Sometimes being a manager can feel as if you are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. After all, you can’t be one of the workers because your responsibilities are different. Yet, you are not one of the upper leaders of your organisation either. The good news is that despite the challenges, there are always things you can do to be a better manager. Read on to find out what they are. 

 

Be more empathetic 

 

One way that you can be a better manager is by developing your ability to be empathic. Empathy is all about being able to understand things from others’ points of view. Something that can be very useful when you are looking to get the most out of your employees. 

However, there is a fine line you need to watch out for here. It is the difference between being able to empathize for the good of your team, and being weighed down with workers’ problems. In fact, when using empathy to improve your managerial skills, be careful not to lose your own goals and perspectives to others. Otherwise, you may end up hindering your work rather than improving it.

 

Be more assertive 

 

There is a difference between being aggressive and being assertive. In fact, if you choose the former, you may end up doing more harm than good in your manager-employee relationships. The reason being that aggression can stir up a lot of negative feelings and push back. 

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To that end, taking a more assertive approach is necessary, Something that includes being very clear, and consistent with what you expect, and following up with your employees when this does not happen. 

 

Of course, some of us are more naturally assertive than others. However, no matter our natural capabilities, attending a training course to help develop these skills is often enough to improve the way we manage things. 

 

Delegate more and offer responsibility and autonomy 

 

Guess what? If you are doing all the tasks for your team, you aren’t managing at all. In fact, bad managers micromanage, over control, and otherwise prevent those that are working under them from doing what they are paid to do. They also make their own lives infinitely more stressful and problematic. 

 

To that end, if you want to be a better manager, you need to learn to do three critical things. The first is to delegate work to others.

 

 

Secondly, you need to get comfortable with handing out responsibility for things to other people. Yes, it can be scary, but research has shown that employees that are trusted with tasks are much more likely to complete them effectivity, as opposed to ones that are checked up on every 5 minutes. 

 

Finally, where possible, offer your employees autonomy in the way that they do things. That is not just to give them a task to be responsible for, but to allow them to decide how to approach them as well. In fact, doing so can help to improve your employee’s experience, making them better at their work and increasing productivity overall. All things that, in the long term, will point back to you being the best manager possible.