The Manager's Right-Hand Man: Strategies For Success

Being a manager is a challenging task, and being a good manager is even harder. A good manager is one who can bring out the best in their employees and help them grow. They should be good listeners, be empathetic, and be able to communicate effectively with their team. A good manager should also be able to delegate tasks effectively, taking into account the unique skills and abilities of each team member. They should also be adaptable and know when to push their team and when to give them a break. Finally, a good manager should be honest and transparent with their team, creating an inclusive and positive work environment.

Be a team player

Being a team player is a highly sought-after quality in any role, and developing strong teamwork skills can help you succeed in your career. Here are some ways to be a team player and stand out as an indispensable member of your team:

Collaborate and Cooperate

Collaboration is key when working in a team. This means actively listening to your coworkers, respecting their ideas, and working together to improve processes or products. Avoid competing with your colleagues and instead, be motivated by their success. Be willing to contribute to the shared workload and make yourself available for meetings or events. If a team member has worked hard, make sure to congratulate and compliment them. By doing so, you will foster a positive team culture and be seen as a valuable contributor.

Communicate Constructively

Effective communication is essential for any team. Express your ideas and thoughts clearly, directly, and respectfully. Listen to your teammates before responding and avoid arguing or debating their comments. Constructive communication also involves setting shared goals and understanding what the team needs to achieve them. If you have a particular skill, share your knowledge with your colleagues. Remember that conflict and disagreements are normal within teams and can often play a role in forming the team's identity.

Stay Positive

Maintaining a positive attitude, even during challenging times, can help boost team morale and productivity. Your optimism and positive energy can be infectious and encourage others to stay motivated. Celebrate the achievements of your team and learn from any setbacks together. Avoid bragging about your own successes, as this can create tension and regret within the group. Instead, focus on encouraging and recognizing the accomplishments of others.

Be Flexible and Accountable

Flexibility is crucial for effective teamwork. Be open to taking on different tasks and see each new opportunity as a chance to learn and grow. Understand your role within the team and work diligently to fulfill your duties, while also offering help and solutions to your colleagues when appropriate. Take responsibility for your actions and mistakes, and seek solutions rather than blaming others. By holding yourself accountable, you will earn the respect of your teammates and strengthen the team dynamic.

Avoid Gossip and Complaining

Gossiping about teammates behind their backs or complaining about them to others can quickly damage your reputation and relationships within the team. If an issue arises, try to resolve it directly with the team member involved. Approach conflicts constructively and focus on finding solutions together. Remember that a good team player is someone who is pleasant to work with and contributes to a positive work environment.

Be positive and proactive

Being positive and proactive are key attributes of a good manager. Here are some ways to demonstrate these qualities:

Be a Team Player

Show that you are willing to help out wherever needed, even if it falls outside your specific job duties. When your manager asks you to do something, approach the task with positivity and confidence. This will make your manager feel assured that you will complete the task without the need for micromanagement.

Be Proactive

Take the initiative and be proactive by volunteering for tasks. This demonstrates leadership skills and a willingness to take on responsibility. For example, you could say, "I'll take the lead on that" or "I saw this needed to be done, so I did it." Managers value employees who are self-driven and can work independently.

Be Solution-Oriented

Instead of simply presenting problems to your manager, try to come up with potential solutions as well. For instance, you could say, "Here's the problem, and here's how we can solve it. We can do X, Y, and Z, and I think we should do Z because..." This shows that you are proactive and capable of creative thinking.

Be Adaptable

Adaptability is another important quality of a good manager. Be prepared to face changes and help your team adjust as well. Embrace new challenges and push yourself out of your comfort zone to develop greater adaptability.

Be an Effective Communicator

Effective communication is vital for successful collaboration and team morale. As a manager, establish clear communication norms and channels for your team to ensure everyone is on the same page. This includes defining the appropriate channels for different types of communication, such as synchronous updates, one-on-one meetings, or external communications.

Be an Active Listener

Active listening is a key aspect of team management. When your teammates bring up a problem, reflect back on what they are saying by paraphrasing or summarizing. This helps to ensure that you fully understand their concerns and can provide meaningful support.

