How to be a Good Manager

by Greg Skloot

Management   |   5 Min Read

The #1 reasons organizations fail is because of an ineffective team.

Whether it’s just a core group of co-founders or a team in a high-
growth company, being a good manager can be the most effective
way to get the results you want.

Here are the top 10 ways to be a good manager:

1. Establish a clear vision

A high-performing team is grounded in a simple, clear vision. This
doesn’t have to be too far up in the clouds. For example, for a
customer support team it can be as simple as “The support team
exists to provide customers with a great experience and ensure any
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 technical issues they have are resolved promptly.” Just by having it
written down, it keeps the team aligned on the core objective.

2. Set reasonable, measurable goals

Teams operate best when they have reasonable goals that are easy
to measure. Good managers work collaboratively with their teams to
set goals for every month, quarter and year. These goals all tie back
to the team’s core objectives, and are frequently discussed in every
meeting and update. If there are no goals, we can never measure if
the team is actually doing a good job.

3. Over communicate
The best managers are masters of communication. They understand
that the biggest reason that teams fail is due to poor communication.
Your team must be aligned on what the goals are and communicates
when there is a problem. This communication happens best in team
meetings and weekly status updates, using a tool like Weekly
Update.

Shorter meetings. Real accountability.

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 4. Be transparent on progress
If we don’t know what’s not working, we’ll never fix it. Good
managers ensure that the team is constantly sharing updates on the
status of each important initiative, what road blocks exist, and the
plan for accomplishing it.

5. Hold the team accountable for results

Good managers hold their teams accountable for delivering against
the goals they established. At the end of the day, managers know
that results matter most. Creating a culture of accountability is key
for effective managers: it comes back to setting the right goals,
being open about issues and calling people out if they don’t deliver.
You should get everything in writing so it never gets lost in the
shuffle.

6. Provide frequent feedback

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 If someone is doing something wrong, they need to hear about it so
they can do better. The best managers provide continuous feedback,
both positive and negative. It’s important to structure your feedback
with examples of areas for improvement, and suggestions for
precisely how to improve. Typically this feedback comes during
regularly scheduled 1–1 meetings and replying to the team’s weekly
updates.

7. Coach rather than dictate

While feedback is important, effective managers see themselves as
coaches rather than dictators. No employee wants to be ordered
around. To actually change behavior, managers need to make
suggestions and guide employees to the right solution. When giving
feedback, phrase you recommendations as “Consider trying X”
rather than “Do X now.”

8. Take genuine interest in each person’s

progression
Team members become loyal to mangers who actually care about
them. In the professional world, one of the ways to demonstrate that
care is by taking interest in each employee’s career progression.
Work 1–1 with your employees to outline their strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities for improvement and potential growth
paths. If someone comes in as a Junior Marketer, outline for her a
path (with lots of hard work) where she can become the Chief
Marketing Officer.

9. Make a plan, and be ready to iterate

Teams rely on mangers to have a plan. Good managers put time into
analyzing situations, looking at resources and making reasonable
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 plans for how the team should execute on its goals. With that said,
the best managers know that the plan can quickly change in a fast-
paced business. Be ready to make changes to the plan, and properly
communicating it to your staff.

10. Document everything

Well-run teams place importance on documentation. Good
managers ensure that the most important processes are well
documented. This facilitates smooth onboarding for new employees,
and avoids over reliance on individuals. This documentation is also
vital for communication. As a team scales, having the most important
information written down is key for keeping everyone on the same
page.

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