I received an email this morning that I thought I’d share, because the situation, and the solution, is applicable to all managers.

Here’s the email:
Miki, Six months ago I joined a terrific company in a senior role and have recently been promoted to management. My problem is that none of the managers I’ve been around ever seemed to be great, they weren’t bad, but I don’t want to follow in what I consider mediocre footsteps. Are there some basic principles I can build great management skills around? Jessie C, Washington DC

And my response:
Dear Jessie, First, congratulations on your promotion and on your insight and desire to be a great, not just OK, manager. Next, I can offer you both a basic premise (how to think) and it’s corollary (what to do), because they are not only the basis for all good MAP, but also for RampUp, itself.

Premise: People are intelligent, motivated and want to help their company/manager succeed.

Corollary: It’s management’s responsibility to provide them with all the information needed to understand how to perform their work as correctly, completely and efficiently as possible.

Like any relationship, it’s about open communications. Sharing information is a sign of trust and encourages people to become more involved. When people know about their job/company/industry and how they all interact, they will perform their own duties better and more productively because they understand what’s going on, are encouraged to take more ownership, and they care.

Valuing people and open communications are the bedrock of a great manager. Claiming to value people is easy, but it has no meaning unless the manager follows through with proof—and that proof starts with open, honest, complete communications.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 17th, 2006 at 10:13 am and is filed under Business info, Communication, Culture, Leadership, Retention. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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