4 Things That Great Managers Know
We hear this question asked often, “What makes a great manager?”
We’ve interviewed hundreds of people to find out what qualities great managers have and discovered that the key is personalized leadership. What makes a great manager is their ability to understand their team and personalize their leadership style to each employee.
That being said there is no one-size-fits-all because teams are as unique as the people they are made up of. This is why the first step to being a great manager is understanding your team so that you can create an employee experience tailored to each individual. Great managers understand that people are different and require different approaches to optimize potential.
Although there is no one-size-fits-all to leadership, don’t worry this article will give you a starting point to understanding your employees’ needs.
We’ve broken this down into 4 critical things managers should know about their employees to be great people managers.
Communication Style
Learning Style
Values/Interests
Strengths/Weaknesses
You may find that you have the answers to these questions through observation and with some reflection. If you don’t, no worries we have also put together actionable tips from highly regarded People Managers.
Let’s dive deeper into identifying these preferences, and best practices, along with benefits and actionable manager tips.
Communication Styles in the Workplace
One of the most essential skills for people managers is being able to communicate effectively with others - particularly their direct reports.
People communicate differently, you can think of communication styles as a language or dialect. We may speak the same language but it is personalized to the individual and effective conversations happen when you bridge the gap.
There are 4 Main Communication Styles
Benefits of Knowing Someone’s Communication Style
Communicate more effectively and efficiently
Avoid unnecessary misunderstandings
Be better understood
Once you have identified someone’s communication style, it’s important you apply this insight. Speak in a way that makes sense to them. Here are some characteristics of each communication style and tips on how to best communicate with them.
Analytical Communicators
Logical
Dependable
Numbers-driven
Analytical Communication Tips: Use hard data and stick to the facts. Be specific in your language and use real numbers. Do not emphasize emotions or feelings, remember to maintain a logical approach in conversations.
Personal Communicators
Candid
Diplomatic
Emotions-driven
Personal Communication Tips: Be people-first when communicating and connect on a human level before diving into business. Remember they place more emphasis on emotions than numbers. Ask about how they are doing before you dive into project details.
Functional Communicators
Inquisitive
Thorough
Process-driven
Functional Communication Tips: Provide clear and detailed information, preferably in writing. Before meetings provide a clear agenda or list of expectations. Give them the time and space to process individually and to ask questions afterward.
Intuitive Communicators
Visual
Creative
Macro-level thinkers
Intuitive Communication Tips: Before you get bogged down by details provide a big picture focus. Align them to the purpose and heart of a project before discussing the steps needed.
Learning Styles
Similarly to communication styles, people learn differently as well. Knowing someone’s learning style is crucial to being a manager and team development. When you understand how someone processes and learns information, you can tailor information in a way they can best understand.
Different Learning Styles
Visual
Aural
Reading/Writing
Kinesthetic
Benefits:
Training with clarity
Coach your team
Set them up for success
Best practices: When setting up training, be mindful of the training method being used and your employees’ learning styles.. Offer alternative mediums when possible or additional training/resources.
Values/Interests
People value many different things, this can refer to family, hobbies, traits, and more. The reason it is important to know what they value is that then you know what drives them. When you know what is important to someone you can better support them in alignment with their values.
Benefits:
Boost engagement
Improve rapport
Inspire
Best practices: Use what they value to motivate them and show your genuine interest. If the family is important to them then show interest in asking how they are doing. If someone has taken a new hobby, ask how it’s going. Maybe someone just started taking a new class, and ask how they are enjoying it. This is essential to not only building rapport but maintaining a connection with your team.
Practicing this shows your direct reports that you are invested in them as a person, not just an employee. Also, keep in mind that you can show interest without knowing personal information. It just takes some paying attention and being mindful. Follow up on how your team member’s new equipment is working, how they are feeling after their sick day, etc.
Strengths & Weaknesses
First, let’s start by saying when we use the word ‘weakness’ we are referring to areas for improvement. We all have them and it shouldn’t be viewed as a negative, it just means there is room to grow. A great manager should be able to identify these areas so that they can support your growth.
Part of being a manager is being a coach and knowing how to position your team for success. When you hear coaching you may think of actual skill development, and while that is an important manager skill, this isn’t what we are referring to.
In this case, we are referring to a coach’s ability to optimize the team’s potential through the strategic and complimentary placement of individuals. A great coach knows the strengths and weaknesses of their players and uses that insight to guide strategy. Similarly, managers need to leverage employee insights to create high-performing teams.
Not only should managers be intentional with what they delegate but who they pair up on projects. You don’t need to have the best talent to be a successful manager, but you do need to know how to optimize the talent you have. This can look like pairing people whose strengths can counteract where others may lack. It also looks like being intentional in which employees are assigned certain tasks.
Benefits:
Better coaching
Set your team up for success
Better outcomes
Help people grow
Show your team you are invested in their growth
Best practices: Make it a habit to assign with intention, and consider someone’s strengths & weaknesses when planning. Be proactive in growing people's skill sets by identifying areas for improvement. This is a way to lead proactively and more effectively.
Note: This can refer to specific skills, even the characteristics we spoke about above, and is usually learned through observation. For example, this can refer to someone’s ability to learn and communicate in ways other than their personal style.
