4 Qualities to Look For In Management

When looking to hire a manager, or to promote someone into the position, there are a number of key factors to consider.

Getting stuck with someone who looks good on paper but is a relatively weak employee is the nightmare of every employer out there. Below are four things that are widely regarded as the most important attributes of a good leader. Any person with these qualities will make a fine leader.

Honesty

If a team can be compared to a machine, then its employees can be compared to cogs in that machine. It takes all of them working together to make things work properly.

Naturally, if someone on the team feels they can’t trust their leader, the whole machine screeches to a halt. If the leader has been proven to be dishonest, why should they put any amount of their confidence in that person?

When considering new management, take their honesty into careful consideration, because it is the foundation of that team as a whole.

Decisiveness

In order to make a business more efficient, its management absolutely must be decisive. They must be able to make tough decisions regularly. Moving swiftly and pointedly is key in much of the business world, slow decisions from someone in a managerial capacity mean that the company moves more slowly as a whole – similar to the cogs previously mentioned.

When a manager understands that things don’t just stop at their desk and are not afraid to act quickly on matters, then they are decisive enough to deserve their position.

Responsibility

A great manager understands that they’re in charge. That means they understand that the performance and actions of all their employees rest directly on their shoulders. They keep close watch on all of their employees, deciding whether or not they can help them develop into stronger assets in the workplace.

Great management is also taking responsibility for both success (while giving credit where it is due) and failures. It is not making excuses or blaming employees for problems that could have been avoided with a more watchful eye.

Confidence

In order to keep the support of their team, a great manager is confident that the decisions they make are appropriate for the situation. They must be able to explain why the decision was made, and convince those employees who may have had a difference of opinion to move forward.

More than that, confidence that he brings on the right people as team members is important, as well. A manager should not hire those he feels would be a detriment to a team (unless, perhaps, the individual in question is an investment and it is known beforehand). 

Lastly, a manager has to be confident in their ability to take positive criticism. Managers that flourish understand that input from their team on processes is invaluable, and perhaps a better way of doing things than the current process.