8 Tips for Being a Better Manager

1. 8 Tips for Being a Better Manager The role of an efficient and effective manager on the surface has seemed quite straightforward. To prepare a plan and commit to deliver as per the plan, in the agreed time, cost and quality required. This also means that the manager needs to be well versed in the project’s domain, while planning with a long term vision, and keeping his/her team motivated. In other words it comes down to:  Control of Processes  Guidance of People  Overseeing Expectations However, a deeper look shows that each front requires individual skills to handle them effectively. Bearing the three aspects above, it takes only 8 steps toward being a better manager. So let’s have a look to understand why these are critical to being a better manager, and what tools you can use to improve them with. Communication Complementing interpersonal skills is the ability to maintain clear communication itself. This is quintessential for managers in the organizations for performance of basic functions in their role such as Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling, and more so at this time of pandemic, with remote working and social distancing in place. With minimal facilities, clear conveyance to the team with regard to information and thoughts is needed. Communication goes both ways; therefore it’s equally imperative to have the communication skill to listen and encourage input by others; and to motivate the other individuals to contribute ideas and solutions. Keeping the above in mind, one such tool is MultiCall. MultiCall is a

2. calling app that allows group collaboration, be it your friends, family, or even your office team. With multiple features such as Call Monitoring and Recording, MultiCall does not require heavy-duty networks. In the case of a MultiCall, data is required only to initiate the call. Interpersonal Skills The element of interpersonal skills is a tool people use to interact and communicate with individuals in an organizational environment. The ability to communicate within an organization, specially from a managerial standpoint, therefore depends heavily upon people's interpersonal skills. From a personal standpoint however, mastering interpersonal skills, specially in cases such as public speaking stand to be a fear for some individuals. But as its name quite literally suggests, BeFearless by Samsung is one tool that individuals can use to counter this. This tool is designed to assist with interpersonal skills with its development of life-like scenarios that reflect actual managerial challenges; starting from job interviews and casual conversations up to actual presentations, to help individuals master interpersonal skills virtually. Interestingly, this same solution also helps individuals with fear of heights too! In a similar manner, the app “Like So” also assists with interpersonal skill development. Acting as a personal speech coach, it offers way to train against verbal habits, and to augment articulate speaking, with confidence and without gap fillers such as “like” and “so.” It also provides a real-time analysis of your speech, including optimal pacing for the fast or slow talker. Be More Driven By Data Complementing intuition with systematic study has been a critical communication element of efficient and effective leader. From a managerial standpoint, such an approach would mean managers are able to better examine and organise their data toward better serving their end goals. At this point, though, the tools that a manager needs to be more data driven depends on what function manager wishes to utilize said data. We are more than familiar with name of LinkedIn as a data-driven networking tool. In the case of organizational performance optimization, KPISOFT (Key Performance Indicator Software was seen as appropriate. As the name may suggest, the software tracks key indicators related to team and organizational performance, with the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to automate the data analysis process.

3. Give regular performance appraisals It’s one thing that managers need to commit to progressing in their work goals toward a plan. But simply this is not enough; progress must also be also apprised to everyone who is involved. Performance updates are critical in allowing everyone to understand whether or not you are on track to hit the goals you have outlined. And one such tool that lets you to keep track of this would be the performance management app AssessTEAM. With competency evaluations as their core service, the app has features oriented toward project time tracking and profitability analysis bearing in mind individual team members’ progress. Learn to Maintain Consistency When committing to a plan, the setting of clear processes in the company can allow yielding of positive results, and also for repeatability and efficiency when optimized. One tool to allow for measuring consistency on that note would be the Consistency Chain app. Adapted for any given work task, the app utilizes a unique countdown through which it measures the consistency of executed tasks. Learn to Keep Team Motivated Everyone achieves more when together, but that can only happen as long as everyone is motivated to do so. In pressing times such as this pandemic, companies are vulnerable to having members lose motivation due to increased social distancing and remote working. ON that note, one tool that can be utilized for this is the Asana app. A project management software, its platform serves your teams so they can stay focused on the goals, projects, and daily tasks as you grow your business. To facilitate organizing work, Asana allows for planning and structuring of work in a way optimally compatible to the organization using it. This is inclusive of setting priorities and deadlines, detail sharing and task assignment. It also creates helps create visual project plans to see how every step maps out over time, thus keeping an eye on deadlines, and eliminating potential obstacles. Manage Up The aspect of being a good manager isn’t just about managing down the organizational chart, but up as well. Building meaningful relationship with one’s own manager means better understanding and alignment towards their goals and expectations. It therefore proves to be equally important. And as may have been seen previously with it’s capabilities, the Asana app proves to be useful for this too.

4. Staying Flexible While it’s critical to have a set of policies and standard operating procedures, its equally necessary to maintain enough flexibility to counteract the occasional surprise that is bound to arise from time to time. This includes avoiding micromanagement of your team more than needed, due to its negative impact on morale and productivity. And Upflex is one tool that assists with this. Among multiple uses, Upflex delivers maximum flexibility with one solution that focuses on workforce productivity, efficiency and flexibility. This also accounts for job satisfaction and workforce retention. A good manager, and a good team leader is the one who can utilize the tools to optimize the performance of his team, and the operations of the company in the process. But in the end, his/her mastery of the skills above come into play for being a better one. "People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision" - John C. Maxwell