sean mcpheat

Do You Really Want to be a Manager?

Management, to be honest, isn’t easy. Sure, there are pros and cons to becoming a manager but the reality of the situation is that you need to jump on the management path not only because someone thinks you’d be good at it, or because you think you’ll make more money, but because you really want to be a leader.

Any other reason is unacceptable and, in the end, if you’re not willing to be a leader you’re going to find yourself very frustrated with your career path. Let’s take a look at some of the negative and positive aspects of a career in management.

First, we’ll list some of the drawbacks:

• You won’t be able to develop as many close friendships with your team members because doing so will cloud your ability to make objective supervisory decisions. You may begin to feel lonely.
• You’ll receive very little immediate feedback about how you’re doing with your work. Most of your goals will be long-term. As such, you may feel unsure of yourself.
• Managers often have to sign legal documents, including employment contracts or contracts with customers and vendors. This means you can, on some level, be held legally liable if there is a problem.
• Management positions are competitive. There are more team members than there are managers -always. And there are always more people looking to move up than there are spots available. You may feel some tension as others vie for your job – or for those similar to yours.

There are, of course, plenty of positive aspects to management:

• Your status as a manager may earn you some sort of prestige – especially if people believe your title sounds powerful.
• Managers sometimes feel as though they have some sort of power. They do, on some levels, but it is important to remember that even managers have work delegated to them before they can delegate it to others.
• Managers, in most cases, receive better pay than those beneath them. There are instances in which this is not true. For example, some companies pay based on the value of your contributions. Who do you think gets paid more – a nuclear chemist or the guy who “manages” the plan in which he works. My guess is that the nuclear chemist is actually making a more valuable or important contribution to the overall goals of the organisation.

It’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons of management. If moving up the corporate ladder is something you’ve always dreamed of, then go for it. If not, do you really want to add that type of stress to your life?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

MTD Training | Management Blog | Image courtesy of Big Stock Photo

How to Be a Better Manager – Part 2

On Monday we kicked off the week by talking about a few of the things you could do to develop your own management career. Today I’m going to spend a few minutes outlining a few more things you should consider as you walk down the path of self improvement. Management, after all, is a continuous process and, as such, your path towards continuous development should be as well.

Develop Your Motivation Skills

You, as a manager, will be responsible for making sure your employees feel motivated at all times. Everyone has different reasons for feeling motivated – saving for a vacation, working towards a promotion, or simply feeling accomplished. It’s your job to find out what motivates your employees so that you an make sure they continue to be motivated.

Lead Your Team

Good managers are not just managers – they’re leaders as well. A simple manager will do just that – manage his team – giving them instructions and orders and going about his day. A real manager will lead his team, giving them their tasks and guiding them by pulling his share of the weight. Guide them in the right direction and they’ll surely follow.

Learn about Money

Unless you’re already in accounting, you probably know as much about money as your department budget requires. The truth, though, is that to appreciate your business as a whole you should really gain a better understanding about how money works in your business environment. What is spent, what is earned, and what you can do to avoid being wasteful. Saving doesn’t mean being stingy – it means being creative.

Focus on YOURSELF

You can’t help others if you never help yourself. What areas of your business life do you think need growth and development? Can you take a class? Can you ask your own managers for mentoring or coaching? The better you are at developing your self the better you will be at helping others.

Remain Ethical

No matter what, conduct all business in an ethical manner – both within your organisation and outside of it. Ask your human resources department or upper management for help if you feel as though you are in an ethical dilema.

Your success as a manager is in your hand. Have you identified any areas you should start working on right away?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

MTD Training | Management Blog | Image courtesy of Big Stock Photo

Tips for Retaining Employees – Part 2

The other day we started to discuss a few of the things you can do, as a manager, to retain your good employees. Today I’d like to add 5 more tips to the list. Combine them all, using your own personal management style, and before you know it you’ll see your employee relationships improving.

• Listen to your employees. Your team members, if you listen to them, have valuable ideas and most of them want to contribute to the process. Listen to what they have to say and make sure they know the lines of communication are always open.
• Help them find opportunities for growth. No one wants to feel as though he or she is stuck in a dead end job for a lifetime and you, as a manager, can’t expect them to be happy in the same position forever. Help your employees identify opportunities for growth, both short-term and long. Employees working towards goals are always happier.
• Encourage flexibility. I’m not saying you have to adjust their schedules every other day and make ridiculous concessions but you can find ways to encourage them to find balance between their work and persona lives without decreasing productivity. This means not being rude when they’re really sick or when they need to take care of their children.
• Encourage personal wellness. Healthy employees are happy employees and stress is certainly not healthy. Surprise them with special breaks, give them gift certificates to their favorite restaurants or spas as an acknowledgment of their loyalty, or have a yoga instructor come in for a morning class. They’ll appreciate the break from the regular routine.
• Finally, please remember to say THANK YOU to the people who work for you. Whether they’re permanent employees or independent contractors, everyone appreciates knowing you recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate the things they do. Nothing else you do will matter if you never utter those two simple words.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

MTD Training | Management Blog | Image courtesy of Big Stock Photo

Tips for Retaining Employees – Part 1

As a manager you have a huge amount of repsonsibility when it comes to hiring and firing employees. You’ll do your best to hire the candidates you think are the best and you’ll have to document incidents in order to fire those who turn out to be not as great as they presented themselves. In the midst of all this, managers tend to forget one group of people – the good ones – the ones they should be working to retain.

A good employee isn’t one you can just leave alone, monitoring only when it comes time for the annual review or when you need to assign new work. Even good employees need attention and if they don’t get it, or feel appreciated, they might start to look elsewhere for work. Learn More

Tips for Handling Conflict at Work

As a manager you’re bound to find out that not everyday is going to be as pleasant as others. You may have problems with clients or deadlines but in my experience the worst days are the ones during which your own team has trouble getting along. If your team members are in the midst of a conflict it’ll be up to you to sort things out. Here are a few tips to help make that job a bit easier.

Determine the Actual Problem

Sometimes people argue and then things escalate until they no longer remember what the original problem was. Ask everyone involved to sit down and talk about what they perceive the problem to be. Once you all agree on a source you can start to find a solution.

Allow Everyone to Contribute

Make sure everyone involved in the conflict has the opportunity to talk about what he or she not only thinks the problem is but what his opinions are and how the problem can be solved. Give each person a set amount of time to speak and make sure everyone sticks to the facts – no berating other team members.

Reach for a Compromise

Identify the methods each member of the group thinks need to be followed in order to reach a compromise. Not everyone will be happy with the entire outcome but there is always a way to make as many people happy as possible. Identify both long and short term goals and find ways for everyone to work toward them together.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

MTD Training | Management Blog | Image courtesy of Big Stock Photo