Most people believe that managers should have a certain characteristic in order to be effective. But the truth is there are many myths attached to managers, and it’s important that you know them. This is so that if you’re a manager yourself, you could avoid making these errors.
If your business is into providing managed IT support services, for example, you can also educate your colleagues about these management myths to steer your office onto the right path.
Myth #1: Effective managers follow effective management strategies.
There’s no single management strategy that fits all companies. Most great managers came to be effective because they adapted some of the strategies they learned and implemented these to their team.
But before they did that, those managers first got to know the members of their teams and learned about their weaknesses and strengths. Once they’ve learned all that they needed to know, they started implementing some of the management strategies they learned from school.
Myth #2: Effective managers don’t micromanage.
Most experts advise managers to keep their distance when working with their team. But it’s not necessarily true that micromanaging is a bad thing.
What you can do here is inform your subordinates what you expect from them and how you’ll measure their progress. This way, you’ll be giving your employees an idea on how their performance will be monitored. But they can still come up with their own ways on how to accomplish their tasks.
What you shouldn’t do, on the other hand, is give them a huge project and let them work on it without any guidance. It would be like asking people who haven’t commandeered a ship to set sail for another port. Without a captain to tell them what to do, they will likely sink the ship.
Myth #3: Effective managers spend more time planning than monitoring.
Managers who spend more time strategizing than checking up on what their employees are doing will likely fall flat on their faces. Effective leaders should be able to balance both tasks: planning and monitoring.
Myth #4: Effective managers are like drill sergeants.
Some people think that to be an effective manager is to be able to intimidate employees into following orders. You may be able to make your team do your bidding whenever you bark an order at them, but you’ll never inspire loyalty from them.
Also, shouting orders at your employees is demoralizing. If you keep doing this, you’ll soon notice that no one lasts in your company for more than a few months. Even worse, you might encounter a lawsuit from one of your former team members claiming that you caused them emotional distress.
Great managers don’t bend other people to do their bidding. Rather, they inspire people to follow them and do their part in helping the company grow. So, instead of barking orders at your employees, ask them politely to finish their tasks as soon as possible.
It’s important that you avoid believing these myths because you’ll only do more damage to your company than good. If you really want to be an effective manager, work closely with your employees and figure out how to inspire them to do their best, rather than ordering them to do so.
