How do you know if you’re doing something right? It can be difficult to tell, especially since management positions often keep you busy and on the move. Being in charge of people can be stressful and bring a lot of pressure into your life, sometimes to the point that you start being a bad boss without even noticing. There are ways to tell that you’re being a good manager, though, rather than a bad one, and you’ll want to aim for these if you want to keep your business afloat and your team happy. Here are some signs that you’re doing things right.
You don’t have favorites.
When you’re a manager, you can’t play favorites with your team. Sure, there will be some people who catch your eye more than others, but this person can’t be someone that gets all of your attention. Letting this happen is a surefire way of ruining the rest of your team’s morale, and they’ll likely end up giving work with lesser quality because of it. It wouldn’t be a conscious decision—seeing that someone is obviously the favorite can make them give up on trying to impress you. Playing favorites will only ruin the work your team does.
You treat your employees right.
Employees are people first and workers second. Some managers don’t seem to understand that and instead treat their employees like machine parts rather than people with thoughts and feelings. Hurling abuse toward your employees isn’t motivational; in fact, it’ll do the opposite. To be a good manager, you need to treat your team like humans, and if you do that already places you above many other managers out there.
You hold everyone accountable, including yourself.
Mistakes happen to everyone, but you can’t let that slide—including for yourself. Holding a person accountable for their actions affects office morale and team integrity, which can make or break the culture you’ve built in your workplace. If you make a mistake, you should own up to it just as much as you’d hold an employee accountable because you’re not infallible. Owning up to your mistakes rather than writing them off will set an example for the rest of your team.
You are open and transparent.
No one should feel like you’re hiding something from the team. A transparent manager contributes to a happy working environment. You should also be open with your employees: give them feedback and be open to feedback in return. This will help your employees know where they can improve and show you where you can improve. Communication is vital to a successful team and always works both ways.