In order to be a good Supervisor or Manager of a business, you have to figure out a way to balance all of your employees. Whether it's situating them in the right places, making sure deadlines are met, or being able to talk to each one, they are all important.
Most likely your staff will be diverse. Whether it's the various cultures they come from, the different skill levels present, or even the personalities, you will want to understand them all. However, you don't have to, but instead just take a step back and realize they are a person just like you.
In order to have good communication with your employees, you must understand what works with some employees may not work with others. Obviously there will be one or two individuals whom you can joke around with, but some of the others won't find it funny. If you can learn each individual personality, you can develop relationships in a more comfortable manner.
The most important thing to understand here is you DO NOT want to build personal relationships. In the beginning it will seem harmless, but it will come back to haunt you if an employee needs to be reprimanded.
What usually occurs is that the employee feels you have let them down or betrayed your friendship with them. The bond is now broken, and even though you were just doing your job, they may try to make the office feel uneasy around you. This is an easy trap to fall into, but don't let it happen again.
You will also notice that employees always want to come to the manager when they are enduring personal problems. They basically just need to vent, and since you are not attached to the situation there is a bull's-eye on your back. There is nothing wrong with listening to them, but don't offer any advice. Even if they ask for it, just step around it or tell them you feel uncomfortable. If you do offer advice they will believe you are forming a bond. Worst of all this is a situation outside of work.
You are there to make sure your staff reaches and maintains goals set forth by your bosses. By knowing that someone is going through a rough time you can make some accommodations that will be helpful to them. For example, you can let the Leads know that this person has some personal issues going on and that they should try to let them have their space.
You do not have to offer solutions to their personal problems in order to be an effective leader. You must simply be there when they need to talk, let them get it off of their chests and then motivate them to get back to work and to concentrate on the job at hand.
Great Managers and Supervisors can maintain a friendly balance between their employees while keeping the manager/employee relationship in check. If your employees respect you because you are humble and not afraid to admit that you have made mistakes then they will work hard for you. If you let them vent when they need to and are there to support them through the rough business related times then you should have no problems at all.
Author Resource:
Managing your staff effectively is only one of the many topics covered on Michael Murray's Job Cover Letters blog. Visit it for more career articles.
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