Shutterstock.com | ChukchaAre you a great manager? Tough question. While you may be experienced at assessing the performance of your employees, you probably spend less time judging your own.
Your business profits, though, depend on how well you carry out your mission. That means exhibiting more than technical savvy: You must also fine-tune the vital "people skills" that motivate your staff to over-achieve and generate more sales. Why not run your own self-assessment? Test yourself with the following quiz. Rate your performance from one to 10 (higher being better) on each of these 10 questions. Total your score. How close do you come to 100?
1) Do you challenge employees to set specific performance goals?
"Do better every year." That's a great motto for every employee. Too often, though, the tendency is less ambitious: Coast along. Settle for a performance that's good but not great.
"Employees tend to float to the status quo," John Tschohl says, president of Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis and author of "Moving Up." "The problem is that very few have any well-defined goals."
Solution? Work with employees to establish measurable objectives. "Make sure the goals are specific," Tschohl says. Here's an example: "Make 10 sales calls per day" is better than "Make more sales calls."
Bonus tip: Set target dates for goals and assess results at follow-up performance reviews.
2) Do you coach employees to rebound from performance shortfalls?
Saying is one thing. Doing is another. The most dependable employee can miss an ambitious performance goal. Maybe the bar was set too high. More likely the person needs to take a different approach to the challenge.
That's where you come in. Monitor the employee's work practices and suggest new ways to reach performance goals. Then reset the target date and stay in communication.
But you need to do more: You must also help pump up the employee's self-esteem. "Employees need a lot of support," Tschohl says. "So you want to be nurturing people to do a better job. And when you see people doing great things you should give them recognition."
3) Do you communicate your priorities and directions clearly?
To be followed and respected you need to be understood. Make clear communications your goal. Express what you want from your employees in easily understood statements that can be translated into workplace expectations. Clarity of communication will help employees stay on track toward achieving their goals.
4) Do you encourage your employees to contribute new ideas?
Sometimes owners and managers think they can "do it all" and fail to take advantage of-or even become aware of-surrounding talent. Other times they are reluctant to reach out, frightened of giving up power or too focused on their ego to tap the skills latent in others.
Blocking the skills and ideas of employees can lead to the loss of the best talent. "Creative, ambitious employees will leave the company to find other positions," Richard Avdoian, an employee development consultant in St. Louis, says.
5) Do you take a personal interest in your employees?
Your employees are human beings with varied talents and needs, not cogs in the profit machine. Taking a genuine interest in their lives will foster their loyalty and pay rich dividends.
"Employees who realize they are valued as people will be vested in giving back to the company," Avdoian says. "Even if those individuals need to leave some day because there is no spot for them to be promoted, they will be ambassadors for your business."
6) Do you delegate well?
Some managers are afraid of giving up power if they delegate. But good delegation is a way of leveraging the talents of others to enhance a manager's reputation for performance.
Bonus tip: Keep asking, "Who can I give this task to who is talented and who will help our team succeed?"
7) Do you resolve conflicts in a productive way?
"Many leaders try to resolve conflicts in a way that appeases everyone," Will Bowen, a productivity consultant in Kansas City, Mo., says. "But if we try to please everyone, we end up pleasing no one."
Of course, when tackling a workplace problem it's fine to pursue an optimal solution. But don't let the search become an endless journey.
Making a controversial call, though, can raise hackles. How can you keep the peace when establishing a position less attractive than what people want? "Make sure everyone knows that a lot of thought went into your decision," Bowen says. "It was made for the highest good of the organization."
Bonus tip: Announce controversial decisions at meetings scheduled for that purpose. Explain the reasoning that went behind your decisions.
8) Do you behave in a professional way at work?
"More than anything, people judge leaders by their bearing," Bowen says. "They need to feel that person has the emotional maturity to warrant being their leader."
Conversely, people tend to feel insecure with a manager who is easily rattled, says Bowen. "What most people do is start by communicating, running off at the mouth," Bowen says. "Remember that first you need to fly the plane, doing the things that are most important. Then decide on the direction you want your organization to go. At that point you are prepared to communicate your vision so people will follow."
9) Do you listen well?
People want to be heard. When they see that you are listening, they feel empowered and invest in your decisions.
Too often managers do anything but.
Be willing to learn. Then you will listen closely. "If you are unwilling to be changed, you are not listening," Bowen says.
10) Do you inspire your employees?
Your employees need to be skilled and knowledgeable. But they need to acquire another characteristic if your business is to outperform your competition: Enthusiasm.
Enthusiastic employees sell more, please more customers and dream up better ways to boost profits. But just what makes employees enthusiastic? That's where you come in.
"Most employees have a lot of self-doubt," says Tschohl. "You have to make them feel good about themselves."
People skills
Guidance. Communication. Inspiration. The topics discussed in this article revolve around a key skill of great managers: An ability to get people to work together.
"There's nothing more important than good people skills," says Bowen. "They are the hardest thing to learn. Managers earn more money not because they do more than workers but because they are capable of getting more done."
How good are your own people skills? Total your score and get to work on those areas that need improvement. Then watch your bottom line soar.
