10 Ways You Can Make Yourself a Better Manager at Work in 2023

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you consider the most important priority for businesses in 2023? Is it recession planning, employee turnover or retention, or a combination of the two? What about the effectiveness of managers?

 

According to a Gartner survey of 800 chief human resource officers from 60 countries, enhancing leader and manager performance is the top business priority for 2023, with 60% of respondents stating they will prioritise it next year (registration required).

 

Managers are living in an ever-changing world. These are not your standard people management difficulties, with hybrid work, the Great Resignation, and quiet quitting. The new year is an excellent time to rethink strategies, try something new, and break old habits.

 

This is true whether you are an outstanding, seasoned executive or a newly promoted manager. With so many choices for improving your game, it’s critical to focus on the most effective methods to use and accentuate. So, what can a manager do to increase his or her effectiveness? Let’s talk about how to be a better manager in the new year from a different angle.

 

1. BE TRUTHFUL AND UNBIASED

 

Always be truthful with your employees! You don’t want to sugarcoat things, avoid reality, or appear distant, evasive, or uncaring. Your employees will see through any BS, so be as honest as possible (without being mean).

 

Maintain objectivity at times of stress and emotion. It assists in keeping your head level and your approach even-handed. Too much emphasis on emotions can lead to inconsistent experiences for individual staff members. As a result, people experience sentiments of injustice and animosity because they believe they are being treated unfairly. Stay objective and honest by avoiding this.

 

You may be inclined to withhold harsh input during performance assessments, for example, especially with your favourite colleagues. Critical feedback assists employees in developing new abilities and facilitating goal setting, which leads to advancement in your team’s professional (and personal) lives. 

 

Effective management and team leadership are all about presenting difficult news in an empathic manner while remaining honest and impartial. It’s also important to plan when to communicate – for example, team meetings might not be the best place to call out team members for a lack of soft skills.

 

2. UTILIZE YOUR TEAM’S STRENGTH

When we perceive something that is defective, our management instincts encourage us to focus on what is wrong. However, as employees, we want to capitalise on our strengths in order to achieve more success and boost our confidence. This dynamic is common, but only 20% of people get to play to their strengths every day. Who wants to spend the majority of their time struggling with a difficult task? Instead, we’d like to put our previous abilities, experience, and mastery to use.

 

Strength-based management entails focusing our efforts on our team’s strengths rather than its faults. This provides your team members with a more fun and fulfilling work experience while also paying major rewards to the overall organisation.

 

3. LEAVE THE OFFICE

 

When circumstances are rough, the last thing you want is for your employees to believe you’re hiding out in your office. Get out into the hotel and familiarise yourself with all parts of the resort. You’ll have a better sense of the current mood and operating requirements. This is known as “Management By Walking Around (MBWA),” and it keeps you in front of your employees. You set a good example by being active and involved rather than hiding away in the office.

 

Being visible is also an excellent method to give an excellent guest experience. Leave the office. Greeting guests and being ready to respond to comments or concerns keeps you in sync with their requirements – a customised approach that generates positive reviews and enhances your online reputation.

 

Remember that simply getting out of the workplace isn’t enough: you also need to engage with others to reap the full benefits. By adding an “I” for Interaction to MBWA, we were ultimately able to stimulate teamwork among management and staff, enhance the amount of informal problem-solving changes on a daily basis, and develop immediate and creative answers.

 

4. BECOME A COACH

 

All managers explain priorities and give commands, yet only 21% of employees say their management drives them to produce excellent work. Spending more time and focus on how your team members approach accomplishing those objectives is a vital component of how to be a great manager and leader.

 

When it comes to staff management, we tend to be directive, offering them specific instructions, suggestions, and advice. While the objective is to be helpful, the end outcome can be powerlessness. With the ultimate goal of allowing employees to take the initiative and solve problems on their own, these prescriptive procedures prevent these individuals from experiencing modest setbacks and learning those lessons for themselves.

