A manager's success is mainly dependent on the relationships he can build with his team members on an everyday basis. More and more surveys show that most employees leave their companies because of their direct superiors. How can you prevent this from happening to you? Forbes.com identified the managerial mistakes that can reliably destroy the relationships between bosses and their teams.
1. Don't try to be friends
Being a boss and a friend at the same time is more impossible than possible. A good manager should be interested in their employees' lives, but is also able to maintain sufficient distance so that he doesn't lose their respect. Read more in 5 questions on friendship between superiors and subordinates.
2. Beware of emotional imbalance
When a bad boss has a bad day everyone knows about it right away and prays not to have to bring up anything serious with him. However, conflicts often arise that have a direct impact on the productivity and morale of the whole team. So, please be careful not to build your management style on your mood.
3. Don't ask nonsense questions
An increasingly popular coaching management style is based on questions. Managers arrange coaching interviews with their people to make them think about their attitudes and work practices. The coaching questions must, however, make sense. If an employee does not know the answer to your question, do not ask him what he would say if he knew the answer. A manager must be able not only to ask questions but also to offer answers from his own perspective. Read more about coaching questions in Employee coaching stands and falls with the right questions.
4. Don't reject new ideas
Of course not every one of your subordinates' ideas will be good. However, rejecting ideas without explanation is a good way to demotivate your people to come up with their ideas and, eventually, motivate them to go over to the competition. You should ask "why not?" instead of "why?".
5. Don't hide information
Managers most often stop communicating when things are not going well. However, that's when they should communicate more than usual. If you try to embellish the truth or you remain silent, you are going to lose your people's trust. Can your people trust you?
6. Learn to slow down
The pace at work is always accelerating. Nevertheless, a good manager should be able to stop for a moment, take a deep breath and thank his people for having done a good job. Before embarking on a new task, think about how you got to this point and what can inspire your work in the future. Do you know when it is time to slow down?
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