Managers Need To Get CLEAR

It isn’t easy being a manager. I remember being such a pain for my managers.

And my managers being such a pain for me.

We didn’t take steps, the both of us, to be able to fix the relationship. To get back to doing great work.

Gallup, an American research and consulting firm, says that people really leave their managers, and not their jobs.

And I believe that must have been true when my team members or direct reports resigned.

There are 5 things a manager needs to do: They need to get CLEAR.

Clarity

Managers need to provide clarity – on expectations, output, and the working environment. Most of the time, the main problem of staff, and even managers, is that they don’t know what is expected of them.

From the job, and even, from their co-workers and manager.

Clarity is getting clear on what can and can’t be done on the job, as well as the clear outcome of the work. By what is success measured by.

Clarity is important. It’s foundational. There’s too much trouble in workplaces because managers, and people, don’t take time to have conversations that enhance and provide clarity.

A lot of problems that happen at work is actually due to uncommunicated, mismatched, unrealistic, and sometimes, even false, expectations.

It’s like a story shared by an acquaintance in advertising – where the client wants a sleek website, but there are thousands, even millions, of ways that sleek can look and be communicated.

In that same vein, what does it mean when you want a good project? Or better communication? Or how does having more trust in your teammates look like?

As a leader, as a manager, you’ve got to provide safe spaces for conversations to build that clarity.

No one wants to go to work and play mind games.

Leadership

Managers need to provide the inspiration, motivation, and accountability, or find ways for team members to find these at work.

Leadership is also about finding ways to guide staff to a relevant outcome, and to setup systems and structures that support whatever it is they need, or need removed, to reach that outcome.

Leadership is also being dependable. The team knows they can depend on you to support them, share with them, provide feedback to them, and follow through when it counts.

Leadership is also keeping others accountable. Getting things done with a high standard of quality.

Checking up on people and their work. Making sure people get the important things done, when they need to get done, and to the right people.

In this shifting world, managers and leaders are now expected to coach and mentor their staff, and to help build up capabilities and skills.

Part of being a leader is to provide chances and actively push for growth and development.

Not only for yourself, but more so for your team.

Empowerment

Give people the tools and training that they need, to do their job, and do their job well.

It’s giving people the power to make an impact, and to do what they do, well.

It’s setting clear goals, and giving them the opportunity to find the means to achieve them.

It’s giving them the needed tools and training to allow them to succeed.

It’s putting them in the right position to use their strengths, and to manage their weaknesses.

It’s agreeing on a direction, and getting out of their way.

It’s providing constant feedback, through coaching and mentoring.

It’s pushing people to do greater and greater things, and giving them credit for it.

It’s not really people’s actions and behavior you manage. Managers manage expectations and goals.

And use them to push people, and get people moving, together.

Alignment

Managers need to get everyone onboard, and aligned.

Is everyone headed towards the same direction, together? Does everyone know the goal and impact of what they’re doing? What makes their task so important, and its relation to the mission of the organization?

Does your staff see the value that they bring on a big picture scale? Or do they feel that they’re just replaceable cogs in a machine?

Or worse, do they feel that what they’re doing has no purpose? Has no meaning? Doesn’t connect with the company’s mission and purpose, much less, their own?

It’s a managers job to orient and remind people about the big picture. About how the puzzle os supposed to look like, and how people fit onto that puzzle.

And that without them, the puzzle won’t be completed.

It’s about togetherness, moving forward as one, towards a purpose.

A mission.

I remember a story told by a good and inspiring friend. They held a team away session, where the organization was divvied up into groups, and led to compete against each other.

There was heated competition, with a lot of taunting, fun jests, and even some cheating during the games.

But the final activity, which was to complete a puzzle, was only possible with everyone’s help, and everyone’s pieces.

Not just their team’s, but everyone’s.

That drove the message home.

It’s not only aligning towards a mission and purpose.

It’s also making sure all of us are aligned, together, towards that mission and purpose.

Results

Getting clear on the things that matter most, often leads to results.

A manager is also responsible for the output of the team, and finds ways to help their team do great work.

And that’s by getting clear on expectations.

Getting clear on the outcome, and what they can and can’t do.

But not micromanaging or hovering over their staff. You can’t hold people accountable for their results if you dictate their means to accomplish them.

And if your way fails, they’ll always blame you. Allow them to find the way.

Results also stem from empowerment, and alignment. Building up, and allowing people to grow, and making sure everyone’s on the same page, moving forward a common purpose and mission, together.

As a manager, it’s no longer you producing the results on your own. It’s getting results done through, and with, others.