Management has its upsides, but no one said it would be easy. Improving your game, however, isn’t rocket science. Here are five simple things you can do to improve job performance.
1) Look for new opportunities
If you’re somewhere in middle management or above, chances are you’ve got things down into a routine. But beware, just because your day hums along like a well-oiled machine, that doesn’t mean you can’t tinker with it a bit. Your colleagues have good ideas, and a lot of them may have insights that can improve processes within your office. Seek out those ideas and implement the good ones. Doing this empowers your employees and keeps your management style fresh.
2) Set high (and consistent) standards
As a manager, you need to find the middle ground between expecting too much of your employees, or worse, too little. The people working for you need to know where you set the bar, and they expect that bar to be consistent. That provides you with the quality of work you expect, while motivating underperforming employees to produce better results.
3) Provide clear direction
Employees can’t perform to your expectations if there is ambiguity over what they are supposed to deliver. Ensure that your team has well-defined and measurable objectives to take the guesswork out of their daily tasks. Doing this will maximize the use of everyone’s time, while moving your priorities forward.
4) Don’t let others hijack your time
If your schedule sets the course for achieving your objectives, stay on it. Getting pulled in too many different directions will easily get you lost, and although you may be getting stuff done, those things may not contribute to overall progress for your organization. Take time to prioritize, and delegate responsibly.
5) Tackle conflict head on
When working with people, conflict is something everyone must deal with. But as a manager, you need to stay on top of it, regardless of how busy you are or how trivial the conflict may seem. Employees notice when you look the other way, and your stock goes down when you don’t stand up and take action. Be a keen observer; addressing conflict early shows employees you’re engaged, and prevents issues from affecting other people who aren’t directly involved.
