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The secrets of good managers and leaders are very important although it does not mean much for employees who are new to business life. In other words, it is easy for a Gen Z employee who has just finished university to criticize their supervisors or managers. Eventually, if you won’t be responsible for that decision, “If it were me, I wouldn’t do it that way, I would do it that way.” The lightness of saying this cannot even be measured, right? However, the manager in question has gained that experience on the relevant subject in perhaps 15 or 20 years. Naturally, this knowledge and experience is quite valuable for everyone in the company. It is very obvious that our relevant Gen Z friend needs time to understand this senior manager.
On the other hand, what the manager needs to do is to be able to explain himself to Generation Z. Moreover, especially in the digital age, through the right channel and with the right “feelings” He should make them love him. In this respect, it should be underlined that; scientific research shows that emotions are the biggest source of motivation, especially for young employees. (Maybe after the money 🙂 ) So, if you want to manage people, you must first manage their emotions.
In line with these facts, you may have seen similar items listed in the articles you have read on the subject so far on the internet. Generally, those who study the subject count and explain how many elements of being successful and move on. However, they do not give real-life equivalents and actual examples of these items. In this direction, after listing these items below, we will try to show their applications with real-life example events.
Common Characteristics of Good Managers
Speaking of the secrets of good managers and leaders, we thought there was no need to emphasize that these people are already “successful”. We are right. Aren’t we? 🙂
Researches and experiences have shown that well-liked, good and successful managers are also the real leaders. These leaders not only manage the team, they add value to them.
Employees who have leaders giving them a vision and adding value to them, take more responsibility in their work and are much more productive. We should also point out that; in such work places, quiet quitting is not even mentioned.
At this point, before talking about real life examples, we would first like to list the common characteristics of good and successful managers.
- They are real leaders.
- They don’t command, but kindly request.
- Know how to empathize. They put themselves in the employee’s shoes.
- Know how to appreciate. They know how to pat employee on the back.
- They add value to their employees.
- Good listeners.
- Reliable.
- Successful in motivating.
- They analyse well and take responsibility for their decisions.
- Communicate very well.
- They have visions and constantly improve themselves.
- They do not like to stay in their comfort zone. They constantly seek new challenges.
It is difficult to find all of these features in one person. Because each of these items are competencies gained through experience that may take years. If a person has all of these characteristics, he is probably about to retire. 🙂
On the other hand, the main purpose of assessment center activities is to determine to what extent the above-mentioned items are present in the relevant employee and may occur in the future.
Is a Good Manager a Leader Also?
If you had a roommate who was a business department student during your university years, you must have heard that they discussed the differences between leaders and managers throughout their academic lives. In other words, in almost every midterm and final exam periods, topics such as the distinction between leaders and managers and their similarities were found in a corner of our friends’ exam study notes. 🙂 You may even be fed up with this topic. It should be noted at this point that; Just because a person knows the secrets of good managers and leaders does not mean that he is a good leader at the same time. (Apply apply!)
This friend of ours may be loved and be a good manager, but he must sustain this success in the long run. In order to make this possible, it will be expected to be successful in at least five of the items listed above. For example, let’s say our good manager is successful in motivation and communicates effectively with his employees. Its employees also work happily and productively. This situation is positive in the short term, but in the long term, a manager who does not read books and does not leave his comfort zone will gradually lose his vision.
In this case, success will decrease over time and employees’ faith and loyalty to the manager will also disappear over time. In this case, if our successful manager does not understand that the ground under him is slowly shifting and does not take the necessary action, unfortunately he will be recorded as a failed manager.
Language Barrier is Crucial!
In this context, we will explain two real-life examples on the subject below. Thanks to these life stories, you will learn secrets of good managers and leaders listed above and focus on their application areas in real life. On the other hand, although we did not list it as an item, we would like to emphasize that one of the most important competencies of good and successful leaders and managers is knowing a foreign language.
Even though it is generally said that knowing just English will not be enough in this regard, we are more realistic than others and be sure that if you know English very well and prove this with a document such as TOEFL / IELTS, then it means that this job is done.
Secrets of Good Managers : Empathy!
Years ago, when I first joined my first company, every employee was given a special present card that provide them to drink coffee for free. This was a gift or perk given by the company management, which seemed very simple, but was very much appreciated by new employees like me. A few days after I started working, I went to the human resources department and wanted to get my coffee card. At that exact moment, my manager Ms. X was there also who was one of the shining stars of our company at that time and a very successful manager.
The moment I said that I came to ask for my coffee card, Ms. X interrupted me loudly by saying: “To get your coffee card, you must complete the three-month trial period.” It is impossible to describe what I was experiencing at that moment. It made me feel awful to feel how worthless I was to her. Really, if she cared even a little bit about me, she wouldn’t have called me that way in front of everyone at that moment, right? At that moment, I was incredibly embarrassed in front of people. Yes, there was such an application, but I was not aware of it.
It was okay for her to warn me about this, but when she said it out loud in front of everyone, I was deeply offended. At that moment, what I was waiting for was for her to come to me or call me to her room and inform me about this issue. Unfortunately, with this incident, my emotional bond with her was broken, and perhaps I experienced the first attempt of the quiet quitting phenomenon that emerged years later. Years later, when I look back at this bad experience, I still feel sad.
Correct Communication!
This communication accident, which was actually a very small detail, was the beginning of the end for that company and Ms. X.
After this incident, I started to look at all the events I experienced there with a negative lens. Of course, naturally, I quit my job after receiving my coffee card after the trial period.
Secrets of Good Managers : The Language!
Before moving on to the new case study, I would like to evaluate Ms. X with the above specialities. It is obvious that in order for her to be a real leader, she must first develop his empathy power. It is also necessary for her to practice effective communication methods. In addition, you are aware that she needs to improve himself in terms of giving a feeling of confidence, motivating and appreciating. Now, think back to what was going through your mind while reading this incident, in line with the competencies we have listed above regarding the secrets of good manager and leader.
Give yourself advice about what you would have done differently or what you would not have done. After all, everyone is a different world and has their own style. Our new real life example is about Mr. Y, who was the manager of our editor friend for many years. Our friend worked very harmoniously with his manager, Mr. Y, for almost five years. This manager is almost a complete leader. Listens effectively to its employees, empathizes with them and motivates them. However, he did not realize that over the years he remained in his comfort zone and was closed to new challenges.
At that time, when the senior management position of the company we worked for became vacant, Mr. Y was a natural candidate for this position due to his seniority. On the other hand, Mr. Y, who did not learn English and did not read personal development books during the time, did not improve himself. Unfortunately, since this new position would also require communication with foreign customers, he could not be an assertive candidate for this position.
As you might expect, someone else was ultimately appointed to this important and senior position.
Final Secrets of Good Managers
Up to this stage, we have tried to explain the characteristics and perhaps the secrets of good managers and leaders with real-life examples. Actually, to be realistic, these are not top secrets. If you are at the beginning of your career, our first and most important advice to you is to try to be a “good person” first. In this context, if you pay attention, the items we have listed are actually the characteristics that a good person should have. In other words, these are the basic characteristics of being a good person rather than the secrets of successful managers.
Remember, one day your work life will end and the day will come when you will be alone with yourself. If you don’t want your heart to be full of regrets on that day, take it as your motto to be a good person first and then a good manager and leader.
