Most people start their careers, and after a year or two, they dream of being a boss. They want to be a Manager. They want to lead and mentor a team. And everyone believes they will be good at managing a team. And at the beginning of your career, you may even think it looks easy. After all, you communicate great with your friends and colleagues, how hard can leading people be?
This blog post won’t cover all the aspects that make a great (or bad) Manager, but it will cover one very important one. Be responsive.
Time Management Can Be a Key Driver in Being Responsive
See, here’s the thing. Usually, when you become a Manager, you have more responsibilities which means you have to manage your time better. If you don’t do a good job of managing your time, you will either: A. Always have to play catch up at night or on the weekends or B. Always leave your team looking for answers because you’re not being responsive to their questions and/or needs.
If you take on the responsibility of being a Manager – remember, this is a big step in your career – you’re being given employees whom leadership expects you to mentor, coach, mold, help, and maybe most importantly, they expect you to get them to get shit done. Meaning if you are a Manager, you cannot be a bottleneck. You cannot keep your team waiting for answers – unanswered emails, texts, or calls, and a lack of timely decision-making will surely not move the needle, and then you may lose respect amongst your team. You also need to make time for them. Even if you’re wrapped up in meetings all day, that’s no excuse. Take them for a coffee. Have breakfast with them. Stay late to talk with them. Make time for them.
And this does not go only for new Managers. This is even more crucial for senior Managers and senior leaders, as you have even more responsibility, pressure, and probably more issues to tackle.
Great Managers Are Responsive
Think about it. Many of us are not prepared to be Managers. You can read all the books you want. And watch all the YouTube videos or podcasts on good management (I would encourage all this). You can even be mentored into the role. But does anyone teach you about being responsive? About actually following open door policies? About being there when your team needs you most? No. This is on you.
I’ve seen some Presidents and CEOs respond to emails and texts within minutes. How do they manage their time? Now, responding within minutes might be unrealistic. And it’s different for each business or industry. Also, some topics may not need a response right away, while others simply need a yes or no, or a quick approval. Stalled approvals can kill momentum. A no can often be better than a very long, stalled yes. The team can work on other things and move on.
Sometimes leaders do need some time to analyze things. After all, some of these decisions are big, strategic plays. They should be well thought out for sure. But over-analyzing has its downside too. Perfection can be a negative. It’s why I don’t want to be a perfectionist ever again. And if the decision-making process will be a long one, let your team know, that way you can set and manage expectations.
Being responsive goes hand-in-hand with time management and prioritization. If you’re good at it, you likely win your team’s respect. But the alternative is true if time management is a weakness for you. The good news is that this is easy to work on for anyone.
Don’t Be a Bottleneck
The next time you are a bottleneck, remember when you started your career, and how you would get frustrated when people wouldn’t respond to you. Be responsive, and you will establish one major aspect of managing well.
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