Good managers: what tips or strategies can you share that make you a great leader?

I think one thing that makes me a good leader is appreciating the very real fact that every person can do something well and has a skill, if only you ask it of them to come forward and share what they’re good at – at the beginning on any endeavor with a team, it’s good to sit down and pool all the skills together and let everyone feel that they can absolutely contribute.

If you set any rules, don’t change or modify them on the fly. Image is key, so what you project to your employees will get picked apart, got to be prepared for that. Don’t be afraid to get a little crazy, you’re allowed to make mistakes, and crazy is a mistake. Read the One Minute Manager, takes about an hour. Be someone that all your employees can look towards in a crisis, and be prepared to delegate responsibilities, how you do that is a deal maker, and a deal breaker. Have a relationship with your boss and do what you need to maintain that, he should let you know to some degree where you stand and the extent of your power. All in all, give yourself some elbow room, so you can breathe, and don’t be afraid to break a fool off.

Not being afraid to confront and mentor an employee when he/she errs; likewise, not being shy about acknowledging a job well done. In the first situation, do it as fairly, patiently and unemotionally as possible; in the second do a little sincere gushing—to the employee, to people who work with that employee and to your own manager. Your employees—at least mine—appreciate their manager MANAGING.

Managing and leading is not the same thing. First line supervisors really need strong leadership as well as management skills. There are different management styles and most of them can work. The least effective is the manager or supervisor who insists on being involved in everything rather than empowering his employees to do their jobs and make certain decisions. Employees need to feel valued as persons and respected and appreciated for the job they do. Employees need feedback on the job they do. Employees need to feel free to make suggestions as to procedures and systems that are in place. Strong management will see that these goals are reached and have an open line of communication with all of his subordinates. Managers and supervisors need to have excellent listening skills—you listen with your eyes and ears. Employees also need to feel they they are all treated equally. It’s been a long time since I took this class, but I think I hit the high points.

This is a good article.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/leadership/article57304.html

For me the biggest is accepting peoples faults, their limitations and their human nature. One other important thing is to know that many of your employees can do some if not many things better than you…from there you recognize and acknowledge their greatness.

Using regular 1:1 with my staff. Engaging in active listening. Showing appreciation.

Educate your people so they understand their job very well; give them the resources they need; show them you have confidence in them, and set them free to do their work. A manager is a problem solver—so whenever they run into a problem, they come to you to get help on solving it. And, of course, your boss is constantly giving you problems to solve. You have to solve them in a way that allows your employees to use their strengths to best advantage. That means you need to know your people’s strengths and weaknesses, and put them in a position to complement each other, not frustrate each other.

Being a good leader more-than-not means leading from behind. Letting your team members shine whenever possible is never a bad management policy.