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The 5 Golden Rules of Managing
Good managers and good management make a huge contribution to achieving success within an organisation or function. At the same time a lot research identifies that the quality of management is highly variable.
So what are the 5 golden rules of managing?
Rule 1: Make It A Priority
You probably got promoted because you were someone who was good at getting things done and demonstrated potential. Often when people from a professional background move into management they make the mistake of continuing to try and do a lot and leave no time for managing.
Rule 2: Invest Your Time Wisely
Time really is your ultimate limiting factor. It does not matter who you are or how good you are, the number of hours you have in a day, week and month is capped. As a result you have to invest it wisely.
Rule 3: Get To Know Your People
One of the biggest challenges that managers highlight is that they find it difficult to motivate others. Yet when I ask them how much time they spend getting to know their people and what matters to them, often it is very little or none.
If you don’t know what motivates individuals you will never get the best from them.
Rule 4: Delegate
You have a choice. Try and do it all by yourself, get overloaded and become ineffective or delegate and achieve results. Managers will come up with a host of reasons why they cannot delegate, most of which are related to false beliefs or lack of trust in my experience.
Rule 5: Solve Problems
Problems and obstacles will arise. It might be tempting to ignore them in the hope that they will go away. The reality is they never do. Accept that resolving problems and finding a way of moving things forward is a key part of your role.
The Bottom Line: Being a successful manager does not come with a guarantee. At the same time there are some simple things that you can do to improve your chances of success.
Duncan Brodie helps accountants and professionals achieve more career success by helping them to make the transition from technical expert to effective manger. He invites you to take advantage of his free management mastery e-course.
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.