Senior management is the lynchpin of any company and being on the same page as them is essential to any business. While mangers might have excellent business skills, it is up to the superiors to teach them how to mentor less experienced staff. Subsequently, as a business owner, is it important to understand how to manage mangers to foster and grow your business.
Here are some tips to help you manage your managers:
Having open lines of communication
The primary tool in managing managers is having direct and constant lines of communications between the business owner and the senior management team. Here, you are able to set a clear vision for your staff. As a result of this, business owners can be self-assured with the knowledge that staff are communicating regularly, leaving you to focus on the bigger picture.
When communicating with your managers, setting clear goals and targets and employing strategies such as KPIs can be useful. This allows you and your mangers to be on the same page as the mangers are able to fulfill your business’ ethos more effectively. Setting both long and short-term goals are useful as it provides the scaffold from which your managers can learn how to manage.
Having structured time to communicate is integral as it allows your managers to speak freely. From this, providing yearly appraisals is not sufficient in the fast-paced business world of the 21st Century. Instead business owners should aim to have bi-monthly reviews to ensure day-to-day operations continue running smoothly. When you do have catch-ups with managers, make sure the focus is on how they are going with their personal tasks and objectives, as well as their management of other staff members.
Understanding the needs and wants of your managers
It is imperative that you are both on the same page in regards to the needs of the business, as well as the needs of each individual employee. This mutual understanding is also a good way to avoid nasty surprises. Subsequently, providing opportunities for your managers to grow their skill-set empowers them to nurture their own career.
This will result in satisfied and motivated managers who are more equipped to support the business overall as they can see a future and clear career progression within the company. By demonstrating that you have your senior management team’s personal growth at heart, it creates a trusting environment and gives you the confidence to rely on them on a day-to-day basis.
Implementing a mentoring program
Giving staff the tools to deal with internal issues should be a standard part of any management or mentoring plan. Mentoring allows the less experienced staff member to develop a vision and focus, as it provides an opportunity for them to have a one-on-one learning experience with a more senior staff member. Through mentoring, the senior staff member also receives the opportunity to develop their own management skills and learn to be a coach, not a referee.
Mentoring helps staff and managers to bond on a personal level, creating a familial connection between staff members. Coffee catch-ups and regular work excursions and activities are a good way to bond staff as they encourage your employees to interact on a deeper level. Mentoring also provides role models to less experienced staff, which results in them absorbing the ethos and culture of the company at a faster rate.
Ultimately, having mangers who are content and enthusiastic are integral to any business. Keeping staff challenged and excited about the work they do is incredibly important and must factor into every business decision that you make. Additionally, understanding that management can be difficult and taking the time to get your senior team’s feedback, means that they will continue being motivated to work for your business. Creating an environment that people want to work in and employees feel empowered and take charge with their jobs is the dream of any boss. These are the keys to both maintaining as well as growing your business.
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About the Author:
Director of Agent99 Sharon Zeev Poole has worked in Public Relations for over 15 years, having founded her own agency, Agent99 Public Relations in 2007.
