If You Want to be a Good Manager

In my life as a corporate worker I have noticed some bad habits from different managers.  For those who want to be good managers and lead their teams to success you should avoid doing things on this list.

Encourage not Discourage

We had a guy who rarely stepped out of his comfort zone.  If there were any decisions to be made he would ask someone else to make them for him.  One day he surprised us all and made a decision and moved forward with the work.  If decisions cannot be made work stops and you have idle unproductive people staring at their screens.  I told him good job for doing so and keep it up.  Sometime later the same day our manager dinged him for making that decision.  He was upset by this and told me so.  I told him not to worry about it but the damage was done.  What little confidence he had gained earlier in the day was gone (and so was any future productivity gains).  Was the decision right or wrong?  It doesn't matter. 

Trust Me

I was in a meeting with my manager and relayed some feedback to him the team had come to me with.  My manager asked me who said it.  I said I wasn't going to tell him because it wasn't relevant.  He again asked me.  I stood my ground.  Boy was that uncomfortable.  If you want trust and respect you just don't do those things to your employees.  I always scold my kids for snitching on each other.  It breeds distrust and a hostile work environment.

Lying

Ever sit in a meeting and listen to management out right lie to their management.  Whether it is dates on a project or the quality of their software I have heard it all.  I don't know what compels them to do so.  Wouldn't it be best for the company to be forthright and honest.  Even if your boss gets upset at least you can then work together to set things right.  If your going to be late on a project isn't it best to find that out early and work to mitigate things and make sure it still succeeds.  Why wait until the end and ask for more time.  It makes you look bad, brings the morale down of the team and just doesn't make any sense.

Yelling

I once heard a quote that cowards yell the loudest.  I have heard many a manager yell at other managers.  Even had a boss once tell me why she was crying that he was throwing chairs around a room why he yelled at the managers.  Another time another manager was yelling and my coworker said he heard it in the meeting room next door.  Regardless in a workplace we should all be acting like adults and speaking civilly.  Sure you might be upset and need to let some steam out.  Just do it in the gym or outside.  When your coworkers hear you it again lowers morale and you lose respect.  Who wants to work for a guy that might yell at you if you make a mistake.

Take responsibility for your actions and treat others with respect.  That is how you will build a strong team and be a successful manager.

Work Life Balance

When your resource has been up working until 5 AM on an deploy or issue tell him to take the next day off before he logs off.  Don't wait until he gets up the next morning to get to work on time.