2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 17,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

My top 5 tips on how to be a great manager

So you have finally landed that job as a manager. Well done, you! Now comes the hard part – trying not just to be a manager, but a great one. Someone your team will look up to and respect.

I have worked for several managers and am a manager myself. So what sets apart a great manager from a ‘normal’ manager? What makes your team members look up to you and want to be part of your team? What makes upper management know they can rely on you to do your job well?

Here is my top 5 tips on being a great manager.

1. Recruit the best talent: When you take a moment and think about it, this makes so much sense. As a manager, you have to put the team first and the best way to do that is by recruiting the best talent you can find. Some people worry that doing this ‘will show them up’ if their recruit is better than them. It is so far from the truth, that it is not even worth going there. You are obviously (or hopefully) good as a manager and that is why that is your job. Your team member is there to do his/her job.  So stop thinking of it as a competition. And get ready to bask in glory when your team delivers fantastic results!
2. Delegate work: So you have taken my advice on board and now recruited the best talent out there. And now comes the hard part for most managers – Delegation – especially for the ones that like to micro manage their teams. You have to learn to delegate work to your team. Stop trying to do it all. Remember you took them on because you thought they could handle the job. So now you have to let them get on and do just that. It is not about losing control. It is about getting the job done and also helping your team grow, which brings me to the next point.
3. Encourage your team: How many of you actually encourage your team when they have gotten something done against all odds. I remember when I was working for this particular company in Doha. My team had worked really hard on getting the company intranet completed. So I sent out an email to the whole company informing them of the newly available intranet and thanking my team (by name) for all their hard work. Now, this email was sent off to every body including the executive directors. My team were so surprised and happy they got the acknowledgement for their hard work, it motivated them to work harder next time. So do encourage your team to put forward their best work and acknowledge it. Nothing motivates people like knowing their hard work is appreciated and acknowledged.
4. Support your team: Encouragement also comes with support for your team. Yes, they may make mistakes, but remember you are responsible for them and their work. So when something goes wrong, stop trying to place blame on your team. Stand by your team and support them. Everybody makes mistakes, it is how you handle it that makes a difference. Showing support also is a motivational factor, because it increases the sense of belonging in your team. And hopefully will encourage them to try harder with better results next time, with less room for mistakes. Placing blame and throwing them ‘to the wolves’ is definitely not he way to do this!
5. Lead by Example: Remember you are the leader of your team and as such, you have to lead by example. If your team is working crazy hours on a project, make sure you are around too.  If you have started a new company policy, make sure you follow it first and your team will follow suit. Leading by example lays the foundation of respect in your team.

So that was my top tips for being a great manager. Is there anything you would like to add to the list above? I would really be interested to know. Why not add your tips to the comments box below?