JANUARY 5, 2018 BY SLING TEAM

12 Essential Qualities Of A
Manager That Guarantee
Success
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The writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley is

credited with saying,

“There is only one corner of the universe

you can be certain of improving, and that’s
your own self.”

Improving your corner of the universe (your

own self) can take many forms—physical,
mental, emotional, and social. And whatever
qualities you choose to work on will have a
profound effect on your ability as a manager.

But the real power of Huxley’s maxim resides

in the fact that your corner of the universe
influences every other corner of the universe.
This means that, as a manager, your actions
and behaviors can pull your team members in
a given direction. Will you pull them up to
success, or down to mediocrity?

Effective managers strive for the former; they

labor to improve and inspire those around
them to improve as well. It all boils down to a
simple mantra that every successful manager
should live by: Always be improving. As salient
as that advice is, improving your skills as a
manager is infinitely easier said than done.
Where do you start? What skills and qualities
will have the most impact on you and your
employees?

The experts at Sling will answer those

questions in this article. Along the way, we’ll
reveal 12 essential qualities that every
successful manager should have. As you read,
be honest with yourself. And if you find that
you’re lacking in some area, get busy
improving.

Essential Qualities Of A
Manager

1) Focus

An effective manager is a focused manager.

Focus manifests as ruthless attention to what
is most important. Successful managers don’t
allow minor details or tasks to distract them
and their team members from the project at
hand. Focus makes it possible for managers
and teams to get everything done on time and
to the highest standards possible.

2) Honesty

Honesty is one of the key qualities of a

manager. Your team needs to grow and
improve, and the only way you can make that
possible is if you’re honest with them all the
time. Make it a point to tell your employees
what they need to hear, not just what they want
to hear.

If your staff did a good job but a specific

component could have been better, tell them.
Don’t just placate them with meaningless
“attaboys” and move on. Be honest, call them
out, and push them to find ways to improve the
next time around.

3) Accountability

Accountability means taking responsibility for

your work and the work of your team members.
Being accountable is easy when the job is
going well. But the real test comes when the
job is going badly. That’s when an effective
manager steps up, takes responsibility for the
failures, and inspires employees to fix them.

4) Comfort Making
Decisions

Being a manager is synonymous with making

decisions—you can’t have one without the
other. Successful managers are comfortable
making decisions with plenty of information
and time, or with none at all. Don’t be afraid to
make a call based on what you think is best. If
it doesn’t work out, learn from your mistakes
and do better the next time.

5) Emotional Intelligence

What does it mean to be emotionally

intelligent? It means that you lead with
understanding. Every one of your team
members (even you) will go through personal
and professional struggles that will impact their
work for better or worse. Your job is to give
compassion when necessary, and then to keep
that compassion from affecting the overall
quality of the work.

6) Positivity

If you want to inspire a positive attitude in your

team members, you need to first exhibit a
positive attitude yourself. Don’t complain about
projects that need to be done. Rather, be
excited about the prospect of finding new and
unique solutions and completing everything
before the deadline. That positive attitude will
rub off on your employees and motivate them
to greatness.

7) Investment In The
Company Culture

Effective managers understand that company

culture goes a long way toward making their
team the best it can be. Instead of focusing on
products and services, invest your energy into
the unique qualities that your business has to
offer. Make those qualities the focus of your
company culture, and always be on the lookout
for ways to make them better.

8) Approachability

For all intents and purposes, you are the

captain of the ship. At some point, your crew is
going to come to you for guidance and
direction. How will they be received? Will you
be gruff and dismissive? Or will you be open
and approachable?

The manager that exhibits the latter qualities—

even when they’re already busy—is the one
that builds loyalty and goodwill among all team
members. Try to make time to devote your full
attention to an employee who comes to you
with a question or problem. If you just can’t be
interrupted at the moment, make an
appointment to talk. Then reassure them that
what they have to say is important to you.

9) Caring

Caring may be the last quality you would

expect from a successful manager, but
business is all about people. And whether the
“people” in question are customers, clients, or
team members, everyone responds better
when they feel cared for.

Make sure you have the wellbeing of your

employees in mind at all times and
communicate that caring attitude to them as
often as possible. When you can do that,
everyone will stay positive and work together
better.

10) Patience

Patience is both an art and a skill that can take

years to perfect. If patience is one of the
qualities of a manager that you need to
improve, try taking four deep breaths when you
feel yourself starting to lose your cool.

If you’re already a patient person, improve that

quality even more by becoming aware of how
you react under certain circumstances. Do you
assess the situation calmly or act on the
impulse to get involved? It may be better to
stand back for a while and see how everything
plays out.

11) Flexibility

Don’t expect all your employees to respond to

a one-size-fits-all management style. What
works for one employee might not work for
another. You need to have the ability to adapt
your management techniques to the individual
rather than the group. When you can do this,
you can inspire everyone to succeed.

12) Organization

As a manager, not only do you have to keep

yourself organized, but you also have to keep
your team members organized and on-task.
Nowhere is that more obvious than in the
scheduling process. There are so many
variables to keep track of and so many
different tasks to be done that figuring out who
works when in even the simplest of schedules
may seem like a Sisyphean nightmare.

Thankfully, improving your organization doesn’t

take near as much time as some of the other
essential qualities of a manager on this list.
That’s because Sling has created an app that
automates, simplifies, and streamlines many of
the variables that make scheduling such a
chore.

Sling As A Management
Tool

Sling’s intuitive and well-organized user

interface gives you all the tools you need to
bring order to the chaos. With just a few clicks
of the mouse or taps on the screen, you can
create clear, easy-to-read schedules in just a
matter of minutes.

After that, Sling’s cloud-based platform makes

it easy to distribute the schedule to all your
team members simultaneously. Simply send
them the link and give them permission to view
or make changes. Then they can log in to Sling
on their phone, home computer, or mobile
device to view their schedule anytime,
anywhere.

But the benefits don’t end there. Sling provides

a central location where team members can go
to indicate when they can work and to request
time off. Sling then reminds you about such
variables as unavailability, double-bookings,
and time-off requests while you’re creating the
schedule. Sling also gives you other powerful
features like:

A time clock that lets employees clock in

and out right from their phones.
A messaging tool that lets you
communicate with everyone, specific
groups, or just one person.
A tasks tool that allows you to clarify
responsibilities and duties and add tasks
for groups or individuals.

All of those features reduce the time it takes to

organize employees effectively. Sling helps
managers bring teams together, keep
everyone engaged, and build a stronger
company culture. That means success on
many different levels—for you and your team.

Improve your organization skills by using Sling

for all your scheduling needs. It only takes a
few minutes to get started. After that, you can
check organization off your list and spend time
improving the other essential qualities of a
successful manager.

For more on scheduling and management

techniques, and to try Sling for free, visit
GetSling.com today.

Sling is the easiest way to schedule and

communicate with your employees.

Try now for free

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