. A manager’s communication style helps clearly convey expectations and build trust within the team.

Strong managers can clearly and accurately share information with their team. As importantly, they engage in active listening to understand their employees’ concerns and needs.

Strong written communication skills are also essential for managers to ensure clarity across email, chat and other channels.

2. Subject matter knowledge

Managers should know their role, technical skills relevant to their field and an understanding of the work their team and company perform. They may not always know how to do every task within their team or department, but they should have enough knowledge of day-to-day work to effectively support employee success.

Understanding the company’s products and services is also essential for effective management, as it informs decision-making and supports innovation.

3. Organization

When overseeing several employees and projects, knowing exactly who to contact and what information to share is essential. Managers with effective organizational skills have no trouble keeping documents and thoughts organized, and they think logically and strategically as they oversee complex projects and align team efforts with organizational goals.

4. Time management

Effective managers have strong time management skills. This ability can help them plan team schedules and allocate resources. Leaders who can hold themselves to deadlines may able to set an example for their team members.

5. Reliability

Emotional stability can play a crucial role in a manager’s reliability, as it helps them remain calm and dependable in stressful situations. You may want someone in a leadership position who you can count on to get work done and effectively oversee others. A reliable manager will leverage their strengths and those of their team to achieve business goals.

6. Delegation

Excellent managers know how to leverage the skills and resources in their team. Managers skilled at delegating tasks and giving employees autonomy can create more confident, capable teams.

7. Confidence

A confident manager generally trusts their personal skills and abilities as well as the capabilities of their team. They also may be willing to take calculated risks to drive innovation and achieve team goals.

8. Respect

Great managers respect their employees, company and customers. Respect is an important leadership quality in and of itself and a great characteristic to model for others. If your managers show respect for everyone in the company, it encourages others to do the same. When everyone demonstrates respect, it helps teams overcome communication and cultural challenges in the workplace and work effectively to achieve shared goals.

9. Honesty

Honesty is a necessary characteristic for relationship building. Good managers demonstrate honesty when dealing with clients, customers and teams, building trust to support a positive work environment.

10. Decisiveness

As leaders, managers are often called on to make decisions for their team. The ability to make timely, effective decisions can help stabilize challenging situations, keep projects on track or support progress toward goals.

11. Responsibility

Managers are often in charge of important details, tasks and information, and their teams may rely on them to keep work stable. A responsible manager is typically committed to their team’s success and takes ownership of achievements and setbacks.

12. Empathy

Managers often handle professional challenges or work with employees dealing with personal obstacles. Emotional intelligence and empathy are generally valuable qualities. Managers who can understand their employees’ feelings are more likely to have positive relationships with them and help them solve their issues.

13. Creativity

Managers can help a team or company grow by encouraging creative thinking that drives innovation. These professionals can use creativity to develop processes and procedures that help them work more effectively. Creative problem solving and encouraging it among team members, also help managers find cost-effective, customer-facing solutions.

14. Optimism

By demonstrating optimism in the face of adversity, managers can help their team do the same. A manager’s optimism can set the tone, boost morale and inspire team members to stay positive while working on challenging projects.

15. Commitment

Good managers are committed to their work and the success and satisfaction of their teams. They work hard daily to demonstrate leadership and care for team members, and they encourage workers to commit to excellence in all they do.

Why good managers matter

Managers have a direct impact on employee performance, engagement and retention. They have an indirect but still critical impact on your employer brand and the experience your customers or clients have.

Strong leaders set clear expectations and ensure individual workers understand how their efforts contribute to overall business goals. When employees feel supported and valued by managers, they’re more likely to be motivated to complete quality work.

Effective managers do more than boost morale and engagement, though. They also help teams work more efficiently, reduce turnover costs and contribute to accountability and innovation, boosting your business’s likelihood of long-term success.

Tips for helping your leaders develop management skills

Managers often come from intentional training and ongoing employer support. You can encourage leadership growth by:

• Offering leadership training programs: Consider offering training that helps leaders expand on communication, delegation, coaching, conflict resolution and motivation skills. You can offer programs in-house or pay for leadership to attend outside workshops.
• Providing Managers with mentors: Connect newer managers and supervisors with experienced leaders who can provide guidance and share lessons about management from their own experience.
• Encouraging 360-degree feedback: When managers hear feedback from direct reports, peers and their own leaders, they have a more comprehensive understanding of their strengths and what they may need to work on.
• Providing managers with opportunities to test their skills: Ensure managers have opportunities to stretch and challenge their existing skill sets. Offer them opportunities to oversee more challenging projects or teams or involve them in practical business decision-making.

Tips for identifying strong managers in hiring

When you’re promoting internally or sourcing leadership candidates externally, look for evidence that someone has effective leadership skills. Tips for a skills-first approach to filling leadership roles include:

• Reviewing past leadership experience: Evaluate past roles for project leadership, training or coaching experience.
• Asking hypothetical behavioral questions in interviews: Set up manager interview questions that let the candidate demonstrate how they might handle conflict, delegate tasks in a complex workflow or motivate others when goals seem challenging.
• Looking for emotional intelligence: Ask questions that require candidates to demonstrate interpersonal skills, including self-awareness, empathy and active listening.
• Assessing problem-solving skills: Invite candidates to tell you about a time they solved a difficult problem, including how they gathered data to inform their decision and what they did to implement the solution.