Managers are one of the most significant roles in the Corporate world. While they act as a medium for executing and strategizing projects in order to propel revenues, they also play a major role in taking care of the team and shape the careers of team members. So, being a boss for your team, it is very important for you to understand whether you are able to take up the role in good spirit.
Here are some questions that you may ask yourself for your own assessment:
Can you accommodate your team’s mistakes?
Mistakes are a part of any team’s work. We understand the work wrong, make mistakes, repeat the work, and finally deliver the work. Even though the final work seems client-ready, the process involves a lot of repetitions from team members because of a misunderstanding of requirements, misalignment in thoughts, and lack of experience of team members.
Do you lead from the front?
A leader leads the team from the front, especially in a crisis. He is always there when the team needs him, guides them to complete the work, and makes sure all the team members are aligned towards achieving the goals. He trains them well to meet the demands of the work as per the employee’s style.
Do you accept changes?
As we grow experience, we gain more confidence in the work. Sometimes, confidence turns into over-confidence too and we stop listening to team members’ suggestions, which turn out to be valuable.
Do you listen to employee’s concerns?
This is one of the major areas a manager has to focus on. Generally, the positives are handled by the team members themselves, whereas negatives are escalated to the manager. Listening to more and more concerns, a manager might become passive to employee’s concerns, although it is one of his major focus areas. So a commitment to solving employee’s concerns is very important
Do you give the benefit of the doubt?
Because of their own shortcomings and inhibitions or to hide their weaknesses, employees tend to hide reality and makeup stories. As a result, a boss cannot differentiate the truth against these made-up stories. He starts creating perceptions towards various employees and be adamant based on his perceived thoughts. At a later date, all his decisions depend on his perceptions rather than an assessment of the current situation, which creates misunderstanding and ineffectiveness in employee handling. So, there is a great need for a manager to give the benefit of the doubt for his past deeds and look at the current situation objectively.
Are you aware of Yes-man?
As managers have a lot of powers and major career decisions of employees there in his hands, a lot of employees try to impress the manager through various actions. It could range from accepting the manager’s decisions easily to doing the manager’s personal work. Even though the manager builds a good rapport with the Yes-man, it may not do good to the company if the employees taking advantage. So, the manager should be very cautious about these types of employees.
How well can you give and take feedback?
Giving and taking feedback is very important to understand the team’s strengths and weaknesses, their needs, and their expectations from you. Assertive and constructive feedback that encourages a team member to work on the important shortcomings is required. At the same time, the team members should have the much-needed space to give feedback about you.
How good are you as a boss depends on the confidence with which you say YES to these questions.
Do you think of any other questions? Please comment below.