I wrote this for someone who is regarded as a competent manager but found this difficult to explain.
At the end of the day, being an employee means trading time and effort for money. Definitely the easiest way to express appreciation is to pay. People don’t like to hear that, so it needs to be repeated.
If you can’t pay fair (as a manager with fix budget), at least don’t make people feel like they’re suckers for sticking around.
Don’t dismiss all suggestions immediately.
Be approachable
Create an environment where the staff does not feel anxious about asking questions or bringing up concerns.
Be open to new ideas
As a manager, you need to keep an open mind so you will notice when an operation can be improved.
Trust is a major element in a healthy work environment.
Have strong analytical abilities
Strong cognitive skills and analytic approach is vital leadership traits, no questions here.
Make decisions. And make them with confidence
Act decisively, good leaders quickly arrive at their decisions and effectively communicating their goals. When a decision is made, a managers must have confidence in their problem-solving skills
Be honest
The best leaders were described as providing honest, and at times even sometimes blunt, feedback. Subordinates felt they could always count on straight answers from their leader.
Set an example
You set an example and express the diligence, enthusiasm and other skills that you expect from the people whom you manage.
Recognize good work
Give credit where credit is due.
Beat them on their own game
This is essential for technical roles but comes handy in other positions too. You should provide technical expertise to lead any team and have them confidence in you.
This sounds cheesy, but everyone needs social interactions to some degree.
Handwritten thank you notes increase sales. Give a note thanking customers for their purchase. They must be handwritten, but photocopies work just as well as originals. In experiments, they increased future customers spending 2x.
With other humans, not machines.
I used to live across the street from a guy who ran a drop ship style handwritten note business. Has a big warehouse full of people writing notes. He was absolutely loaded. whalesalad - HN