What makes a manager truly great? It’s a simple question, yet a quick online search reveals plenty of long-winded, complicated answers. But is the answer really that complex?
According to Parallel Management CEO and founder Todd Bradberry, what separates a good manager from an average one isn’t complicated at all.
Check out the quick video below to hear his take.
In just under a minute, Todd shares the a simple concept that differentiates successful managers: the willingness to do what someone else won’t. It’s the same, he explains as what makes any person successful.
Two Things Successful Managers Do
He goes on to clarify exactly where a manager must step up in order to shine. There are two specific measures, Todd explains, that separate average managers from great ones:
- Being willing and able to have difficult conversations
- Being willing and able to make difficult decisions
Having difficult conversations means being the one who calls out poor teammate behavior, tells someone they’ve done something wrong, or provides other critical feedback for the sake of improving teamwork and achieving team goals. These are never easy conversations to have, even if you’ve had plenty of practice, but you can learn more about how to navigate tough, emotional management conversations right here.
Making difficult decisions as a manager is about doing what’s necessary to ensure your team and its systems operate optimally. That might mean making the tough choice to fire an unproductive teammate who is unwilling or unable to change their behavior. It might mean opting to roll out a new product before every teammate feels it is one hundred percent ready because the market is ready. Or a difficult decision might be pausing production to correctly address a flaw in the system, even though doing so will put one or more projects behind schedule.
The right choice isn’t always the easy one, but being willing and able to step up, take responsibility, and do what needs to be done is what good management is all about.
Become a Better Manager – Start Today
Whether you’re just starting your management journey or are ready to level up your management skills and expertise, increasing your own self-awareness will help you have more effective conversations and make better management decisions. It may sound counterintuitive to focus on yourself when you want to improve how you lead your team, but doing so requires a strong sense of self in addition to a keen awareness of others.
There are countless resources available on your self-awareness journey, but for a proven tool that specifically highlights your work style and inherent work-related priorities, consider the Everything DiSC Workplace assessment. Taken in just 15-20 minutes, this powerful, adaptive assessment tool reveals your unique approach to decision-making. Seeing yourself in this new light is an excellent way to expand your self-awareness, and the Everything DiSC can also be applied in a team setting, too, allowing you to bring greater self-awareness to everyone on your team.
Greater self-awareness among teammates opens the doors to more collaborative teaming. Start managing more effectively today.