‘I am a Manager…but my people are unmanageable’

“My manager keeps micromanaging me all the time. He just does not give me my space”
“Boss is just so non-receptive to feedback…main kya karoon (what should I do?)? Bahut irritating hai! (He is just so irritating!) He just does not give me a chance to speak”

Have we heard these statements from our friends around us? Or have we said them ourselves, at least at one point in time? If yes, well then friends, I am writing this article just for you and for the ones around you. Managing people is harder and more challenging today than what it was even a decade ago. There is simply no room for wastage of time and lack of efficiency. Here, ‘More is Less’. So, in a challenging situation like this, how do we excel as managers?

The most important aspect in this league is ‘Empowerment of your team members’. Some managers ensure that their team members check with them at every step that they take, in order to make even a basic decision. What do you think happens to such team members? Their power to make decisions diminishes incredibly, enhancing the feeble side of their personality. They start to lose their confidence. It also affects their personal life making it full of unpleasant undulations. But, what I say is, if an employee is unable to make a decision on his own, it is just because YOU have not prepared him to do so. Start delegating your tasks to them, not with deadlines, but with an explanation on how you would have done it and further which the employee can bring his creativity. Equip him with the tools and techniques of the task. Define their Circle of Influence.

The second most important aspect is the ‘Ability to be Fair’, not towards caste, color, creed, religion, etc… but through your actions and words while communicating with your team. As a manager, you should be able to assist your team in assessing their performance honestly, furthermore creating a learning culture within your Circle of Influence. After the assessment, comes feedback, which is just so so challenging. Of course, we all know that feedback should be communicated step-wise through Achievements, Key Focus Areas and How to achieve the Key Focus Areas; however, the question is, How many of us truly (hand on heart) implement this step-wise process? Another aspect of sharing feedback is when you praise your team all the time and it could mean that all is well and that you and your team is PERFECT…but perfectionism does not exist.

We will talk about some more aspects of Managerial skills in my next article.