Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Management No-No's

As a manager, you must be held to a higher standard than that of those who report to you. No - you must hold yourself to a higher standard. If you don't, then how can you ever expect anything that resembles excellence from your staff? Clearly, you can't. So, let me point out some things that I have seen managers do that you should never do.

1. Don't have a personal vendetta against anyone. It is unacceptable for you to "be out to get someone". I see this mostly when managers feel insecure about their own performance or when they fear that someone under them might take their job. First of all, nobody should ever be able to "take" your job. When you chronically under-perform, you are giving your job away to someone who can do better. So, work hard, be smart, do excellent work, and treat people with dignity and respect. If you find yourself being "out to get someone," don't be surprised if it is you who is gotten.

2. Don't place blame on someone else, or as I like to say it, "throw someone under the bus". As the manager, you are ultimately responsible for everything that you are responsible for. If someone under you messes up, it was your job to have trained them not to make that mistake in the first place. If you did train them, and they continually make that mistake, then it is your job to put them in a more fitting position, or to free up their time to find a better position elsewhere. Placing blame is a sign of weakness in managers. It is unnecessary. Instead, find a solution for problems and fix bad situations.

3. Don't be messy and disorganized. I once heard someone say that if you want to know something about a manager, take a look at their desk. Stacks of paper usually mean unfinished business. Papers scattered all around the desk and office usually means forgotten and thus unfinished business. A messy work area creates a very poor image of the manager and as a manager, you want people to think highly of you, don't you?

4. Don't make excuses for poor performance. First of all, nobody's perfect. Mistakes happen. Own up to them and figure out a way to avoid them in the future. Also, instead of excuses, promote how you will make sure performance will improve. A sign of a good manager is the ability to acknowledge areas of poor performance and fix them. Don't waste anyone's time giving excuses. Just fix it and move on.

5. Don't be a sniper. I hate hearing constant negativity being thrown at people, policies, situation, etc. Managers can not constantly criticize others. They can't use meetings to "throw others under the bus". They can't constantly criticize company policy (especially to their subordinates) and they can't criticize the boss publicly. Snipers always find time for negativity. They always find time for criticism. This just makes me want to take a deeper look at them and see what problems they're causing.

Be a good manager and avoid these no-no's. If you fit into any of the above categories, there's a better than zero chance that you won't get to stay there for long. Be nice. Be positive. Be professional and organized. Be a problem-solver and not a problem-maker.

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