Can your company afford to lose $2.5 billion?
Sadly, this was the case for Target, after a major blunder with the Canadian market. After experiencing $2.5 billion in losses, all 133 of the Canadian store locations are set to close.
Target is incredibly popular in America, so why didn’t they succeed in Canada? The answer is they didn’t have effective management.
Target’s managers and leaders failed to set up a store experience that would invite customers back. Unprepared for their popularity in Canada, Target didn’t have a distribution system that could handle all of their customers.
Many of the shelves inside the store’s locations were empty. As a result, many customers were going home empty-handed and disappointed.
As a leader, it’s your job to foresee your companies needs and find ways to meet them. It’s your management that will make the ultimate difference between your team’s success or failure. Read on to learn examples of quality management and effective leadership.
Core Elements of Effective Management
Let’s start by defining what the core elements are of effective management. To be a great leader and manager others effectively, you’ll need to work on 3 key skills.
Core Management Skills
- Communicate
- Delegate
- Be Present
The best management consulting firms practice communicating, delegating, and being present, daily. Instead of just focusing on one of these skills, work towards mastering all 3 of them.
Let’s start by looking at tips for communicating clearly and making sure employees hear you.
Communicating Tips for Leaders
Do you know that when we communicate, our words aren’t the most important thing? Studies show that the words you speak only account for 7% of the message received.
Instead of solely focusing on your literal words, people take in the entire picture. This is especially important to remember when you’re communicating as a manager.
Posture and Eye Contact
Your employees will be looking at your body language and taking in your tone of voice, long before they hear the words you’re speaking. With this in mind, it’s important to have body language and vocal tones that are welcoming. Be sure to stand up tall, make eye contact, and speak loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Provide Visual Aids
We also recommend having a printed version of the information you’re giving your employees. For example, if you’re having a morning meeting about performance goals, bring a visual aid. Have a print out ready showing what the current goals are that you’re discussing.
Timing Is Everything
Wait to pass out any visual aids until you’re finished speaking. While your talking, you want the attention to be on you, not the visual aid. Once you’re finished with the meeting, the visual aid will fill in the gaps for any missed information.
Delegating as a Manager
Think back to a time before you were a manager. As an employee, you probably had several hats you had to wear. One of the things that made you so valuable, was your ability to help in multiple departments.
Fast forward to today and your current management role. You can no longer be the one to “do it all” and still be successful. Now, your job is to make sure other people get things done.
Doubts About Delegating
If you’re used to always handling everything, delegating can seem odd at first. You might even find yourself uncomfortable when you have to delegate responsibilities to employees who were just recently your equal.
No one wants to be a demanding manager, weighing down the workload. Yet the truth is, employees, want you to delegate responsibilities to them.
Employees want to know you trust them and that they are valuable to the company. When you delegate responsibilities you’re able to show them both trust and value.
Learn from Your Employees
Trying to take on everything yourself will only end up frustrating and demoralizing your workforce. Just because your a manager doesn’t mean you don’t still have things to learn.
When you let an employee perform a task, you get the opportunity to learn how they approach the solution. Everyone works differently, and observing others is a great way to learn and grow.
Be a Present Leader
There’s always more work to do. Being a great leader means being able to be present, even when the work is piling up.
It’s not good enough to wait until the end of the day to finally notice your employees, or listen to there concerns. Amazing managers can work, while also being available to the workers.
Make the Rounds
Instead of spending the day inside your office, go out and greet people. Walk around from cubicle to cubicle, office to office, and don’t forget the receptionist area as well. Be sure no one is left out as you make the rounds, throughout the work building.
Take the time to stay involved, and know what’s going on. Listen to employees, casually watch them working. Ask simple questions that won’t distract them from being able to work.
When your employees are answering you, make sure you’re fully listening, and taking in their replies. Making your rounds shows employees that you care and are a part of things.
Avoid Hovering
While it’s great to know your boss cares about what you do, it’s another thing to have them watching you while you do it. Employees want to be able to communicate with you as their manager, but they don’t want to feel like you’re monitoring them. To prevent hovering, limit the amount of time you spend in any one area while making your rounds.
Leaders Are Always Learning
Now you know more about how to practice effective management skills as a leader. When you focus on communicating, delegating, and being present, you’re sure to find success!
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