6 Traits of Good Managers That Help Them Create Engaged Teams
Good managers are the driving force for team engagement. Research says that managers are responsible for 70% variance in team engagement.
So, if you have been blaming lower team engagement on your HR, or the laid back CEO or maybe that slow computer network, then you are mistaken.
In this post, I am listing the common yet most important things that managers should do to create engaged teams.
What Is the Importance of Team Engagement?
Well, let me quickly present to you the results of Employee Engagement research which shows how engagement impacts productivity, loyalty, sales, and profits.
The results say that disengaged employees tend to begin their weekends early.
Engaged customer representatives are as patient at the end of the day as they are at the beginning.
The engaged engineers write a cleaner code that is easy to maintain by anyone who comes after them.
The chances of accidents are less with engaged factory workers.
Now when you understand the importance of engagement, here are the tips you can use as a manager to have better-engaged employees.
Traits of Great Managers That Help Them Increase Team Engagement
1. They believe in growth, recognition, and trust
Good managers know that nothing triggers engagement more than growth, recognition, and trust. You, as a manager, can foster that kind of culture in the team.
While there can be different terms for these attributes in different companies. Some might call it learning or development, master of challenging work, etc.
In general, your team expects the following three things from you.
- To grow and learn new things
- To get the right appreciation
- The faith that leadership will guide them towards a better future.
- They equip their teams with the right tools
2. Teams experience various challenges while working together on goals.
Communication and transparency in the system remain their major challenges.
Good managers never hesitate to provide their team with the best methods of managing team communication and collaboration.
Although different tools can serve the needs of different teams, A project management solution turns out to be a one-stop solution for all team-related management issues.
A project management software like ProofHub becomes a single source of truth for the entire team. It is a central location to keep all your project files, tasks, discussions, conversations, reports, etc.
The right tools bring transparency in the working thus leading to lesser confusion and more engagement.
Asana, Basecamp, Trello, etc, are some other good project management solutions that are useful for teams.
Try ProofHub for free and make employee engagement effortless.
3. Good listening is one trait that can never be underestimated in a manager.
It is very important to listen to others for managers so that ideas can move and the right information be collected for decision making.
Team members turn out to be more open, positive and motivated if they are heard. This directly gives a boost to their engagement.
Here are some tips which managers can use to become good listeners.
- Ditch your electronic gadgets when a team member is trying to have a conversation with you.
- Be patient and don’t be too quick to jump in, let them finish with their point.
- Get essential information from the non-verbal cues also and not just words of a teammate.
- Maintain a positive body language. Do not make a face, grimace or roll your eyes.
4. They provide constructive feedback
Good managers provide feedback in a sincere way which is neither full of left-handed compliments nor is sugar-coated. They stick to portraying things as they are but in a dignified and polite manner.
Good managers understand that the purpose of the feedback is to bring improvement and not to point fingers towards mistakes.
Therefore, good managers tell their team members what they did right as well. Team members will surely replicate those behaviours which lead to success and show more engagement due to acknowledgement of good traits.
Another important point is that during the feedback process, good managers believe in having a dialog rather than a monologue. Yes, they make it a two-way conversation.
Lastly, good managers make sure that the feedback process is based on facts and not on personal bias and feelings.
5. They provide work-life balance
Good managers exercise work-life balance in their lives and in turn support employees also in this pursuit. Toxic workaholic managers might not always understand the importance of work-life balance.
Work-life balance does not necessarily mean being on a holiday or staying at home. Basically, work-life balance is a medium of striking a balance between work and other aspects and interests in life.
These interests might well be fulfilled in the office also sometimes. For example- Good managers invest some time in some team building activities or outdoor games.
Short breaks throughout the day, allowing unpaid time off for life events, allowing schedule flexibility sometimes are some of the ways good managers establish a work-life balance for their teammates in an organization.
6. Engaged managers make engaged teams
Great managers are not only the preachers of engagement, but they also practice it themselves and live it. They bring their heart, mind, soul, to work and it is contagious.
Engaged managers are there on the field on a daily basis. They do not tend to be present only during the appreciation meeting. They take the heat regularly. They observe and constantly work towards keeping their team motivated.
Conclusion
As per Gallop’s report, only 30% of US employees are engaged in the workplace. This engagement level is 13% worldwide. These statistics make us understand how direly there is a need for better engagement.
Good managers can surely create all the difference. Here, I am presenting a crux of the article above for managers to follow.
Bring clarity about the bigger picture behind your goals. Cultivate a shared vision.
Make sure you equip your team with the right tools and technologies to save them the tiring and useless hustle.
Develop a relationship with your team where they must feel like you care.
Your engagement and passion for work are bound to transfer. So ask yourself- Am I engaged enough?
Lastly, work should not feel like a burden, make sure you exercise work-life balance and provide the same to your team as well.
Do let me know in the comments if you found this article useful.
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