It can be difficult to find the right manager for your team and your company. A leader who accelerates efficiency and makes everyone else perform better. Read along here, where we review the characteristics you should look for in your future manager.
A report from the American UNC Business School shows that globally we are going to experience a serious shortage of leaders before long.
Since the older generations are getting closer and closer to retirement age, the lack of managers is becoming noticeable, and more and more companies are experiencing an increasing need to develop the leadership potential of the current, younger employees.
This also changes the way we perceive the leadership role. It is no longer just a question and control and authority. Instead, the focus is more and more on trust, transparency and openness so that the company's teams can perform better.
According to leadership coach, consultant and writer Marcel Schwantes these 7 characteristics will be decisive for your choice of future managers:
Do you often have to make an effort not to interrupt the speaker? Do you feel like finishing other people's sentences?
It is far from unusual, but we must try to do the opposite anyway. We must give space and listen. Being an active listener is as essential a part of effective communication as being a gifted speaker.
By being an active listener, you are able to put your own thoughts away and instead be present in the conversation. You listen to the story, you ask questions and explore the depth, meaning and understanding of what is being said. Always with the other person's needs in mind. The leaders of the future will interact highly by actively listening to help others succeed and to avoid problems before they are created.
Watch our video with Jonathan Løw here, where he talks about "listening louder"
Stephen MR Covey highlights in his book The Speed Of Trust, that teams that have a high degree of trust will create results faster and at lower costs. For a modern manager, it is therefore important to show trust in your employees from the start – and not wait for them to earn it. It literally pays off!
The best new leaders are those who are interested in coaching, mentoring and developing others. They have a growth mindset and are aware that the talent in the organization must be developed as much as the product and the bottom line. Although it may take time, these leaders are concerned with always providing actionable feedback and motivating employees to develop and achieve their goals.
The leaders you want are those who are driven by success. Both the organization's and colleagues', but to a large extent also their own!
These leaders do not choose the easy solution, they are driven by ambition and choose the right solution – no matter how difficult and demanding – and they do it without going beyond their values and beliefs.
This point is not for all kinds of businesses. But sometimes we need a leader with an entrepreneurial mindset, who doesn't believe in the rulebook and instead insists on following new and own paths. Because this is the right direction.
This defiance mostly takes place at the high speed of innovation, and a Rasmus Modsat can ensure that the entire team or organization takes chances and is constantly in motion.
If you are looking for an excellent new manager, you cannot avoid looking at communication skills. When good communicators speak, people automatically listen. Good communicators inspire and convince people. They create fertile ground for action!
Above all, such a leader radiates both authenticity and presence when he or she speaks, and is also good at providing constructive feedback and criticism. They are good at conveying and explaining ideas and strategies. Short and precise. They are honest and communicate to build trust.
Finally, it is crucial that the good leader constantly tries to help others and puts the needs of others before his own. This is central to management. The good leader is not afraid to give the merit to others and takes the time to create strong relationships with the employees. The good leader is a team player!
These character traits testify to empathy and emotional intelligence, and these are the most important characteristics of a good leader: Someone who understands people and takes an interest in them.
Read much more about emotional intelligence here
However, these extraordinary leaders do not hang on the trees, and they can be difficult to get hold of. Many companies therefore also make a great virtue of developing these super leaders themselves.
Google has e.g. spent years studying the most effective managers. As this article shows, it has resulted in them now i.a. teach their new leaders these six specific character traits:
In this connection, Google encourages its managers to test their ideas among others and collect feedback by arguing for their own convictions and arguments and at the same time collecting the perspectives of others. The answers are collated to give an overall understanding before a decision is made.
Based on these simple guidelines, Google has improved approx. 75 % of its underperforming managers.
On Google Re: Work website you can find the company's work with leadership and organizational development.
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