Traits of a Good Manager

What Makes a Good Manager?
To put it in a nutshell, the management skills and the confidence about one's own abilities, make him/her a good manager. The managerial skills matter most. What are they? Actually it is a skill set that consists of leadership, decision-making abilities, an understanding nature and confidence to top them all. Thorough knowledge in one's domain, expertise in one's field, effective strategic planning skills and foresight make a good manager. The person within the manager is equally important. As a person, a good manager is understanding and considerate. A good manager is able to differentiate between the right and the wrong. He/She knows where to play the stickler for rules as also times when he/she needs to be considerate. The combination of an understanding person and an intelligent professional makes a good manager.

Traits of a Good Manager

Leadership
Leadership is one of the vital qualities of a good manager. A good manager is often seen exercising effective leadership in the organization. By effective and fair leadership we mean the skills to guide the team members, to encourage them towards attainment of the organization’s goals and take the right decisions at the right point of time. A good manager has confidence in his/her abilities, and is thus innovative enough to experiment while nevertheless being brave to admit mistakes. An effective leader, that a manager is, needs to think out of the box!

Plan and Delegate
Planning well is a part of one’s managerial skills. A good manager has a foresight that helps him/her plan effectively. A good manager devises fail-proof plans, divides the task into subtasks and delegates them to his/her team members. Effective delegation involves an understanding of the skill sets of the employees, scheduling tasks and getting them done from the employees within deadlines. Delegation facilitates the division of responsibility; helps accomplish the plan faster while also giving the delegates an opportunity to excel. The effective execution of a plan requires a manager to dream, dedicate resources towards the fulfillment of the dream and head the team to turn the dream true!

Intelligentsia
A very uncommon common sense is something that is seen in a good manager. A good manager possesses complete knowledge of his field and is confident about that knowledge. A thorough knowledge of one's position and responsibilities is the trait of a good manager. Intelligence is characteristic to a good manager. A witty sense of humor is a trait that is often seen in good managers. Along with intellect and humor, creativity is a common trait of good managers. A manager needs to have a creative mind to welcome new ideas from the team members and subordinates, and execute the bright, the innovative and the feasible ones. A good manager always aims at bringing in reforms to work patterns, experiment and take his/her organization on the path of success. Emotional intelligence is another important trait of a good manager.

Listen with Concern
A good manager exhibits the trait of always taking everyone along. An excellent manager is the one who treads with a positive attitude, along with his/her team and leads them to success. A good manager shows traits such as an optimistic attitude, a motivating ability, listening skills and a concern for people. An effective manager must motivate his/her team members and be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. A good manager is a good listener to pay heed to the team members’ problems, be open to their views, accept a constructive criticism from them and understand their abilities. A good manager is always aware that ‘subordinates’ are after all ‘humans’ and treats them with concern and consideration. A good manager never forgets that he/she is leading people who are the most important assets of an organization.

Keep Your Cool
Being able to keep one’s cool in all kinds of situations is a trait seen in a good manager. An enthusiastic and optimistic manager is capable of remaining calm in all types of scenarios. A good manager does not lose his/her cool even while facing a difficulty. He/she is able to correct the team members without going wild. A good manager is an effective communicator and a composed individual.

These were some of the traits of a good manager. Do you find a similarity between these traits and the attributes in you? Could you spot a ‘good manager’ in you?