How to find out this information
Getting to know someone, especially personal preferences such as the ones above, takes time. Don’t worry about not having all these answers, it doesn’t happen overnight, but we are going to share some tips to expedite this process.
1:1 meetings between managers and direct reports
The best way to organically discover this information is with 1:1 meetings. These employee check-ins are valuable for building rapport, better understanding your team, and staying in the loop.
It’s important to create opportunities for direct reports to talk and connect with their managers regularly. As a manager, ensure you maintain open lines of communication for your direct reports to discuss what is on their mind without them having to do the heavy lifting.
Prioritize connecting with your team and taking the initiative to have scheduled 1:1 meetings. An open door policy isn’t always enough, a door alone isn’t what makes the person in the office seem approachable or unapproachable. Make it a habit to invite them in and start the conversation.
Use specific open-ended questions
As a manager, there are many questions to ask your direct reports during 1:1 meetings, but for this purpose, we recommend they are not only open-ended but specific.
Instead of asking, “How can I better support you?” try asking: “How can I better support your work-life balance?”
The latter question gives the person being asked a clear opportunity to discuss their work-life balance. While the first question leaves it up to the respondent to interpret what information the person actually wants to know.
This shows your employees that you are genuinely interested in their responses. How your direct reports choose to answer is up to them, but what matters is that you make them feel comfortable. As a manager, it is important that your direct reports trust you, and trust is built through small consistent actions.
For example, many employees feel it is difficult to discuss mental health in the workplace openly, especially with their boss. Don’t wait for your direct report to bring it up, make it known that you are there to support them in the capacity they feel comfortable. It’s about creating opportunities for direct reports to communicate with their managers. Often obstacles can be time restraints, not finding the right moment, not feeling comfortable, and assuming it will be viewed as irrelevant or inappropriate for the workplace.
Lead by example
A big part of People Management is leading by example. As a manager, you must earn your team’s trust if you want them to share with you. Be open with your preferences because just like you can’t read their mind they can’t read yours. Tell them what to expect from you and how you communicate.
Being upfront about your communication style leaves less room for others to misinterpret your intentions or tone. Not only does this help them better understand you but it exemplifies how important it is to be mindful of these personal styles. Leading by example is essential to promoting desired behavior and encouraging others to feel comfortable doing the same.
Be prepared to elaborate
You can ask employees about their preferences (communication styles, learning styles, etc.), but be prepared to clarify and elaborate. If you ask someone, “What is your communication style,” people may not know right away, and that’s okay. Some people may not have even noticed this but simply asking the question prompts them to reflect and be more self-aware. This process is great for personal growth and challenges your direct reports to keep this top of mind.
Also, make sure you elaborate on what these preferences are. Feel free to use our infographics to explain.
Leverage quizzes
Personality quizzes are extremely valuable tools for the workplace to uncover employee insights. Feel free to use our communication style quiz to uncover your employees’ communication styles. You can even print it out for your teams to take on their own time.
Something important to keep in mind is that simply engaging in this process is helpful. If someone gets a result they don’t feel is correct, it is still a step forward in better understanding themselves. When you can say, “This is not me because,” it strengthens your identity and challenges you to reflect.
Also, make sure to get feedback from others. As human beings, it’s natural for us to have blind spots in our own behavior.
Promote a feedback culture
Remind your team that it’s okay to not know and it’s okay to change. This is a big reason that feedback is an ongoing process, we are constantly evolving and learning about ourselves and those around us. Ensure they feel comfortable continually evaluating and evolving expectations. When trust and communication exist then you can brave any obstacle.
The golden rule and communication
When in doubt, treat others how you would want to be treated, and communicate. The reason the latter is such an important addition to this common phrase is because of how different people are. As you’ve learned people have different preferences and it’s important to keep this in mind, especially with this golden rule. The treatment you prefer might not be the same as what someone else would prefer.
For example, I personally don’t like when people ask personal questions about things that I may not want to share. As a result, I refrain from doing this to others, so as to not come across as nosy or make them feel uncomfortable. However, I understand that MY version of polite may seem aloof to others.
Here’s what I do, I stay true to myself but I also communicate my intentions to leave less room for assumptions and misunderstanding.
For example, when I know someone is going through something, instead of asking how it is going, I will say, “I hope __ is okay. I want you to know that I don’t ask because I want to respect your privacy but I am keeping you in my thoughts and here if you need anything or want to talk.”
As a result, I don’t worry if I came off rude and the other person still feels recognized and feels comfortable asking for support.
When in doubt clarify, this is a form of vulnerability that improves communication and is one many people have told me they appreciate. Treat others how you want to be treated, and don’t be afraid to explain your intentions. Remember, we are all different and people often interpret the actions of others based on their own behavior.
Bottom line
To be a great people manager you have to know how to personalize your leadership approach to optimize team performance. It is a domino effect; when employees feel valued and comfortable with their manager, they are more engaged and satisfied at work.
Not to mention, when people connect they collaborate better and the workday feels more enjoyable. To be a great manager, connect with your team, understand what drives them, and their individual styles of being, so you can set your team up for success. When it comes to people management it’s crucial to prioritize the People element.