 

Coaching that is supportive is the most effective. In coaching mode, managers can ask questions that compel employees to think about and clarify why they’re pursuing a particular strategy, or they can challenge their assumptions. When they observe that staff are on the correct course, they can offer approval and agreement.

 

5. PRIORITIZE SPEED ABOVE ACCURACY 

 

Your team takes signals from your confidence and posture, whether you realise it or not. You, as their leader, establish the standard. You must be a brave leader, especially during times of crisis and frequent change. You don’t have the luxury of daydreaming. As a result, you must act decisively and favour speed above precision. Act quickly and with conviction, even if you have to fake it because you are freaking out inside. See the next point for a specific approach that necessitates decisiveness from a strong leader.

 

6. LISTEN AND PAY ATTENTION

 

Great leaders are also excellent listeners. They can listen, synthesise, and act on what they’ve learned. Listening is the cornerstone of hospitality because it fosters mutual understanding, meaningful relationships, and unforgettable experiences.

 

What matters most to hotels is providing positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships. Like life, running a hotel is largely on how you make people feel.

 

It isn’t always with guests; sometimes it’s just being a helpful ear for your employees. You don’t have to be a therapist, but you must be willing to listen. Often, that is exactly what your team requires: a sympathetic ear.

 

7. FIRE IMMEDIATELY AND FAIRLY

 

Even if you have to terminate individuals right now, you may want to hire them again after the slump subsides and demand returns. The last thing you want to do is make a bad first impression that undermines employee loyalty. Do the right thing by them since you may want to bring back old employees rather than look for new ones.

 

Furloughs may become temporary as the recession continues. You may even need to terminate employees you recently hired back. Firing is frequently the most difficult aspect of being a manager. It’s emotionally draining and highly challenging. But don’t put off the inevitable because a series of lesser layoffs lower morale.

 

Fire fast and fairly to reduce tension in an already difficult situation. Make an honest assessment of what you need to do to keep the lights on, and then act promptly. You also want to be as fair and clear about how these decisions were reached as possible. To avoid favouritism or ill-will, ignore politics and personal preferences, especially if you’re from the HR solutions. And remember to always be objective, honest, and helpful!

 

8. Invest in change management training

 

Training is also an excellent ally in any corporate change management project. When it comes to new methods, procedures, and approaches that require people to shift and adapt, it’s preferable to pair those rollouts with learning programmes. They can alleviate anxiety and uncertainty about the changes. This makes team members feel more prepared for new workplace dynamics and demands.

 

Also, don’t forget. You, too, are deserving of training! You may always improve your management abilities and learn new tricks. Working on becoming a better manager on a regular basis by investing in training, attending conferences, and reading blogs like this one is good role modelling for your employees.

 

9. Make yourself available to your employees

Micromanagement is your enemy. Delegating tasks to direct reports will free you up to create a better work environment for other team members. Successful managers make it quite known that you have an open-door policy. Build trust with your employees by listening to their issues and doing everything possible to remedy them. Of course, most of it will be beyond your control. Simply listen and empathise. Be there for your team, and they will support you. Even in difficult times, people notice when they are treated honestly and with respect, and it leaves an indelible impression.

 

An open-door policy may not always be adequate to encourage staff to raise concerns. Experiment with holding office hours that are open to the public and are held on a regular basis (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly).

 

You should also provide anonymous communication channels. Not everyone is at ease having face-to-face talks. Create an anonymous feedback channel for your employees to decrease rumour, avoid abuse, and shorten the distance between you and your employees. Anonymity allows you to create trust and address issues before they escalate.

 

10. Always lend a hand while remaining humble

 

Great managers are not only outstanding listeners and great communicators; they are also helpful and will go out of their way to support their staff at any cost.

 

As a trusted resource, you demonstrate to employees that you care and that it is acceptable for them to bring their complete selves to work. When you fire someone, offer to create recommendation letters for them and assist them with their job hunt. When disciplining someone, provide explicit performance improvement advice to assist them in improving. Be helpful to guests and staff as you move around the property – after all, helpfulness is a sort of hospitality!