Show ambition and a willingness to learn

Showing ambition and a willingness to learn is a great way to impress your manager and become their "best man". Here are some ways to do that:

Take Initiative

Taking initiative is a key aspect of showing ambition. This involves proactively tackling problems or tasks without being asked to do so. Look for opportunities to take on tasks or projects that benefit the company as a whole, rather than just your own team or department. This demonstrates your ability to think like a leader and your commitment to the company's success. However, ensure that your ideas align with the company's mission statement and support its vision. Avoid self-serving suggestions, as they may be perceived as selfish and may not be well-received by your manager.

Continuously Learn and Improve

Continuously learning and improving yourself is another way to showcase your ambition. Invest in your education by taking courses, attending workshops, or pursuing further degrees. Alternatively, focus on becoming a product expert at work. Increasing your knowledge and skills will not only make you more valuable to the company but also place you in a better position for promotions and raises. Additionally, educating yourself about other roles in your department can make you a more versatile team member, which is beneficial during times of workforce reduction.

Assist Your Manager in Achieving Their Goals

Understanding and actively helping your manager achieve their goals is a great way to show ambition. Great managers discover, develop, and celebrate the unique qualities of their employees. By understanding your manager's goals and supporting them, you demonstrate your initiative and ambition. For example, if your manager in the billing department aims to complete invoicing by a certain date, go beyond ensuring your own billing is done; assist your colleagues in completing their invoices to meet the deadline.

Volunteer and Take on Additional Responsibilities

Volunteering for additional tasks or responsibilities is an excellent way to showcase your ambition and initiative. Whether it's staying late to work on a project, raising your hand to take on a new assignment, or helping a struggling colleague, putting yourself forward demonstrates your ambition and willingness to go the extra mile. It also highlights your commitment to the company and makes you more visible to management.

Ask for Feedback and Be Open to Constructive Criticism

Demonstrate your ambition by regularly seeking feedback from your manager and being open to constructive criticism. Asking questions like "How can I improve?" or "What can I do better?" shows that you are serious about developing your skills and are committed to your professional growth. Even better, if you receive feedback, take it to heart and implement the suggested changes. This will show that you are receptive to feedback and willing to make adjustments for the benefit of the team and the company.

By following these suggestions, you will not only showcase your ambition and willingness to learn but also position yourself as a valuable and indispensable member of your manager's team.

Be open to constructive criticism

Being open to constructive criticism is an important part of being a good employee and team member. It can be challenging to be entirely honest when judging yourself, and your own self-esteem and internal biases may affect how you view your behaviour and performance. Constructive criticism from another person allows you to see how others perceive you and can help you to identify areas for improvement that you might never have seen.

Prepare yourself

Although you may not always be able to plan when receiving criticism, there will be situations where you can reasonably expect some constructive criticism, such as during an upcoming performance review or a meeting with a supervisor. Going into the interaction with the understanding that there may be some things said that are not pleasant to hear will make it easier to maintain professional behaviour when receiving the feedback.

Listen closely

Hearing words of criticism can be hard, especially if you are not used to it. Pay close attention to everything the person is telling you, and resist any temptation to interrupt with a rebuttal. You can respond if you feel the criticism is unfair, but it is rarely beneficial to do so before the person delivering it has finished speaking.

Think before you respond

Take a moment to collect yourself and accept the criticism, rather than responding immediately when emotions are high. This will make the conversation more productive and make it easier to internalise what is being said so that you can apply it to improve your performance in the future.

Maintain good posture and visuals

The way you look when receiving criticism is just as important as the words you say in response. If you noticeably wince or scowl, the person giving feedback will likely notice and take offence, even if you then take a moment to collect yourself and respond professionally. Pay attention to your facial expression and body language during the conversation, and maintain an erect posture. Avoid behaviours that indicate defeat or anger, such as slumping shoulders or aggressively crossed arms.

Stay professional

Constructive criticism often comes from a supervisor, so it is important to maintain a professional attitude throughout the conversation. This will help to keep the conversation focused on the feedback and make it more productive. Responding professionally will also leave a positive impression on the person giving the feedback and avoid any further discipline.

Ask questions and take action

Constructive criticism is only effective if you can apply it. If you have any questions about the feedback, ask for clarification so that you fully understand what is being said and suggested. By determining whether the criticism is helpful and which parts you feel are beneficial, you can turn the feedback into personal or professional growth.

Be receptive to new ideas

The most important element of getting the most out of constructive criticism is to approach it with an open mind and a willingness to consider the feedback constructively. Emotions can run high when receiving criticism, but if you have a natural inclination to take offence or get hurt, this can impede your ability to learn from it and improve.

Take time to process your emotions

When receiving constructive criticism, you may be feeling strong emotions. To apply the advice effectively, it is important to do so as objectively as possible. Take the time you need to view the criticism without emotion and judge it on its merits alone. This will leave you better positioned to identify which advice is good and which you don't think will help, so that you can put the useful advice into action.

Process the constructive criticism

Once you have removed your emotions from the equation, start processing and analysing the feedback. Take what has been said and reflect on how it would affect you if you chose to apply it. By doing so in a calm manner, you can take a dispassionate approach and simply weigh the efficacy of your current behaviour against the proposed changes.

Consider the source

When applying constructive criticism to your life, keep the giver of the advice in mind. If you are receiving feedback from a supervisor, it is important to give it extra weight, as failing to follow their advice could have professional consequences. You should also give added weight to a critique when you respect the individual giving it, such as a colleague you admire or a more experienced professional.

Seek out other opinions

Having an additional opinion can often help you to get the most out of the advice. Speaking with another person whose opinion you respect allows you to see their views on the criticism. While there may be times when additional opinions refute the original feedback, the value of seeking other perspectives is often the ability to get further advice on how to act on the constructive criticism.

Apply what you've learned

The value of constructive criticism lies in acting on it. Once you have taken the time to view the feedback in a fair light and determined how it is best applied to your life, it is time to turn the theory into action. Learning how to apply constructive criticism is a crucial skill for a successful career. The more comfortable you become with implementing changes from constructive criticism, the better situated you will be to reach your potential and the faster your career will progress as a result.

By following these tips, you can become more open to constructive criticism and use it to improve your performance and achieve new levels in your position.

Show initiative and leadership skills

To show initiative and leadership skills, it is important to understand your role and expectations as a manager. Clarify your objectives, tasks, and responsibilities, and identify your stakeholders, peers, and mentors. This will help you focus on the most important aspects of your job and avoid wasting time on irrelevant issues. Effective communication is also key. Listen actively, ask questions, give feedback, and adapt your communication style to suit different situations and audiences.

Define the vision and purpose of the project:

• Clarify the objectives, scope, deliverables, and expectations.
• Research the problem, identify stakeholders, and communicate the benefits.
• By defining the vision, you can align and motivate your team towards a successful outcome.

Plan and organize the project:

• Create a realistic and detailed project plan covering tasks, resources, timelines, and risks.
• Use tools like Gantt charts, calendars, and checklists to ensure efficient execution within budget.

Delegate and empower your team:

• Assign roles and responsibilities based on team members' strengths.
• Provide feedback and support, fostering collaboration and creativity.
• Use SMART goals, coaching, and recognition to leverage their talents and enhance performance and satisfaction.

Solve problems:

• Identify, analyze, and resolve issues affecting quality, scope, or timeline.
• Use root cause analysis, brainstorming, and decision-making tools to demonstrate critical thinking and adaptability.

Inspire others:

• Share your story, results, and impact to showcase your passion and value.
• Ask questions to encourage conversation, critical thinking, and innovation.
• Be transparent and vulnerable to build trust and connection.

Learn and improve:

• Evaluate results, outcomes, and feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Use surveys, reports, and lessons learned to apply insights and recommendations to future projects.

Remember, showing initiative is about taking action, being proactive, and seeking opportunities to improve and add value. As a leader, empower your team, foster collaboration, and always strive for growth.

Frequently asked questions